The Heartwood i could cause an extinction-level event.

"Bearcurse."

Sialuk did not know if this was his true name or merely what had transpired on him. It did not matter now. If she did not move him soon, he would rot from the inside out. Even if she was able to get him back to Moonspear, she did not know if he would survive the coming weeks. His condition was one of the worst she had seen in her time alive.

You must walk if you do not want to go from this world. This woman cannot protect you without help of her village. The boy needed food, water, and shelter. She could not give him these things alone.