Adolin visits leatherworkers Avaran and Yis to inspect the torn girth from Elhokar’s saddle. Both judge the slice consistent with an accidental buckle pinch, not deliberate sabotage. Horns announce a nearby chrysalis, but no call to arms comes from Dalinar. Janala, frustrated with Adolin’s inattention and the drab Kholin Codes, is dragged along as he pursues other concerns.

On the slopes below the king’s palace, Dalinar watches Sadeas mobilize and chooses not to contest the plateau. With Teshav, he reviews inconclusive findings on the girth, delinquent Soulcasting payments by several highprinces, and rising banditry. Dalinar orders reduced Soulcasting costs for those current on debts and commits another battalion to lawkeeping patrols, despite thinning his forces. He then reassures a dejected Renarin and vows that the next captured Blade and Plate will be his, trusting Shards to offset Renarin’s weakness.

Adolin meets Ardent Kadash at the Kholin temple; Janala departs in irritation. Adolin asks if Dalinar is mad or truly seeing visions. Kadash recounts the Hierocracy’s abuses and Vorinism’s rejection of prophecy, suggesting Dalinar’s visions likely spring from war-haunted memories, yet emphasizing that any help must come from Adolin.

Dalinar and Renarin confer with Elhokar on the balcony. Dalinar questions the war’s drift and proposes unity through a resurrected specialization: naming Dalinar Highprince of War to coordinate the princedoms. Elhokar bristles at hints of retreat, worries about assassination, and criticizes Dalinar’s storms and the book he studies. They compromise: if Dalinar can prove the other highprinces will cooperate, Elhokar will consider the appointment.

Riding back, Dalinar and Renarin face an unpredicted highstorm. They race into the Kholin camp but cannot reach Dalinar’s quarters in time. Choosing a barrack over the stables, they take shelter among startled soldiers and servants. The stormwall slams into the camp; as the tempest begins, another of Dalinar’s episodes is imminent.