Gwendolyn remains beneath the collapsed arch with Heldric, her bruised fingers curled around the nicked sword. Dust drifts through the broken stones, and Buttercup guards the descending stair.
Heldric
The lower chambers were once storage vaults. The trolls dragged the Chumwells below, past the cracked lintel and into the old hall.
From beneath the ruins comes a dull scrape, followed by muffled voices and the wavering glow of torchlight far below. The sound stops before reaching the stair.
Heldric
The torch-bearer watches the main passage. Do not take it. A narrow side passage runs behind that wall, though the masonry is ready to fall.
Heldric
One hard shove at the loose pillar should bring stones down across the main passage. It might separate the guard from the others, or bury the stair entirely.
Heldric shifts beneath the rubble and winces, keeping his voice low. His torn cloak is dark with blood, but he remains conscious while Buttercup’s ears track every sound below.
Heldric
Bind what you can, Gwendolyn, or question me quickly. The family is alive as far as I know, and the trolls have not yet discovered us.
✓ Quest Accepted
Free Heldric
“He's raving. The Chumwells are long gone. Bill Ferny must have deceived him and led him into a trap. But there is no point wasting time with arguments. Time to apply her medical knowledge and bring the wounded ranger home.”
FAILURE (Fair Healing, rolled -1)
Gwendolyn ignores Heldric’s warnings and kneels beside him. She tears a clean strip from her cloak, presses it over his worst wound, and binds it firmly.
Gwendolyn
The bleeding slows, but the rubble still pins his leg.
Heldric
Easy, Gwendolyn. Do not pull me free yet. The stones are bearing my weight.
She tests the nearest slab and shifts it by a finger’s breadth. Heldric’s breath catches, dust rains from the arch, and the loose masonry groans above them.
Heldric
There. You see it. Move that pillar, and the whole arch may come down. I cannot walk while it holds me.
Gwendolyn tightens the bandage and braces his injured limb as best she can, but lifting him is impossible without worsening the collapse. Her attempt to bring him home safely has failed.
Heldric remains conscious and stabilized, yet trapped beneath the arch. The only safe path toward home now requires securing or dismantling the unstable masonry before he can be moved.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bring Heldric home
“She looks for a stout sapline or tree branch she can use as a pry bar.”
SUCCESS (Great Perception, rolled +0)
Gwendolyn searches the ruin’s edge while keeping one shoulder near Heldric. Among nettles and fallen stones, she finds a stout sapling branch wedged beneath the collapsed arch.
She hacks away smaller limbs with her nicked sword, shaping the branch into a rough pry bar. The wood twists unexpectedly, and a splinter drives into her already bruised palm.
Heldric
That will serve, if you set it beneath the lower slab. Mind the arch, Gwendolyn. The stones are listening.
Gwendolyn wedges the branch beneath the slab pinning Heldric’s leg and leans into it. Stone grinds against stone, loud enough to send dust spilling through the broken arch.
Heldric
Quietly, if you can. The trolls below may have heard that.
The slab lifts enough for the branch to hold it securely. Heldric’s leg remains trapped, but the dangerous weight is now braced, and the pry bar rests firmly in Gwendolyn’s grasp.
+ New Item Acquired
Pry Bar
“"Hold this in place while I see to your leg."”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled +1)
Gwendolyn
Hold this in place while I see to your leg.
Gwendolyn plants her shoulder against the braced branch and grips it with both hands. The slab stays lifted, its weight settled securely through the sapling into the cracked floor.
Heldric
Aye. That holds. Work quickly, but do not wrench the limb.
Keeping steady pressure on the pry bar, Gwendolyn shifts her stance and examines Heldric’s trapped leg. The bandage remains tight, and the stone no longer crushes downward.
Gwendolyn
The branch is bearing the slab’s weight.
She eases loose rubble away from Heldric’s boot and clears the space around his knee, testing the leg without disturbing the supported stone. Dust settles across her sleeves.
Heldric
The pain has eased. You have bought me room to breathe, Gwendolyn, and the arch is no longer pressing me down.
“Moving slowly and carefully, she clears away the rubble around the leg.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +2)
Gwendolyn clears the rubble slowly, lifting each stone from Heldric’s boot and knee while keeping her shoulder firm against the pry bar. Dust whispers from the arch.
The last loose stones come free. Heldric’s leg lies exposed beneath the braced slab, the bandage intact and the pressure relieved without shifting the dangerous masonry.
Heldric
That is enough room. I can feel my foot again, and the stone no longer has me fast.
Heldric flexes his ankle cautiously. Pain tightens his face, but the limb answers, and the sapling remains wedged solidly beneath the slab.
Heldric
You worked like a proper Ranger, Gwendolyn. Keep the branch where it stands, and we can think about the next move.
Gwendolyn
His leg is clear, but the arch still cannot bear his weight.
Below, the torchlight wavers behind the cracked lintel, muffled voices fading deeper into the old hall. Buttercup watches the stair while Heldric steadies himself against the stones.
“"Can you move? We need to get out of here."”
Gwendolyn
Can you move? We need to get out of here.
Heldric
With your arm and that brace, aye. I can crawl, then stand once we reach sound ground.
Gwendolyn keeps the pry bar fixed while Heldric draws his injured leg clear. He shifts onto his hands and good knee, moving carefully from beneath the arch.
Heldric
Release the branch only when I am beyond the fallen stones. Then we take the upper passage, not the stair.
Heldric crawls into the open courtyard and braces himself against a standing wall. Gwendolyn eases away from the sapling, and the slab settles without collapsing.
Buttercup slips ahead through the broken arch, checking the route toward the ruins’ outer grounds. Heldric tests his weight and manages a limping step.
Heldric
I can make it, Gwendolyn. Lead on, and we will be clear of these ruins before the trolls return.
Quest Complete
Free Heldric
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Great→Superb