8. Surrender
Contains spoilersOverview
Kaladin reaches Hearthstone’s cellar as Moash murders Roshone, then psychologically crushes Kaladin until a brilliant light at the doorway drives Moash to flee; Renarin aids Kaladin as the Fused retreat. Meanwhile, Shallan deciphers Ialai’s “rarest vintage” clue and uncovers a hidden notebook, deepening suspicion of a Ghostblood mole.
The chapter heightens Kaladin’s vulnerability and advances Shallan’s investigation with a crucial, covert find.
Summary
Kaladin pushes through Hearthstone’s burning manor, wary after experiencing power-suppression fabrials. He lashes across a collapsing kitchen and enters the stormcellar tunnel, finding two chained prisoners already dead—one, Jeber, with Shardblade-burned eyes. In an alcove, Moash holds Roshone and wordlessly slits his throat before returning his knife and saying he surrenders.
Elsewhere, Shallan forces herself to face Ialai’s corpse and audits the room with Red, Gaz, and Pattern. Following Ialai’s hint about a rare vintage, she samples wines; Adolin identifies one as Shin. Using that clue, Shallan and Pattern study worn stones bearing repeating tens and old-kingdom maps. They locate a loose block marked for Shinovar and extract a hidden notebook, which Shallan conceals before the team withdraws with gathered letters.
Back in the cellar, Kaladin confronts Moash but hesitates, torn by their shared past and his oath to protect Bridge Four. Low on Stormlight and fraying, Kaladin is assaulted by Moash’s rhetoric about inevitable loss and the “only” escape. Kaladin’s spear falls as numbness swallows him and Syl’s pleas fade.
A brilliant, clean light erupts from the doorway. Moash recoils; a vision of a different Moash—confident, protecting others with a Shardspear—flares, and the real Moash screams to “take my pain,” draws the Blade of the Assassin in White, and flees past the light.
The light fades and Renarin rushes in, lifting Kaladin and reporting the Fused have retreated and the ship is ready. Kaladin, shaken but alive, allows Renarin to help him out.
Who Appears
- Kaladin Stormblessed
Windrunner; fights through a burning manor, witnesses Roshone’s murder, nearly succumbs to despair, then is helped by Renarin.
- Moash
Former Bridge Four; murders Roshone, surrenders, psychologically assaults Kaladin, then flees wielding the Assassin in White’s Blade.
- Shallan Davar
Lightweaver; investigates Ialai’s rooms, deciphers a Shin wine clue, and retrieves a hidden notebook.
- Renarin Kholin
Arrives as brilliant light fills the doorway, steadies Kaladin, and announces the Fused retreat and evacuation.
- Sylphrena (Syl)
Kaladin’s honorspren; notes suppression fabrial effects, warns him, urges retreat, and cries out as Moash breaks him.
- Pattern
Cryptic spren; detects repeating tenfold stones and helps Shallan locate a hidden cache.
- Adolin Kholin
Keeps watch, tastes the wine to identify it as Shin, urges withdrawal, and coordinates departure.
- Gaz
Shallan’s agent; searches Ialai’s rooms and gathers letters from a cramped bedchamber.
- Red
Shallan’s agent; searches, banters, and assists Gaz during the sweep.
- Brightlord Roshone
Former citylord; held hostage by Moash and killed with a throat cut in the cellar.
- Ialai Sadeas
Recently murdered; her talk of a rare vintage guides Shallan to a hidden notebook.
- Jeber
Hearthstone villager; found dead in chains, eyes burned out by a Shardblade.