Farnese becomes depressed after Casca disappears and she gets lost in the forest trying to find her. A shepherd warns Guts group about an imminent battle between Griffiths army and the Kushan's and also about trolls infesting a nearby area. Serpico admits to Guts he desires to kill him in a fair duel, but as long as Farnese desires to stay with Guts he will treat him as an ally. Isidro practices duelling with Guts. A group of trolls attack but are driven away by the witch, Schierke, whom Isidro manages to insult, and her elf companion, Ivalera, before disappearing. Casca continues to be afraid of Guts and becomes attached to Farnese. They come across an old man named Morgan whose village is being attacked by trolls, but as the local lord has taken his army to support Griffith the villagers are hoping to find help from a witch rumoured to live nearby. Almost immediately they stumble upon Schierke's house as Casca and Guts brands allow them to pass through her protective barrier. Guts mistakenly believes Schierke's earth golems are ghouls and destroys several of them before Schierke reveals herself as an apprentice to the elderly witch Flora who has been waiting for Guts and Casca to arrive.