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The group turned toward her

"Koloss," Vin said "They're"That's absurd"

"No," Vin said, shaking her head "I' koloss Hidden in those folds and rips of skin on their bodies, they are pierced by spikes Smaller than the Inquisitor spikes, and made from different metals, but all of the koloss have theure out where new koloss couarded the secret, and it's becoreat ularity when so them Yet, there always seem to be more of the creatures How?"

"Because they are constantly replenishing their nues they pillage"

"Did you ever wonder," Elend said, "back during the siege of Luthadel, why Jastes's koloss ar for us? The creatures needed to replenish their numbers"

"They alalk about," Vin said, "wearing clothing, talking about being human Yet, they can't quite remember what it was like Their minds have been broken"

Elend nodded "The other day, Vin finally got one of them to show her how to make new koloss From what he did, and fro to try to combine two th of two men, but theup "A third way to use the metals There is Allomancy, which draer from the metals themselves There is Feruchemy, which uses metals to draer from your own body, and there is"

"Marsh called it Hey" Ham said "Which uses the metals to draer from someone else's body"

"Great," Cett said "Point?"

"The Lord Ruler created servants to help hiyhe made soldiers, which we call koloss He made spies, which we call kandra And he made priests, which we call Inquisitors He built them all eaknesses, so that he could control them"

"I first learned how to take control of the koloss because of TenSoon," Vin said "He inadvertently showed me the secret He mentioned that the kandra and koloss were cousins, and I realized I could control one just as I had the other"

"Istill don't see where you're heading with this," De from Vin to Elend

"The Inquisitors must have the say leaves the mindwounded It allows an Allomancer to creep in and take control The nobility alondered what made the Inquisitors so fanatically devoted to the Lord Ruler They weren't like regular obligators--they were far more obedient Zealous to a fault"

"It happened to Marsh," Vin whispered "The first time I met him after he'd been rew even odder during the year following the Collapse Finally, he turned on Sazed, tried to kill hiest," Elend said, "is that so the Inquisitors and the koloss So the weakness the Lord Ruler built into the creatures and is using the, the chaos following the Collapse--it's not simply chaos No more than the patterns of people who fall sick to the mists are chaotic I know it see here is thatthe method We understand why they can be controlled and how they're being controlled"

Elend continued to pace, his feetthe dirty tent floor "The more I think about Vin's discovery, the more I come to believe that this is all connected The koloss, the kandra, and the Inquisitors are not three separate oddities, but part of a single cohesive phenoe of this third artthis Heydoesn't seem like ood is the knowledge?"

Cett nodded, as if Elend had spoken the hts Elend, however, had drifted off a bit, staring out the open tent flaps, losing hi he'd once done frequently, back when he spentCett's questions He was speaking his own concerns, following his own logical path

"This e're fighting," Elend continued, "it isn't just about soldiers It isn't just about koloss, or about taking Fadrex City It's about the sequence of events we inadvertently started the ins of the koloss--is part of a pattern The percentages that fall sick from the mists are also part of the pattern The less we see chaos, and theto be at understanding just e fight--and just how to defeat it"

Elend turned toward the group "Noorden, I want you to change the focus of your research Up until noe've assuer convinced that is true Research our old scout reports Draw up lists and plot movements Pay particular attention to bodies of koloss that we specifically knoeren't under the control of an Inquisitor I want to see if we can discover why they here they did"

"Yes, ilant," Elend said "I don't want another mistake like last week's We can't afford to lose any more troops, even koloss"

They nodded, and Elend's posture indicated the end of theCett was carried away to his tent, Noorden bustled off to begin this new research, and Ha to eat De up to Elend's side and taking his arm as he turned to address De a bit embarrassed "I assume General Haht, perking up

"Yes, Deh "But I really don't think it's so to worry about"

"What?" Vin asked

"There is a certain level ofostracis in the camp, my lady," Demoux said "Those of us who fell sick for teeks, rather than a few days, are being regarded with a er agree with, right, Dely stern look

Demoux nodded "I trust your interpretation, my lord It's just thatwell, it is difficult to lead men who distrust you And, it'stogether, staying away fro the division"