Lilly wasn't where she was supposed to be. The light breeze of fresh air and birds incessant chirping forced her eyes open. Her body protested the movement with various aches and a mountain of fatigue pressing her back down. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to her surroundings. She scrambled to her feet when she saw the sea of trees encircling her and cast a hasty revealing spell. Nothing appeared to be an illusion. How had she gotten there? What happened last night? She'd gone to the Physical Cottage for a post-exam party, and the last thing she remembered was Eliot mixing her a Bloody Mary.

"Oh, what a lovely sight this is," Lilly whipped her head around to find Eliot sat at a round table, dressed head to toe in finery. The table held lit candles and fancy finger food, a crystal chandelier floated above him, "yes, Thumper, I did indeed roofie you. I'll save you the trouble of figuring out that you can't do magic here," Lilly stared at him, baffled. He picked up a mirror, inspecting his perfectly styled hair and porcelain skin, "my skin is looking rather parched, don't you think?"

"Get to the point, El," she was certain this was the second trial and just wanted to get it over with.

"Oh, you're no fun," he pouted and reached into his pocket to retrieve a list written in sweeping calligraphy, "I require a certain set of ingredients to make my favorite moisturizer, all of which can be found in this forest," with a flourish of his wrist, a burlap sack appeared at her feet, "this is to help you gather them."

"Why can't you just get it yourself?" Lilly crossed her arms defiantly.

"Why do yourself what you can make others do for you? Have Margo and I taught you nothing?" Lilly rolled her eyes but took the list from his hands and scanned the ingredients.

"Tiger Salamander saliva, Dorming leaf, Eris Crystal? This is ridiculous! I don't even know what any of this is! How the hell am I supposed to get salamander saliva?" She whipped her head back towards Eliot, but he had disappeared, "Eliot!" She was screwed. With a groan, she examined the contents of the bag. It was empty, save for an unfilled vial, and a pair of thick work gloves. Lilly threw the strap over her shoulder and set off in pursuit of Eliot's stupid moisturizer.

She turned over every rock, hoping to find the crystal and ran after every lizard that crossed her path to no avail. She did manage to locate one of the plants the recipe called for, remembering it from her potions class. She wondered how long they had to finish the task. There was no hourglass to tell her, and she had no idea how long she'd been at this for. Kady ran past her earlier, chasing hysterically after something with a net clutched in her hand. Lilly saw the crazed look in her eye and knew that she wasn't having it any easier.

Lilly's eyes detected a bit of movement by the bushes to her right. A triumphant smile graced her lips as she assessed the little salamander scurrying across the pine needles. Its markings were different from the ones she chased previously, this one striped like a tiger. This was what she was searching for. She crept over to the little creature, careful not to startle it with any sudden movements. It didn't seem to notice, blissfully ignorant of its hunter. Lilly crouched about two feet from its position, gradually inching her hand closer. She lunged for it, trying to capture it between her hands. The little creature zipped out from under her and ran for the cover of the bushes. Lilly threw herself after it, trying, again and again, to grab it before it disappeared. The little devil effortlessly dodged her and escaped with minimal effort.

"Agh!" Lilly screeched in frustration, pulling herself up from the ground. Her clothes were now caked in mud, and she was no closer to finding the ingredients. "Fuck you, Eliot, and fuck your damn moisturizer!" She cursed the sky, knowing that somewhere, he was watching her fail miserably, a cocktail in hand and a sardonic grin.

Behind her, someone chuckled deeply. Lilly whirled, expecting to find Eliot there to taunt her some more. To her surprise, it was Penny, Kady, and Alice on either side of him. He clutched an ax in his right hand, Alice, a rope.

"Who knew you had such a potty mouth, Barbie?" He laughed, the others were amused as well. Lilly was sure she looked like a complete wreck.

"I am not in the mood right now."

"Come on," Penny tilted his head in an invitation, "we're getting everyone together. I think we might be able to help each other. Unless, you'd rather crawl around in the dirt some more," Lilly sighed, grabbed her bag and trudged up the hill to join them.

"Dani's over by the lake," Kady informed, "I passed her a little while ago." They all headed off to gather the rest of their companions, stopping once they reached the glittering lake. Dani trudged out of the water, fully clothed and completely soaked, a headlamp strapped to her forehead. Her expression could only be described as homicidal.

"What the hell is your task?" Lilly inquired, helping her friend out of the water.

"Margo threw her bracelet in the water," she grumbled, "then decided she wanted it back. I've been diving in trying to find it, but I can't get down far enough." She was out of breath, probably from the copious amount of dives. Penny convinced her to come along too, and then they were off to find Quentin. He stood ankle-deep in a small stream, aiming a bow and arrow awkwardly towards the water.

"Yo!" Penny shouted, just as Quentin loosed the arrow. It splashed harmlessly into the water and started to drift lazily down the stream.

"Seriously, dude? I almost had him!" Quentin complained, though he obviously was nowhere near catching the fish.

"We'll get him, son," Penny teased, gesturing for him to get out of the water and join them. They each threw their items on the ground as Penny explained his theory. "It's not about magic, it's about talking to each other," everyone listened intently, Quentin looked a little confused, "alright, you got that," he gestured towards Kady's net, "but I grew up in Florida, so I actually know how to use it to get your fish, but I'm after a horse." Lilly was secretly impressed that Penny was the one to figure it out. The thought hadn't once crossed her mind. To everyone's surprise, Quentin reached down to grab the rope and slung it expertly over his shoulder, "seriously?"

"What? Junior cowboy camp." Lilly hid her smile from Quentin, of course, he went to junior cowboy camp.

"Pheasant," Kady listed, and Alice picked up the bow.

"Tree," Alice fired back, and Kady claimed the ax. Lilly and Danny exchanged looks, they were the only ones left.

