The Way of Kings: Chapter 23

Progression of the Chapter:
Bridge Four is on rock duty, finding stones to Soulcast into food. Kaladin has Rock and Teft searching for knobweed, from which to extract its antiseptic sap. Rock, who can inexplicably see Syl, finds knobweed quickly while guided by her. Kaladin ties bundles of the reed to the bottom of the cart to conceal them. Syl comes to him excitedly, telling him that she led Rock to a pile of dung as a joke. He makes small talk with the bridgecrew, trying to soften their attitude towards him, with little success. Kaladin realizes that even though he has saved lives in Bridge Four, no one will follow his leadership unless he finds a way to make their lives worth living.
Later, Kaladin, Rock, and Teft sneak into the wagonyard to retrieve the knobweed. Relieved that it’s still there and not too dried out, they head to the place where Syl found chipped, discarded liquor bottles to use for the knobweed sap. They then head to the Honor Chasm to squeeze the sap into the bottles.
While working, they talk. Teft asks Kaladin why he tries to lead the bridgecrew. Kaladin says that the responsibilities of the bridgeleader are his to decide. Kaladin asks Rock how he came to be a bridgeman. Rock tells him that his leader, or nuatoma, dueled Highprince Sadeas to try to win Shardplate. When he lost, Rock, his cousin and servant, became bound to Sadeas. He was a cook, until he snuck chull dung into Sadeas’s food, which caused his fall to bridgeman status. Teft asks Kaladin for his story explaining why he is a bridgeman. Kaladin says that he killed a man, though it wasn’t murder and he was thanked by someone important. He cryptically says that he is a bridgeman because a lighteyes did not take it well when he turned down a gift.
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