Mistborn Trilogy - Brandon Sanderson [356]
It did not creak. It slid slowly, but evenly, inward, exposing a long, dark hallway.
Sazed released his pewtermind, reverting to his normal self. Marsh strode into the Conventical, his feet kicking up the mist that had begun to pour through the open doorway.
“Marsh?” Sazed asked.
The Inquisitor turned.
“I won’t be able to see inside there.”
“Your Feruchemy…”
Sazed shook his head. “It can let me see better in darkness, but only if there’s some light to begin with. In addition, tapping that much sight would drain my tinmind in a matter of minutes. I’ll need a lantern.”
Marsh paused, then nodded. He turned into the darkness, quickly disappearing from Sazed’s view.
So, Sazed thought, Inquisitors don’t need light to see. It was to be expected: the spikes filled Marsh’s entire sockets, completely destroying the eyeballs. Whatever strange power allowed Inquisitors to see, it apparently worked just as well in pure darkness as it did in daylight.
Marsh returned a few moments later, carrying a lamp. From the chains Sazed had seen on the descent cage, Sazed suspected that the Inquisitors had kept a sizable group of slaves and servants to attend their needs. If that was the case, where had the people gone? Had they fled?
Sazed lit the lamp with a flint from his pack. The lamp’s ghostly light illuminated a stark, daunting hallway. He stepped into the Conventical, holding the lamp high, and began to fill the small copper ring on his finger, the process transforming it into a coppermind.
“Large rooms,” he whispered, “without adornment.” He didn’t really need to say the words, but he’d found that speaking helped him form distinct memories. He could then place them into the coppermind.
“The Inquisitors, obviously, had a fondness for steel,” he continued. “This is not surprising, considering that their religion was often referred to as the Steel Ministry. The walls are hung with massive steel plates, which bear no rust, unlike the ones outside. Many of those here are not completely smooth, but instead crafted with some interesting patterns etched…almost buffed…into their surfaces.”
Marsh frowned, turning toward him. “What are you doing?”
Sazed held up his right hand, showing the copper ring. “I must make an account of this visit. I will need to repeat this experience back to other Keepers when the opportunity presents itself. There is much to be learned from this place, I think.”
Marsh turned away. “You should not care about the Inquisitors. They are not worthy of your record.”
“It isn’t a matter of worthiness, Marsh,” Sazed said, holding up his lamp to study a square pillar. “Knowledge of all religions is valuable. I must make certain these things persist.”
Sazed regarded the pillar for a moment, then closed his eyes and formed an image of it inside his head, which he then added to the coppermind. Visual memories, however, were less useful than spoken words. Visualizations faded very quickly once taken out of a coppermind, suffering from the mind’s distortion. Plus, they could not be passed to other Keepers.
Marsh didn’t respond to Sazed’s comment about religion; he just turned and walked deeper into the building. Sazed followed at a slower pace, speaking to himself, recording the words in his coppermind. It was an interesting experience. As soon as he spoke, he felt the thoughts sucked from his mind, leaving behind a blank hollowness. He had difficulty remembering the specifics of what he had just been saying. However, once he was done filling his coppermind, he would be able to tap those memories later and know them with crisp clarity.
“The room is tall,” he said. “There are a few pillars, and they are also wrapped in steel. They are blocky and square, rather than round. I get a sense that this place was created by a people who cared