"Okay, what've you got for me?" Dani asked her friend, eyeing the bag and the list clutched in her hand.

"Eliot gave me a list of ingredients for some moisturizer, but I haven't seen any crystals, and you need to get salamander saliva," Dani took Lilly's items, scanning the list of ingredients with a laugh.

"An Eris Crystal isn't actually a crystal, it's a type of flower, and all you have to do to get a Tiger Salamander's saliva is press a spot on their stomach."

"And that is why you're doing it and not me," Lilly picked up the headlamp, the only remaining task and one she knew she could complete. The others looked doubtful, "I was captain of the swim team in high school, don't look so surprised."

"Okay, complete your task and meet back here when you're done," Penny ordered, earning nods from each of them. Dani went to the edge of the lake with Lilly and pointed to the general area where the bracelet disappeared before heading off to complete her own task. Lilly stripped off her jeans and tank top, leaving her in her sports bra and underwear. A shiver ran up her spine from the chilled water as she waded into the lake. With the headlamp strapped securely around her forehead, she dove in and paddled to the area Dani had indicated. Lilly ducked beneath the water, surveying the depth. It couldn't have been more than fifteen feet down. The problem wouldn't be the depth, it would be finding the bracelet itself.

Lilly took a deep breath and dove into the depths of the lake. She resisted the urge to scream at the tickle of seaweed on her bare legs. Her eyes searched for any sort of glimmer in the sand as she skimmed the bottom. A school of odd fish swam away from the light of her lamp. Though Lilly could hold her breath longer than most, she still had to return to the surface empty-handed for more air.

Two dives later, she still hadn't found it, there were a few false alarms though. She'd seen a glint of something metal in the sand, only to realize it was an empty beer can. Lilly pawed through the sediment, her blonde hair floating around her in a golden halo. Her body skimmed the floor of the lake as she hunted, her eyes darted towards the only area around her that she hadn't yet searched, the seaweed patch. She really didn't want to go in there.

The dark green plants climbed towards the sunlight streaming through. The patch was dense, and she had no idea what could be hiding in there. She tried not to think about it when she returned to the surface for hopefully one last break before entering the inky depths. Lilly tried not to panic as the slimy plants surrounded her. She pushed through the dense overgrowth, searching between for any sign of the bracelet. A dark, black scaly creature passed by to her right. She only caught the tail between the seaweed, but it was much larger than any normal fish should be, and she could have sworn she saw hair. She was frantic now, the burn in her lungs warning that time was running out. Lilly was just about to push off the sand to return to the surface when a slight sparkle glimmered up ahead. Her lungs screamed, but she knew if she left now, she might not find it again. She kicked her powerful legs and shot towards the object.

It was wedged between two rocks and covered mostly by sand, but it was unmistakably the bracelet she was searching for. She snatched it up as fast as she could and swam towards the surface. Her lungs constricted, and she felt sick. She fought to urge to inhale, despite the water encasing her. Lilly pushed harder towards the sunlight, breaking through the surface with a desperate gasp. The bracelet was clutched in her hand like a life raft as she paddled back towards the shore, eager to leave behind whatever was lurking in that lake.

Her legs were wobbly when she finally stepped on dry land again. She squeezed the excess water from her blonde locks before pulling her jeans, shirt, and shoes back on. When she returned to the clearing where they were set to meet, Penny and Dani had already finished and lounged on a large, moss-covered rock, watching Kady chop away at the giant tree. Lilly held up the bracelet triumphantly for them to see.

"There's the little fucker!" Dani growled at the golden band. Lilly climbed up to join them, enjoying the moment of respite after diving so many times. Lilly and Dani chatted together, much to Penny's dismay. They both wondered what the fate of their third musketeer would be. Lilly had seen Alex briefly the night before, but he'd been placed in a different group for this trial. They could only hope that he made it through with the rest of them. Alice returned about ten minutes later, dead pheasant in hand. Quentin walked into the clearing with the horse, just as Kady shouted,

"Timber!" The tree crashed to the ground with a groan, and with that, all the tasks were completed.

"Bravo!" Margo praised, sitting comfortably with Eliot at their tea table. Everyone turned to face the two, who had appeared out of thin air.

"Brava! Brava," Eliot echoed, "Lilly, darling, so glad to see the Merpeople didn't eat you alive," Lilly's eyes went wide, "it's happened before."

"Wait, what?" She sputtered, but Penny cut her off.

"That's it, we passed."

"After you chop the tree into firewood, whip us up a little grilled salmon."

"Some honeyed pheasant, grab me the matching necklace I threw in the lake," Margo added with a smirk.

"Brew me up a batch of moisturizer, and... Take turns blowing the horse." Lilly's jaw dropped in disgust, and a few of her companions looked at the horse in horror. The two upperclassmen burst into cackling laughter, and they all knew the extra requests were just jokes. Albeit not very funny ones. Margo and Eliot rubbed their hands together before performing a spell, changing their surroundings from a forest, to the backyard of the Physical Cottage.

Lilly glared at the two, heading off to take a shower and clean all the gunk from the lake off her. Thankfully, Margo was good for one thing that day, and she let Lilly use her bathroom to shower, rather than trekking across campus. When she stepped out of the steam-filled shower, a towel wrapped tightly around her body, she spotted a tarot card with the Brakebills insignia on the front, sitting on the edge of the sink. She picked it up and flipped it over to the back to read off the instructions for the next trial. All it said was that her presence was required in the Alchemy classroom at six o'clock sharp, no more information was given. She spent her time with Quentin that afternoon, tucked into one of the large armchairs in the common room, a book clutched in her hands. When the clock struck six forty-five, they crossed the campus to where the next trial awaited them.