'You were right,' she tells Istredd, who is once again startled to see her. She crosses the bridge to the tower, which is revealed to be the stone chamber she appeared in earlier. Yennefer still can't move the rock and storms out. 'This is the balance,' says Tissaia, describing magic as 'organising chaos.'

When the rocks rise, nearby flowers wither and die. The other girls perform a simple trick, making a small rock float in the air-but Yennefer can't do it. Yennefer is in a greenhouse with other girls whom Tissaia says have an 'aptitude for channelling chaos'-chaos being a powerful source of magic in the world of The Witcher. In the woods, Ciri finds herself in a camp of Cintran refugees and is taken in by a family who are oblivious to her true identity. 'You should have let me die.' says Yennefer as the camera reveals her bloody, bandaged wrists. This castle is where Yennefer is being held Tissaia being, it transpires, the witch who bought her. We see a vast stone fortress cut into a rocky coastline, with a long rope bridge connecting it to a tall, ominous tower. We're in Aretuza now, a magical academy for girls run by a woman called Tissaia de Vries. 'All the North would be too busy singing the tales of Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf. Undeterred, he promises to write songs about Geralt's adventures that will make people forget about his past. He responds by punching the bard in the gut. Jaskier makes the mistake of referring to Geralt as the Butcher of Blaviken, an unfortunate nickname whose provenance we learned last episode. Geralt sets off to hunt the devil, and the bard-who you've probably guessed by now is Dandelion, or Jaskier as he's known here-decides to tag along, much to his dismay. It's nice to see this detail make it into the show. If you've played the Witcher games you'll be familiar with this-haggling to increase the price of a bounty. The man offers 100 ducat, but Geralt convinces him to pay 150. A devil has been stealing his grain, he says. As the witcher leaves, a man approaches him. Geralt criticises the bard's song, saying the creatures he sings about aren't real. Then he notices a white-haired figure drinking alone in the corner: Geralt of Rivia. This life clearly isn't paying off for him. The patrons pelt him with food, which he picks up and slips into his pocket. Now we're in Posada, in a tavern being terrorised by a lute-twanging bard. But the boy, who she has decided to call Rat Boy (charming), vanishes at the sight of them. Then she spots Cintran flags ahead-her people-and is delighted. She tells the mute boy about how she's running from a man 'with a big bird on his head', referencing Cahir, her captor from the first episode. Ciri is a long way from the feasts of the Cintran court now. They make a fire, cooking and eating a couple of rats. Prepare for The Witcher season 2 with all of our episode guides:

This castle is a creature of chaos