The Way of Kings: Chapter 53

Bridge Four is out on a bridge run and it is a messy one. The Parshendi continue to sing as they shoot at the bridge teams. An arrow scrapes Kaladin’s face, cutting it. Bridge Twenty falls to the Parshendi arrow onslaught, causing the men behind them to trip over their injured and dead bodies. As the Parshendi directly across from Kaladin aim at his crew, he screams and feels "a strange surge of strength as the arrows were loosed." Ten arrows strike the bridge near Kaladin’s head, yet none hit him or his men. The Parshendi archers look dumbstruck and lower their bows as they stare at Kaladin.
Bridge Four makes it to the edge of the plateau and lower their bridge. The Parshendi take up their bows again, but even as they fire, Bridge Four slide their burden into place. The men of Bridge Four move nimbly and erratically like a trained soldier should. Kaladin hopes their training doesn’t show too much lest it bring down Gaz or some lighteyes' wrath upon them.
Kaladin spots Dunny on the far side of the bridge with an Alethi arrow in his shoulder. Soon a second Parshendi arrow hits Dunny and he falls over, bleeding profusely. Kaladin makes to run out to the fallen bridgemen, but is pulled back by Moash. Sadeas's cavalry overruns the bridge, trampling Dunny. Moash holds Kaladin down and apologizes, saying there was nothing he could have done to save Dunny. Even though Kaladin knows Moash is right, he blames himself for the young man’s death.
Kaladin walks to the edge of the chasm to watch the battle unfold as his men gather around him. Kaladin tries to pay attention to the battle, but he can’t concentrate and walks away. His men follow him over to where Bridge Eight is recuperating from the bridge run.
A member of Bridge Eight with a arrow through his leg crawls toward Kaladin’s group. Kaladin orders his men to start a fire and get the medical supplies to tend to the wound. Rock and some of the other men question why they should help a member of another bridge team; the other groups have never been nice to them and their own supplies are running low. Kaladin explains they must be better than the so-called "noble" lighteyes, and that the only man who truly had honor would help anyone, even those he hated. He then orders his men to work.
Kaladin removes the shaft from the man’s leg and sets about fixing it up. He tells the bridgeman they will carry him back to camp, which causes the man to cry and thank Kaladin. Rock and Moash bring over another wounded man whom Kaladin then tends to.
Teft worries about how many men they can bring back like this. For every answer Kaladin gives, Teft has another objection. Teft is silent for a moment before saying, "Kelek's breath. It’s true. I never thought ... ". He asks if Kaladin is still carrying a pouch of spheres. Kaladin assumes there was something wrong with the spheres, as they seem to lose their energy quickly, and thinks it may have happened due to something out on the Shattered Plains. Teft points out they didn’t lose any men on the approach. Kaladin objects, given Dunny’s death, but Teft qualifies that Dunny died after the run.
Rock and his men bring three more injured men to Kaladin. One is too badly injured to save, but the others he fixes up as best he can. Kaladin then checks his own injury only to find that there is no wound under the blood on his face.
Moash approaches Kaladin and begins to speak, "About Dunny ... ". Kaladin interrupts and tells Moash that he was right to hold Kaladin back, especially as he had probably saved his life. Moash extends his hand to Kaladin, adding, "You’re a fool and an instigator. But you’re an honest one [...] If you get us killed, it won’t be on purpose."
- by Michael Pye
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