"I think they intended for the thing in the lake to handle me," Lily shook her head disdainfully, at the thought, still unsure why it had even let her go at all. She would remember the grip it had on her for a long, long time.

That her arrival had broken his suggested pattern wasn't lost on her and she intended to mull it over, already wondering what might have caused things to change in Unhalad's absolutely terrible recruitment strategy. "Do you think it's a showing of desperation? Has anyone gotten the upper hand enough to drive him to simply pluck people out of train stations?"

Analyzing the situation was the first step towards taking control of it, and more than anything Lily wanted to know what was going on. "The trials? She said they were Anurr's people in the forest, proving their wit and strength and the like. I didn't want to risk them recognizing me and trying to force me back into the lake, so I left quickly after she told me where to find this place, though if it's safe I'd return."