Page 267 of The Well of Ascension

The messenger nodded and took off, scrambling down the steps toward his horse. Sazed cringed as a rock hit the wall just above him. Chips flipped over the merlon, scattering to the battlement in front of him.By the Forgotten Gods…Sazed thought, wringing his hands.What am I doing here?

He saw motion on the wall beside him, and turned as the youthful soldier captain—Captain Bedes—moved up to him, careful to keep his head down. Tall, with thick hair that grew down around his eyes, he was spindly even beneath his armor. The young man looked like he should have been dancing at balls, not leading soldiers in battle.

“What did the messenger say?” Bedes asked nervously.

“Zinc Gate has fallen, my lord,” Sazed replied.

The young captain paled. “What…what should we do?”

“Why ask me, my lord?” Sazed asked. “You are in command.”

“Please,” the man said, grabbing Sazed’s arm. “I don’t…I…”

“My lord,” Sazed said sternly, forcing down his own nervousness. “You are a nobleman, are you not?”

“Yes…”

“Then you are accustomed to giving orders,” Sazed said. “Give them now.”

“Which orders?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sazed said. “Let the men see that you are in charge.”

The young man wavered, then yelped and ducked as a rock took one of the nearby archers in the shoulder, throwing him back into the courtyard. The men below scrambled out of the way of the corpse, and Sazed noticed something odd. A group of people had gathered at the back of the courtyard. Civilians—skaa—in ash-stained clothing.

“What are they doing here?” Sazed asked. “They should be hiding, not standing here to tempt the koloss once the creatures break through!”

“Oncethey break through?” Captain Bedes asked.

Sazed ignored the man. Civilians he could deal with. He was accustomed to being in charge of a nobleman’s servants.

“I will go speak to them,” Sazed said.

“Yes…” Bedes said. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Sazed made his way down the steps, which were growing slick and wet with ashen slush, then approached the group of people. There were even more of them than he had assumed; they extended back into the street a short distance. The hundred or so people stood huddled together, watching the gates through the falling snow, looking cold, and Sazed felt a little guilty for his brassmind’s warmth.

Several of the people bowed their heads as Sazed approached.

“Why are you here?” Sazed asked. “Please, you must seek shelter. If your homes are near the courtyard, then go hide near the middle of the city. The koloss are likely to begin pillaging as soon as they finish with the army, so the edges of the city are more dangerous.”

None of the people moved.

“Please!” Sazed said. “Youmustgo. If you stay, you will die!”

“We are not here to die, Holy First Witness,” said an elderly man at the front. “We are here to watch the koloss fall.”

“Fall?” Sazed asked.

“The Lady Heir will protect us,” said another woman.

“The Lady Heir has left the city!” Sazed said.

“Then we will watch you, Holy First Witness,” the man said, leaning with one hand on a young boy’s shoulder.

“Holy First Witness?” Sazed said. “Why call me this name?”

“You are the one who brought news of the Lord Ruler’s death,” the man said. “You gave the Lady Heir the spear she used to slay our lord. You were the witness to her actions.”

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