Vegis woke up with the entire vehicle shaking. He jumped up and saw that Drake and Doel were just sitting there calmly. He looked around and realized that they were over land right not over the sea. “How long was I out for?”(Vegis) “About 10 hours. I was surprised at how long you were out. Did something happen?” (Drake) “I got a weird ass dream and it seemed to have an effect on the property. We now have grass under the trees.”(Vegis) “Yeah, was it the one with the glowing child?”(Mitra) “Yep. Did we have the same dream then?”(Vegis) “I think so. It was very strange.”(Mitra) Vegis turned to see how their bosses’ reaction to this was and just saw Drake holding his face in his palms and Doel grin getting wider. The 2 very different reactions told Vegis that it was probably related to the Forest Blooded and something has happened to them in the lab. After a minute, Drake let out a sigh and messaged the labs to check on the cell they were keeping it in.
Vegis got up to grab food and Mitra pulled up a panel for them to watch something as they ate. All that was on the ship was some dehydrated foods and snacks. The 2 sat right next together as they ate and watched videos until a thunk could be heard from outside. When that happened, the panel turned off and the lights dimmed in the vehicle. Doel checked the controls at the front and saw 2 blinking warnings. [Impact Detected][Large Group of Animals Incoming][Assault Mode Activited][Assault Mode Deactivated]
This startled Vegis and made him jump a couple of feet back. Cloaking tech was something that most people don’t have access to for many reasons. Spells that can replicate the effect are hard to do since it has to be done perfectly or one will still be able to be spotted if focused on. For an entire lab that is miles in area to be covered showed that this was something that held secrets that will get him killed if something goes wrong. Drake laughed at the reaction of Vegis and Mitra copied him. The gate slowly opened and a small security team walked over. They saluted Drake and then started to scan both the IDs and the luggage they were bringing. After they were done, Drake told the group to follow him as he passed the gate and into a pod. The layout of the Lab was the same on the surface other than a few of the smaller details.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
They were taken to the southeast corner since Mitra’s assigned position was a false position that counted as something of high power. Vegis would also be living there too but his clones would be stored at the northeast dorms. Drake started to explain some things but they were basically the same things as how the southern labs worked. As Drake continued to explain things, Vegis and Mitra could feel a tug on their soul towards something underground. Barely visible motes of green light floated up from the earth and began to surround them. Vegis stared at them and could see the dots release as much haze as the trees but the others could only notice that their surroundings had become more green.
The foliage above Mitra and Vegis started to grow fast. Soon, the plants underneath them acted like tendrils and wrapped themselves all over the 2 of them. They struggled against the roots and leaves that binded them. Vegis used magic to try and burn and cut it while Mitra used her wings to try and fly but both did not work too well. Drake also used his magic to try and release him while Doel touched the plants to try and control them but couldn’t. Vegis let out a loud scream as he was dragged under the earth and then all he could see was darkness. The descent was slow and the 2 of them were in a trance. It may have been minutes, hours, perhaps even days but they couldn’t tell. The lower they got, the louder it became. Vegis could vaguely recognize it as the same thing as when Mitra called for him but this was gibberish. There were no words, only noises and emotions.
When the noises felt like an unending torrent of screams in their ears, the plants slowly loosen and release them. This broke the trance and Vegis was able to see the room they were in. It was covered in thick roots that spiraled out from the center which held a table. On top of the table was a glass coffin-like thing that held a small body. When Vegis and Mitra both looked upon the being in the coffin, they both immediately knew who and what it was. It was the Forest Blooded. Vegis remembered some of the details Drake said about it. Vegis walked over to it and opened the lid. He bit the tip of his right thumb and let a drop of his blood onto the lips of it. The skin absorbed the blood like water being poured upon sand and suddenly, its eyes opened. It was mainly a silver color like the Magi, but unlike them, it had green irises and a deep black pupil.
The roots that infested the room started to squirm and grow. Vegis clutched his right arm in pain as it bulged and twisted unnaturally. Fur, scales, and shells started to sprout from Vegis's right arm. It crowded his arm and some fell off, transforming into small beasts. The ones from the shells were like clams, crustaceans, and bugs, the scales let out lizards, and the fur transformed into mice, shrews and other small critters. They crawled all around the room and chewed at the roots, slowing their growth and in time caused a pause in the growth. The child sat up from its coffin and got out of it. A necklace made of the parts of the small animals appeared and wrapped around the child’s neck. When this happened, both the critters and the roots retreated into their respective origins. When the roots were all sucked in, the door was revealed and then opened to show Drake and Doel who were incredibly worried.
