Adventure of Gwendolyn 2

Gwendolyn leads Heldric from the ruins into the beech forest, one arm beneath his shoulder as he limps over roots and loose stones. Buttercup scouts ahead.

The forest swallows the ruins behind them. Beech leaves hush the wind, but each uneven step makes Heldric lean more heavily against her support.

Buttercup pauses beside a half-hidden trail where an old Ranger sign is cut into the bark. Her ears prick, and a low growl rolls toward the trees.

Beyond the sign, the path winds through bracken and shadow, offering concealment. Between them and its shelter lies rough ground, steep enough to drain Heldric’s remaining strength.

Gwendolyn follows Buttercup onto the hidden Ranger trail, keeping an arm beneath Heldric’s shoulder as the wolfhound threads between bracken and beech roots.

The trail climbs sharply through rough ground. Heldric’s boot slips on loose shale, and Gwendolyn catches his full weight before he falls, wrenching her shoulder.

After a brief pause, Gwendolyn helps him onward. Buttercup leads them beneath a screen of low branches, where the old trail bends into deeper woodland.

They reach the Ranger trail’s sheltered hollow. Moss-covered stones form a narrow resting place, hidden from the ruins and screened by dense beech growth.

Gwendolyn settles Heldric against the moss-covered stones and kneels beside his injured leg. Buttercup watches from the hollow’s entrance, ears raised toward the forest.

Gwendolyn loosens the binding enough to inspect the wound, checking the swelling, the bandage, and Heldric’s ankle. The limb is bruised and strained, but no bone shifts beneath her careful touch.

She retightens the clean binding, supports the joint with a folded strip of cloak, and tests his foot against the ground. Heldric stands without buckling.

Gwendolyn searches the hollow’s edge, moving through fern and beech shadow while Heldric steadies himself against the mossy stones. Buttercup watches the forest entrance.

She finds a fallen hazel branch, stout and straight, but it catches beneath a tangle of roots. Gwendolyn wrenches it free, snapping a dry limb with a sharp crack.

A splinter opens Gwendolyn’s palm as she strips the branch clean. She wraps the small cut with a spare cloth, then plants the finished staff beside Heldric.

Heldric grips the hazel branch and tests it against the ground. It bears him firmly, while Buttercup’s low growl reminds them that the forest has heard the break.

Gwendolyn takes Heldric’s arm and guides him from the hollow, matching her pace to the hazel staff’s steady taps. Buttercup slips ahead along the hidden trail.

They climb through fern and rootbound earth without stopping. Heldric leans heavily once, but the staff holds, and Gwendolyn keeps him upright until the ground levels beneath ancient trees.

A brittle branch breaks beneath Gwendolyn’s boot with a sharp crack. The sound rolls through the woodland, costing them stealth, while Buttercup freezes and listens.

The concealed path carries them beyond the steep ground to a sheltered ridge screened by beech trunks. Heldric remains on his feet, staff planted firmly, while Buttercup watches the forest behind.

Gwendolyn guides Heldric onward along the hidden Ranger trail. She sets a firm pace beneath the beech canopy, while Buttercup scouts ahead and the hazel staff taps steadily behind them.

The trail bends around the ridge and descends into a sheltered hollow marked by three weathered stones. A concealed Ranger cache lies beneath the roots, and the forest closes safely behind them.

The hurried crossing costs Gwendolyn a fresh tear in her already strained shoulder. She keeps Heldric upright, but her arm begins to tremble beneath his weight.

Buttercup settles at the hollow’s entrance, listening toward the distant ruins. Heldric lowers himself beside the hidden stones, secure on the Ranger trail and beyond immediate pursuit.

Gwendolyn lowers her satchel beside Heldric and draws out bread and a water bottle. She offers both beneath the beech canopy, while Buttercup keeps watch at the hollow’s entrance.

Heldric accepts the bread with one hand and braces the hazel staff with the other. He eats slowly, then drinks, the color returning faintly to his weathered face.

He folds the remaining bread carefully and secures the water bottle at his belt. Around them, the hidden hollow remains quiet, its three stones mossy beneath the roots.

Gwendolyn leads Heldric along the concealed trail toward the Angle. Distance and beech shadow swallow their tracks, while Buttercup scouts ahead through the fern.

The march taxes Gwendolyn’s strained shoulder. Heldric’s weight shifts suddenly on a slope, and she catches him, reopening the small cut across her palm against the hazel staff.

She binds the palm while walking, and the hidden trail descends into the Angle. Rangers emerge from the trees, recognize Heldric, and guide them toward a sheltered healing hall.

Have Heldric treated by the Angle healers