Taboo Online

The black line inside the Earth-born root shattered.

Rhea kept her shields around the contaminated section until the final trace faded from the bark. Only then did she lower her arm and allow the flickering panels to disappear.

Red Hound looked toward Lauren. "Did they remove it?"

Lauren felt the pain in Luke’s hand and the exhaustion settling through the bond.

"Luke cut the tether."

The silver trunk around her opened.

Green light filled the hollow space and carried the smell of rain, smoke, and crushed leaves across the field. Every hero along the perimeter went still.

An elf stumbled through the opening.

She wore scorched white-wood armor, and part of her hair had burned away. An unconscious child rested in her arms.

The Rootkeeper stopped when she saw the floodlights, vehicles, medical tents, and armed humans waiting around the field. She immediately turned her body, placing herself between the girl and the nearest heroes.

A new system message appeared.

[Heartroot bridge translation active.]

Red Hound lowered both hands where she could see them and remained outside the root circle.

"No one will come closer until you allow it."

The Heartroot did not translate Red Hound’s words directly for the elf. Instead, it carried their intent through Lauren, allowing her to repeat the meaning in a form the Rootkeeper understood.

The woman did not retreat.

Lauren remained on her knees beside the young branch.

"You made it."

Recognition eased some of the fear in the Rootkeeper’s face, though it did not leave completely.

"She hasn’t woken since the seventh ring," the elf said. "The Thornmenders kept her alive, but they could not heal her."

Lauren looked toward the medical teams without calling them forward.

"We have healers waiting. They use different tools and won’t understand elven bodies yet, so you’ll stay beside her and watch everything they do. No one will take her from you."

The Rootkeeper studied the humans beyond the roots. After several seconds, she lowered herself onto one knee without loosening her hold on the child.

Red Hound turned toward the second line.

"Two medics. No weapons. Open your case before approaching, keep every instrument visible, and stop the moment she asks."

A man and woman stepped into the cleared area with their hands visible. One opened the medical case while they were still beyond the root circle, giving the Rootkeeper a clear view of every instrument inside. They approached slowly and stopped several feet away instead of surrounding her.

The woman spoke first. "We need to check her breathing and heartbeat. May we come closer?"

The Heartroot carried the meaning through Lauren, and she repeated it for the elf.

The Rootkeeper looked down at the child’s pale face. Her arms tightened once before she nodded.

"Help her."

The medics moved forward. One knelt beside the child while the other kept the open case where the Rootkeeper could see each instrument. They explained what they were doing, and Lauren translated through the Heartroot’s bridge.

Another system message appeared.

[First living passengers transferred successfully.]

[Bridge integrity: 68%.]

[Source sanctuary mass exceeds current transfer capacity.]

[Continue transplantation in controlled waves.]

The green passage widened behind the Rootkeeper.

Through it, Lauren saw hundreds of elves crowded across silver terraces in another world. Luke remained beside the Heartroot’s core at their center, one hand buried in living light.

His head lifted.

Their eyes could not meet across the distance, but the bond between them tightened.

Lauren pressed both palms firmly around the destination mark.

"We’re ready."

On the other side, Aelira looked across the frightened survivors and raised her voice.

"The wounded and the children cross first. Keep families together, and lower every weapon before you enter the passage. The humans are frightened too. Do not give them a reason to mistake you for the enemy."

Rootkeepers began organizing the next group.

The first crossing had worked, but Lauren could feel how much the attempt had cost. Bridge integrity remained at sixty-eight percent, and the young branch beneath her hands pulsed unevenly while the roots under the field adjusted to the weight passing between worlds.

Red Hound noticed the change in her breathing. "What happened?"

"The passage is stable enough for more people, but not for the whole sanctuary at once. We have to move them in waves."

"How many per wave?"

"The system didn’t give me a number."

He looked through the green opening at the crowded terraces. "Then start small and increase only if the bridge holds."

Rhea lowered herself beside Lauren again. Her awakened panels were gone, but the arm she had used to summon them still shook.

"I’ll watch the roots. You watch Luke and the passage."

Lauren glanced toward her. "You should be with the medics."

"So should you."

Neither woman moved.

Red Hound exhaled through his nose and pointed toward one of the nearby medical officers. "Check both of them where they are. Do not interfere with the mark or the root circle."

A medic approached Rhea first and began fastening a portable monitor around her wrist. Another remained outside the silver roots while holding a scanner toward Lauren.

Across the field, the Rootkeeper watched the human doctors work on the child. One medic placed two fingers against the girl’s throat while the other prepared a small sensor and showed it to the guardian before touching her.

The child drew a shallow breath.

The Rootkeeper closed her eyes for a moment, and some of the strength left her shoulders. She did not release the girl, but she allowed the medics to guide both of them toward a waiting stretcher.

"Stay where she can see you," Lauren told them.

The medics nodded.

Behind the passage, the next group came into view. Two Rootkeepers supported an elderly elf between them, followed by a woman carrying an infant and a boy holding tightly to her clothing. None of them raised their weapons.

Aelira stood near the opening with the Thornmender supporting her arm.

"Six at a time," she ordered. "Wait until Lauren confirms the ground is clear before the next group enters."

The first six stepped through.

Green light passed over their bodies, and the grass around the destination roots sank under their sudden weight. The elderly elf nearly fell when his feet touched Earth, but one of the Rootkeepers caught him before he struck the ground.

The woman with the infant froze when she saw the floodlights and the armed perimeter. Her son pressed against her side, staring at the vehicles as though they were monsters waiting to wake.

Lauren felt the uncertainty spread through the bridge before the Heartroot carried her reassurance back to them.

"Stay close to the roots," she said. "No one here will touch you without permission. The healers are taking the wounded first, and the rest of you will remain together."

The boy looked toward the unconscious girl being moved onto the stretcher. When he saw the Rootkeeper walking beside her, some of the panic left his face.

Red Hound signaled for the perimeter to widen again.

"Clear a path between the passage and the medical tents. Keep every weapon pointed at the ground, and give them room to breathe."

The heroes obeyed without argument. A few still watched the elves with open suspicion, but none stepped into their path.

Lauren turned her attention back toward the silver terraces on the other side. More families were gathering behind Aelira, and Luke remained at the core, holding the bridge open with whatever strength he had left.

The bridge had accepted its first passengers. Now the real evacuation could begin.