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The winding set of stone stairs led doard for quite so sounding loudly in her ears At the bottom, the stairwell opened into

A vast chae stone cavern Spook was already halfway down the stone steps leading to the floor Ha

"Lord Ruler" Elend whispered, standing at Vin's side "We'd have never found this without tearing down the entire building!"

"That was probably the idea," Vin said "Kredik Shaw isn't si This Above, those inlays on the walls hid the cracks of the doorway, and themechanism from Allomantic eyes If I hadn't had a hint"

"Hint?" Elend asked, turning to her

Vin shook her head, nodding to the steps The two began down the

"There's food down here!" he yelled "Cans and cans of it!"

Indeed, they found rank upon rank of shelves sitting on the cavern floor, meticulously packed as if set aside in preparation for so important Vin and Elend reached the cavern floor as Ha for hirabbed his ar source of er

Elend nodded, and they rushed through the cavern, passing shelf after shelf The Lord Ruler ht But for what purpose?

She didn't care at the moment She didn't really care about the atiunore They rushed up to the end of the cavern, where they found the source of theon the wall, like the one Sazed had described finding in the Conventical of Seran Elend was clearly disappointed when they saw it Vin, however, stepped forward, looking through tin-enhanced eyes to see what it contained

"A map?" Elend asked "That's the Final Empire"

Indeed, a map of the empire was carved into the metal Luthadel was marked at the center A small circle marked another city nearby

"Why is Statlin City circled?" Elend asked, frowning

Vin shook her head "This isn't e came for," she said "There" A tunnel split off froh the streets, not even certain what he was doing He followed the ht, as his candle had long since puffed out

People screao and see what the proble; it paused to catch his attention if it lost hi him to his death And yethe felt a trust for it that he could not explain

Allo on my emotions?

Before he could consider that further, he stumbled across the first body It was a skaa , skin stained with ash His face isted in a griround was sasped as he pulled to a halt He knelt, studying the body by the diht of an opennearby This s I was studying, he thought Months ago, in the village to the south The man there said that the round and thrash about

The spirit appeared in front of Sazed, its posture insistent Sazed looked up, frowning "You did this?" he whispered

The thing shook its head violently, pointing Kredik Shaas just ahead It was the direction Vin and Elend had gone earlier

Sazed stood Vin said she thought the Well was still in the city, he thought The Deepness has co in the far reaches of the ereater than we co on

He still couldn't believe that Vin going to the Well would be dangerous She had read; she knew Rashek's story She wouldn't take the power for herself He was confident But not coer certain what they should do with the Well

I have to get to her Stop her, talk to her, prepare her We can't rush into so to take the power at the Well, they needed to think about it first and decide what the best course was

The mist spirit continued to point Sazed stood and ran forward, ignoring the horror of the screaht He approached the doors of the massive palace structure with its spires and spikes, then dashed inside

The mist spirit remained behind, in the ain with a flint, and waited The ency, Sazed left it behind, continuing into the depths of the Lord Ruler's former hoht

The Well couldn't be here, he thought It's supposed to be in the ue He was beginning to doubt that he'd ever understood the things he'd studied

He quickened his step, shading his candle with his hand, knohere he needed to go He'd visited the building-within-a-building, the place where the Lord Ruler had once spent his time Sazed had studied the place after the e He stepped into the outer room, and was halfway across it before he noticed the unfaure stood in doorway, head bowed Sazed's candlelight reflected the polished marble walls, the silvery inlayed murals, and the spikes in the man's eyes

"Marsh?" Sazed asked, shocked "Where have you been?"

"What are you doing, Sazed?" Marsh whispered

"I' to Vin," he said, confused "She has found the Well, Marsh We have to get to her, stop her fro with it until we're sure what it does"

Marsh remained silent for a short time "You should not have come here, Terrisman," he finally said, head still bowed

"Marsh? What is going on?" Sazed took a step forward, feeling urgent

"I wish I kneishI wish I understood"