Noisy Forest In a flashback, a young Ophelia meets Whitrow for the first time and asks if they're the next "man" she's expected to breed with. In the present day, Whitrow tells Godfrey how they just wanted her to be able to have happiness in her life. The Sword Roses continue their journey through the Bustling Forest, with Teresa helping clear the way for her liege Oliver, and amidst a journey up and over the giant tree Irminsul they encounter a giant ape, whom Nanao persuades that they aren't a threat. They are attacked by a chimera shaped like a praying mantis, and Miligan allows the Sword Roses to handle it themselves. After several more battles take them to the far side of the second layer, they stop to rest for the night, and Miligan wonders aloud how a mage as seemingly ordinary as Oliver can keep up with the natural talents of Nanao and Chela. Meanwhile Stacy and her older half-sister Lynette are making their own way through the forest. Pete and Joseph Albright plot to escape using a set of magical orbs Albright had concealed in his abdomen.