Pewter Training

Lord Elliot's words continued to haunt Lena a week after their initial conversation.

A Jack of all trades is a master of none.

The Seeker had asked her if she had chosen a metal to focus on developing and inquired which one the young Mistborn considered the most important.  Her answer at the time was Pewter, though Brass and Tin had also proven invaluable in their mission concerning House Venture.

Unsure how to develop her Pewter-burning abilities, Lena chose to seek out Get, the man who had rescued Epps from Ministry assassins and had enough scars to prove his worth as a fighter.  

Epps and Get worked in the mines during the day and were just now headed home. The younger of the two looked quite weary after a full day of work, but Get appeared able to continue working well into the night.  Lena fell into step next to the Thug.

"Hello, gentlemen. I hope the taskmasters treated you both well enough today," she said with a smile.

"I was wondering if I might steal you away for a bit, Get, if you wouldn't mind helping me train."

Her eyes glanced past the Pewterarm to his companion. "You think you can keep yourself out of trouble 'til he gets back, Epps?"

The two men were with a small group of skaa, one of whom lena recognized as the Tineye from the first meeting. Get and the others nod to her in greeting.

"Sure. It's Mark's night to take watch anyway."

Lena grins and claps her hands. "Excellent!"

As the two walk down the road, they eventually separate themselves from the others, allowing Lena to speak more freely.

"I want to learn how to use my Pewter more effectively. I use it to enhance my strength when needed, but is there more to it than just brute strength? My initial training focused on the basics of each metal, but Elliot said that if I don't focus on them one at a time, I'll never be any good at any of them."

"Strength is only one of the abilities pewter enhances."

The older Thug leads the way to an old section of the city that's relatively abandoned then downs a vial of pewter once they're arrived at a mostly collapsed building. The inside is mostly cleared and racks of wooden weapons line one wall.

"It also makes you tougher, faster and it can keep you going long after you should have collapsed."

Lena's eyes grow wide as she follows Get into the building.

"Really? One metal does all that? Pewter's even more valuable than I thought! Can you show me?"

Her gaze drifts warily over the weapons. She had never had occasion to use one before. Her method always involved more stealth than combat.

Get tosses her a quarter staff and takes one himself.

"Never underestimate a misting, lena. That's how mistborn get killed."

The quarter staff clacks on the ground as Lena fumbles the catch. Never one to walk away from a challenge - especially one she asked for - the Mistborn stoops down and picks up the staff, holding it awkwardly as she burns her own supply of Pewter in anticipation of Get's attack. She swallows hard and sighs.

"Okay. I won't. I'm ready...I think."

Get actually takes several steps back, stretching and giving a few test swings.

"Alright. But tell me something first. What do you plan on doing with what I'm gonna teach you?"

He locks his eyes on her.

"Epps has made it clear he wants a bloodless revolution."

He smirks, apparently not sold on the idea.

Lena is caught off guard by his question. After a moment's consideration she shrugs.

"I assumed 'bloodless' simply meant no loss of life. Knocking a few guys unconscious is okay, right? They'll recover."

She matches his smirk.

Get makes no outward reaction for a moment.

"That may be fine for the others, but add pewter into the equation and people die. But that's not always a bad thing, no matter what Epps thinks."

He raises the staff in a defensive position.

"Now come at me, attack, and get out of my reach before I can strike back."

Inhaling deeply, Lena grips the quarter staff in both hands and flares Pewter. Attacking Get feels like attacking a brick wall, but one that can fight back. The Mistborn shakes her head slightly, takes three quick steps and swings as hard as she can at the Thug's left side, planning to use her momentum to carry her past him and out of reach.

Deftly the older Thug jumps out of the way, landing several feet back. Then he darts forward, poking lena in the forehead with his own staff.

"You're faster than that! Come on hit me!"

He jumps back again, smiling.

Lena grits her teeth, takes a few steps back, and gets a running start on her next attack. This time she uses her stature to her advantage and goes for Get's right knee in an attempt to take him off his feet.