One sailor lets Guts know that the plains are becoming more and more dangerous as the mercenary bands begin to join forces with each other. When this information is exchanged, the supergroups of the event have yet to form, but the sailor lets Guts know that he thinks the Shorn Crescent is going to be the biggest problem. They're collecting both Blood and landen members. Of course, since the two most powerful people in the Crescent are at odds, maybe it'll all just blow over.

Another sailors mentions that one ship never came into harbor. They passed the flat-bottom barge on the way up the Heartsblood, and it should have arrived by now. It hasn't. The sailor attributes this to water demons (which are not real, but sailors are superstitious fellows).