26. The Feather

Adolin leads a strike force to support a plateau run, where he and fellow Shardbearer Jakamav climb a cliff face to reach the top tier. They discover the chrysalis has already been opened and the gemheart stolen by a female Parshendi Shardbearer who reveals she knew Dalinar long ago and wishes to contact him. Meanwhile, Renarin freezes during combat, and Adolin experiences social rejection when Jakamav distances himself due to unpopularity of Dalinar's faction.

Adolin arrives with a small strike force to help Highprince Roion and Ruthar on a plateau run, discovering Jakamav surrounded on the second tier. Together they fight through Parshendi lines and attempt to scale the cliff to the top tier using Adolin's Shardblade as a foothold. Upon reaching the summit, they find the chrysalis already opened and the gemheart gone. A tall female Parshendi Shardbearer in silver, carapace-like armor addresses Adolin in accented Alethi, revealing she once met Dalinar and now wishes to contact him. After handing the gemheart to a fleeing soldier, she leaps across the massive chasm split down the center of the hill to escape. The plateau is left in Alethi hands but without the gemheart to claim victory. Later, Adolin discovers Renarin had frozen during combat when attempting to help defend a bridge, which Renarin attributes to cowardice rather than his ailment. When Adolin seeks camaraderie with Jakamav at the pavilion, Jakamav coldly refuses, citing that association with Adolin and Dalinar damages his reputation. Adolin returns to his troops dejected. During the ride back, Renarin cryptically warns that something is coming and references the mysterious scratched numbers—forty-nine days—found on a wall near Dalinar's chamber, suggesting an imminent threat.