Milva sits in a tree, tending her arrows. She shoots some prey and returns to Brokilon and shows Geralt the grouse she shot for him. He says he doesn’t want it.

She calls him ungrateful and walks away. Mother Eithné reminds her she owes a debt and it is paid by keeping Geralt alive.

Jaskier sits with Geralt passing on news. Geralt tells him to help him up. Milva returns and scolds Geralt into accepting the grouse and the help of the dryads of Brokilon.

Geralt begins his treatments which are painful and prolonged. The dryads report their treatments aren’t able to heal him because he’s a mutant. Geralt insists on standing up and plans on leaving. Jaskier’s skeptical about the plan.

Jaskier won’t stop him. Milva confronts Geralt and kicks his crutch out from under him, pointing out he’d be dead now if she was attacking him.

Yennefer meets with Crach an Craite in a pub somewhere in the Skelligans. Crach tells her about the rumors that Ciri’s on her way to Nilfgaard. Yennefer figures Vilgefortz captured her and is taking her to Emhyr. Crach says that Ciri, as Princess of Brugge as well as Cintra, would join his people to the Nilfgaardian forces if she allies with Emhyr.

Yennefer promises she’ll rescue Ciri before Vilgefortz can get her to Nilfgaard.

Yennefer leads the Aretuzan mages, including Tissaia, to Vilgefortz’s castle in West Redania. They find the bodies of the novices Vilgefortz experimented on. Philippa arrives and reports that Vilgefortz has left the castle.

Tissaia directs the mages to unite their powers to reverse the damage Vilgefortz did to the girls.

Outside the castle, Triss insists they should give the girls a proper burial. Philippa points out they wouldn’t be dead if Tissaia had kept them safe from Vilgefortz. Tissaia snipes back, pointing out Philippa failed in her plan to purge the rogue mages from Aretuza and escape Dijkstra’s shadow.

Yennefer ends their squabbling. She declares they’ll return the girls to Aretuza and lay them to rest.

A carriage arrives in Nilfgaard. Fringilla and Francesca emerge.

They meet with Emhyr. Fringilla points out that without Francesca’s forces, they would not have won the battle of Aretuza.

They propose he send them back to Cintra to secure Xin’trea’s ports and cut off Temeria’s supply chain. Fringilla will rule in his name as Imperial Governor and Francesca’s people can settle in a land of their own.

Emhyr agrees but insists the Scoia’tael will continue to fight for Nilfgaard. He gives Francesca an ultimatum. Either he retains the Scoia’tael or she loses a land for her people.

Vizimir poses for a portrait. Dijkstra arrives and dismisses the painter. Vizimir is unhappy they haven’t found Radovid and that the plan at Aretuza went sideways. Vizimir plans to have an example made. Philippa will be sacrificed and scapegoated for the failures.

Philippa’s lover/spy is outside the room, listening in.

Geralt is handed a sword and tries to practice his drills. He is slow and in great pain. Milva steps up and strikes him, pointing out he’d be dead.

Geralt strikes out to travel to Ciri. Jaskier plans to join him. Milva thinks they’re nuts. Geralt accuses her of hiding from the world. He doesn’t get far as his leg gives out.

While he’s resting under a tree, Milva admits that she’s not scared to return to the world. She’s scare of what she’d do to her tormentors if she left the wood.

Milva hands Geralt Renfri’s brooch that Triss left with Mother Eithné. He tells her how life pushes him to make choices when he wants to remain neutral.

Yennefer finds Tissaia studying notes, obsessed with the soldiers dying in the battles across the Continent. She reassures Tissaia the war was inevitable, not her fault.

Triss comes to tell them the service for the novices is beginning. Tissaia tells Yennefer to go, she’ll come down in a moment.

Tissaia writes Yennefer a final letter and slits her wrists. Yennefer feels the cuts and runs to Tissaia’s room.

Yennefer travels to Brokinor to see Geralt. They commiserate on what has been lost. Geralt asks Yennefer to heal him.

Dijkstra gets himself blindingly drunk before meeting with Philippa, muttering that a price must be paid and hiding a blade in his cane.

Vizimir welcomes Radovid back. Radovid explains that Philippa found him and brought him home. Vizimir is uncomfortable with Philippa’s presence. She assures him she has a new plan for Redania and leaves quickly.

Radovid informs Vizimir that he’s leaving again right away to be with someone who needs him.

Dijkstra stumbles into Philippa’s chambers, drunk. He pulls out the blade and offers it to Philippa, giving her the opportunity to kill him and blame him for the failure at Thanedd.

Philippa is grateful for his faith in her. She informs him they are both protected.

Her lover spy kills Vizimir.

Fringilla and Francesca meet. The plan is to take Ciri hostage at the ceremony but Francesca decides she wants to take Emhyr’s deal. Fringilla refuses to remain under his service.

She wants Ciri to transport them to another sphere. Francesca doesn’t want to risk her people somewhere new with a girl with unknown powers. She trusts Emhyr. Fringilla reveals Emhyr ordered her baby killed.

Francesca is shocked and feels betrayed that Fringilla kept this from her. She leaves, promising Emhyr and Fringilla will both learn the meaning of suffering.

Vizimir’s body is found. The alarm is sounded. Philippa, Dijkstra, and Radovid are stunned. As the soldiers scramble, Philippa crowns Radovid.

At Aretuza, the mages start to clean up. Yennefer convenes a council and states they must stop Vilgefortz.

Dara finds Jaskier while he’s composing a new song. He explains that he needs to stop carrying hate around with him. Geralt joins them. Dara tells him to tell Ciri he forgives her and that he’s sorry.

Geralt concocts elixirs with ingredients he can substitute. He takes one and runs through his weapons drills with dryad soldiers. As he subdues them, an arrow whizzes by his eye. Milva points out he’d be dead now if she’d wanted to kill him.

In Nilfgaard, a maimed Vilgefortz joins Emhyr at the front of a great hall to welcome Ciri home. It is Teryn.

The crowd cheers.

Ciri wakes up in a familiar-looking pub tied to a pillar next to another captive, Kayleigh, a member of the Rats.

Just as they’re about to try to escape, Kayleigh’s fellow gang members come in and fight everyone.

Once everyone else is dead, Ciri and her captor are left. The Rats free her and offer her captor an opportunity for a fair fight. One of the Rats is the girls who stole Ciri’s coin at the market. She gives the man a sword and offers one to Ciri.

They fight and Ciri kills a person for the first time.

Jaskier and Geralt hit a Nilfgaardian checkpoint where the soldiers are shaking down travelers for their valuables. The soldier at point tries to extort Geralt’s witcher pendant. Instead, Geralt offers Renfri’s brooch. It’s acceptable and they walk through.

Yennefer narrates a letter to Geralt as he turns back to see a family refused passage after the soldier takes their child’s toy.

Geralt takes on the entire Nilfgaardian force, but would be dead if Milva didn’t show up to shoot down the last three.

He leaves the point soldier alive, sending a message with him back to Emhyr.

In the pub, Ciri stands silent. The Rats discuss her and Mistle, the girl from the market, asks her name. Ciri tells them to call her Falka.