The Next Step

One week after Venture's Ball, the Party Crashers received a summons to meet with their employers, Epps and Get. Much as before, the younger man paced nervously as the group gathered and the veteran greeted them solemly, eyes constantly roving. Get seemed more on edge tonight than he had before.

Epps, who had apparently given up on trying to make conversation with Sind started without preamble once everyone was gathered.

"Thank you all for coming. As you know I, uh, rather intended to let you go about this business as you see fit once we'd started things off. But Get has made a rather stunning discovery, and he... well... he was rather adamant that you be made privy to the opportunity."

Dorlin stood as a statue just behind Voïra, quiet and pensive. As usual during these meetings, the faded colors of his traditional Terrisman robes were obscured by the dark grey cloak he wore, and his hands we clasped behind him in frigid familiar formality. His eyes shove with curiosity as to this development, but he remained silent, waiting on someone else to ask the obvious but necessary question.

Lena sat backwards in a chair, her arms and chin resting on the seat's back. Her eyes glanced around the room at the group that had successfully stirred up some tension between Venture and Brallaugh. She wondered how the noblelady felt about the attack on her former best friend's family. A quick look at Dorlin made the Mistborn curious if Voïra had mentioned Lena's visit to her Terrisman. The red-head's gaze finally rested excitedly on Epps and Get in anticipation of their big announcement.

Hyde leaned up against a wall noting Epps pacing as well as Get's solemnity. His own demeanor revealed his relaxed posture and trademark smile. He cast a glance at the other members who had filed into the room as he said, "You summoned me and it looks as though everyone else is here. My curiosity is piqued. This new revelation must be quite something."

He walks forwards into Epps path as he says, "You're wearing a hole in the ground kid."

Hyde then turns to Get and says as though asking about the weather, "What has changed?"

Get has a hungry look in his eye. He steps forward, confident and eager.

"I've still got a few friends in the Venture house staff. Apparently, Abelond is going to be leaving the city for a few days to tour the plantations. While he's gone, young Lord Timmond will be left in charge. Normally this wouldn't change much, but..."

He looks to Voira in particular, gauging her reaction.

"It seems our young lord feels he has a debt to pay to his new lady love, and is making arrangements to take a daytrip down the canal to one of the rural estates. Leaving them vulnerable and away from House Venture's main guard force."

Now he meets everyone's eye, one by one.

"We have a chance to take out not just the heir to Venture, but to Brallaugh in one swoop!"

Epps does his best to hide his discomfort, but is largely unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he remains silent for now.

A silence fell upon the group, and one or two shifted uncomfortably. This night was a fair bit warmer than they had been in the past, and the humidity brought on by the mist only made it more unbearable. The Terrisman shifted, tugging at his cloak distractedly before pulling it off entirely. Folding it carefully and hanging it over his arm to join his Lady's cloak, his mouth stretched thin in contemplation, he nodded.

"It is brazen and bold, but the greater the risk, the greater the reward. I only have one concern. The point of preventing Brallaugh from getting poisoned was to create tension between that house and Venture, correct? Then why, Master Get, would we potentially undermine that by causing both Houses to suffer loss in the same instance?"

Hyde clears his throat after a quick moment of mental calculation and says to Get, "I take it that when you-a former soldier, say "take out" you mean kill, correct? Please, correct me if I'm wrong."

Hyde then turns to face Epps as he says, "I was under the impression you wanted a bloodless change of power. Has your stance on that changed as well?"

Lena narrowed her eyes curiously as Get spoke and Epps stood by nervously, but she didn't say anything just yet, as Hyde had already asked the two questions that were on her mind.

Get is about to reply, but Epps cuts in before he has the chance.

"I most certainly am not alright with this! Killing not one, but two House heirs? It's a recipe for disaster! Nothing would bring unwanted attention our way faster! We're too weak; we can't hope to win a war..."

Get interrupts now, looking annoyed.

"You can't make a change on this scale without shedding some blood! If we strike now we can show that we mean business and put our enemies off balance before they can strike back!"

He turns to address Hyde, face flushed.

"Yes. I say we kill them. It's too good of an opportunity to pass on. If we're smart about it there's no way they can trace it back to us. We won't get another opportunity like this. Things are going to start escalating, and that means more guards and fewer chances to strike them where it really hurts."

Epps looks around at the group, eyes pleading.

"Please understand, this just doesn't feel right! We have a chance to do something good here, but if we are the first to slit throats it will undo everything!"

Lena looks between the two men, visibly upset at the blatant disagreement between the two. She stands up but makes no move toward either one.

"Get, this is ridiculous! All we've done up to this point is mildly poison a few people with some fertilizer! Assassinating not one, but two very important nobles is insane! At that point they'll know Brallaugh wasn't behind it and our people, Epps, are going to take the fall for it!"

Lena's face burns red at this point, hoping to talk the group out of taking this on, though she knows Get would do it himself in a heartbeat if he could...

Hyde furrows his brow as he acknowledges Get with a nod but then says to Epps bluntly, "If killing isn't part of your plan, then what is your plan? You both seem to know about things that haven't happened yet. According to Get things will escalate regardless of whether or not he strikes now, so that begs the question...what exactly do you have in mind? The cloak and dagger game with you two was cute but if you want my help and you wish to avoid bloodshed, Epps, I want to know what better options you are bringing to the table. Specifics."

Amid the angry and cacophonous voices, Dorlin raised a hand, gesturing for silence. Once it had fallen, he tilted his head and spoke, turning first to the balding skaa.

