Shallan’s Sketchbook: Cryptics

Kaladin works as a surgeon in Hearthstone while the rest of his companions depart for Azir. Teft arrives unexpectedly, claiming he must step down from duty due to mental strain and a cough, and insists on staying behind to assist Kaladin rather than join the military campaign.

Kaladin tends to patients in a medical clinic, including a young boy with an injured ankle and Mil, an older resident with chronic headaches. He reflects on how this work—different from his taxing duties as a Windrunner—leaves him less emotionally drained, though he acknowledges feeling "not sad" rather than truly happy. Syl has learned to read in the past week and attempts to assist him by flipping pages in medical texts. Kaladin watches from a balcony as Windrunners and troops depart through the Oathgate for the campaign in Azir, including all his former Bridge Four companions, leaving him feeling isolated despite his family's presence. Later, while treating a refugee woman searching for her uncle, Kaladin hears Teft's voice in the waiting room. Teft has stepped down from duty on Dalinar's orders, citing mental strain, battle fatigue, and a persistent cough. Despite Kaladin's objections and attempts to order him back to service, Teft refuses to leave, claiming he will not let Kaladin face his new path alone. Kaladin eventually accepts Teft's decision and asks him to help locate the refugee's uncle, finding unexpected warmth in the fact that not everyone has departed.