After Ham and Vin learn from the Luthadel Garrison that a skaa rebel army has openly attacked the Holstep Garrison, Kelsier immediately mobilizes the crew. Breeze is sent to warn vulnerable hideouts, Dockson is put in charge of the shop, Ham is ordered to return to the Garrison as an informant, and Sazed cannot help because he has too little stored speed.

Vin insists on accompanying Kelsier. Kelsier gives Vin extra pewter and leads her out of Luthadel in daylight, using Allomancy openly to clear the city wall. Instead of taking a boat, Kelsier begins an extreme pewter-enhanced run toward Holstep, forcing Vin through a brutal all-night and morning journey that teaches her the cost of “pewter dragging.”

Kelsier and Vin arrive too late to save the rebel army. From a hilltop, they see imperial troops from Valtroux slaughtering the remaining skaa soldiers even as some attempt to surrender. Kelsier nearly charges into the battle, but Vin stops Kelsier by reminding him that he is not invincible and cannot save men who cannot escape.

Vin redirects Kelsier toward the rebel caves in the hope that some soldiers stayed behind. The caves seem empty at first, but Vin spots a hidden light, and they find Captain Demoux guarding about two thousand surviving rebels. Demoux explains that these men refused to follow General Yeden’s reckless attack because they thought loyalty to Kelsier meant resisting Yeden’s decision.

That night, after leading the survivors away from the caves, Kelsier confronts the scale of the disaster. He learns that Yeden and most of the army are dead, and Kelsier blames himself for inspiring Yeden and the soldiers with impossible confidence. Mennis, an old skaa from Tresting’s plantation, tells Kelsier that the army’s destruction is still the greatest skaa victory in ages because it killed a full garrison’s worth of soldiers.

Mennis advises Kelsier to quit while he still can, but the old man’s resignation only hardens Kelsier’s resolve. Kelsier recognizes that the skaa have been conditioned to see defeat as victory, and he decides he will show them a true victory instead. Despite grief and failure, Kelsier refuses to abandon the rebellion.