In a light rain on the Unclaimed Hills, Shallan arrives in her Veil disguise to meet the Ghostbloods beneath a pavilion. Mraize, toying with a Parshendi blowgun, draws her into a discussion of weapons and culture, testing her scholarly instincts about hunting, war, and assassination. Shallan presents a detailed drawing of Amaram’s locked room and separate sketches of the maps and script she observed there.

Mraize is astonished that Shallan drew the room from memory and further tests her by having her sketch a member named Jin as he leaves. Pleased, he offers the prospect of a role if she proves reliable. He deduces she killed Tyn; while not encouraged, it is not forbidden, and he emphasizes the Ghostbloods’ protective, purposeful nature and that “more instructions will follow,” framing their work as a hunt.

Departing uneasily, Shallan fears she is being watched. She crafts an illusionary boulder with Stormlight and hides inside, sending Pattern to instruct the coachman using her voice. Riders pass; she overhears Mraize ordering pages sent to Master Thaidakar and speaking of Restares’s cronies, dismissing another meddler and mentioning a strange “creature” in Tukar before they leave.

After hours, her Stormlight runs out and the illusion collapses. Walking back, she practices accents with Pattern and discusses adding sound to Lightweavings, learning that sound is related to her Surge though she lacks specifics.

Near the road, Shallan finds her hired carriage burned, the coachman’s throat slit, and the parshmen porters dead. She is shaken and guilt-ridden, concluding her caution saved her life and recognizing the Ghostbloods’ ruthlessness and the escalating danger of her infiltration.