"Peace. Master Epps, I'm afraid you have misjudged both the consequences of and the necessary means by which your idea is to be accomplished. Understand me: it is a worthy goal. But the trite saying remains oft said for a reason: 'you cannot make an omelet without breaking a few eggs'.

"However," the Terrisman turned to look at the former bodyguard. His voice was even, calm, deep. "Neither do I think that level heads prevail in this plan. As has been discussed, our stated goal was to manipulate Venture and Brallaugh against each other. If the two heirs are known to be together, and both are compromised, you will undermine the work we have already done, for they will recognize that there is a common enemy and will band together, making them potentially all the stronger for it."

Turning to Lena, he bowed his head in slight respect and indicated him with his freehand.

"This woman has the right idea, I think: to attack both Houses would draw attention, if not to us directly, than certainly away from their inter-House conflict. But Master Hyde has a point as well: if not death, what, Master Epps? The Houses are attempting reconciliation, if your information is correct, and as they move, we must move in some way opposite them."

Lena looked shocked in response to the Terrisman's respect toward her and her words, but she remained silent, eager to hear how Get and Epps would respond. She was an idealist like Epps and she wanted to believe that change could occur without bloodshed, but she was slowly being convinced that it was inevitable and that, as a Mistborn, much of the blood shedding would likely fall on her shoulders as Broulliar had suggested when they first met.

Epps seems somewhat molified, though he gives Get a bit of a glare before addressing Dorlin.

"Murder was never part of my plans. If they're moving to reconcile, we must move to counter them as you say. I hadn't planned on revealing it just yet, but..."

He gives Get another glare, then sighs.

"We have a secret plantation. We call it Sanctuary. Only I know where it is located. Why is this such a big secret? It's completely run by Skaa. Using our own knowlege of planting and harvest, and setting our own work schedules, we're able to produce twenty percent more food per acre than any Noble plantation. There's only a hundred or so Skaa there now, but we have plans to grow and expand."

Get seems surprised at the revelation, but keeps silent as Epps goes on.

"That's my plan. Let Sanctuary get a foothold, establish it as a solid idea to build on, then reveal it to the local Nobles. But Venture cannot be in a position of strength if this is to work! They must be desperate for a new advantage; willing to try something crazy. Failing that, we need someone equally desperate."

Get considers for a moment, but shakes his head.

"That's a nice idea, but it'll never work. The Ministry would never allow it. Venture would never go for it either. We're far better off removing them as a factor."

Sind crept from her quiet corner, her voice a weak sooty croak, gradually increasing in strength as she spoke. "Spare Noble lives, reveal Sanctuary as benign, helpful even?"

"Idealism commendable." Brown eyes clouded with unkempt hair seemed to both laugh and plead with Epps even as a cracked smile split its face. "Not enough to keep heads on shoulders or nerve cords intact. Sanctuary obvious threat to Noble rule. Houses fear freedom."

"Get is right, unless... he is not." The small girl gave the rebel leaders a searching look. "An unsaid reason, perhaps force Nobles to accept Sanctuary?" Mismatched eyes lit up. "Blackmail? Is it blackmail?"

Hyde chuckles as he gazes at Epps inquisitively and says, "You came up with this all by yourself?"

He leans back on the wall and says with a sigh, "Your entire end plan is based on the idea that you can find a desperate noble house willing to let their slaves run things. Supposing you could pull off that minor Miracle, In order for your plan to work you will have to convince that Noble house that despite your sneaking around behind their backs, stockpiling illegal goods, using their own workforce against them, and your active involvement in a host of other crimes against the rest of the noble families...that you intend to play fair with them. You want to run a long con based entirely on deception and misdirection but then turn around and make friends?"

Hyde shakes his head, "If that's really your play, then I'm out. I'm a good con man, but nobody's that good. People don't like to be played or lied to-doubly so for Nobles. This is a bad gamble. An angered noble is dangerous, a desperate noble is twice as bad. I'm not entirely sold on Get's plan either, but Epps, your vision of the future is destined for failure and I am not going to have the blood of all the people under your crazed dream on my hands-because that's what your plan ends with; wholesale slaughter of all involved."

Lena stands up, glares at Hyde, and shakes her head.

"We don't need the nobles to play friendly with us. We need them in such a desperate state that they won't survive without a twenty-percent increase in plantation production. That means we have to ruin every one of their other means of financial gain, so that their entire livelihood depends on what the plantation can bring in."

Lena nods toward Voïra. "If House Elariel has someone willing to help and interested in the Skaa, who's to say we might not be able to find someone like that in House Venture? Someone who could plant the idea without pointing it back to us."

Lena shrugs. "Sure, it's a dangerous plan, but I like it! It's different and it involves stealing something I've never stolen before: financial stability."

The Mistborn send an encouraging smile Epps' way then waits for the response of the nobles and the Terrisman.

Epps sighs, looking suddenly tired.

"The real problem is leverage, as you say. Not only must they be desperate, but we need something to hold over them and keep them in check. And on that front our efforts have yielded nothing."

Get laughs mirthlessly.

"Because venture are too good at keeping their secrets. It's a lost cause."

Hyde tilts his head and says with a slight grin, "Truth is what we make it. If you can't find anything to serve your ends-create it."

He looks to Get, "Lord Timmond alive, is more useful than him dead. Were his lady companion and house rival to simply disappear with him being the last to be seen with her however...it would be quite the scandal. With enough pressure and time, being able to clear his name would be enough leverage to gain his assistance."