Episode 9, The Green Hills
[x] – The Hills – Talisk
The first day of travels after their pit stop at Búra’s homestead was light and uneventful. The night out in the wild made the gang already miss Búra’s welcome, but they managed. The next morning was cool and there was dew on the flora around. They continued northwest and soon came up on a hill. As they did, they could tell the world around them was different. It was the first hill that was completely covered in lush green grass – no signs of dirt or sand.
As they reached the top, they looked out and saw something they had never seen before. For miles, as far as the eye could see, green hills covered the expanse. Some hills small, some obscured the horizon, some were bare and some had tall and healthy trees. The sight shone a new spirit in the crew and even brought tears to Amy’s eyes. The grass was a deep green and white clouds speckled the pure blue sky overhead.
Sonic and Tails let out a gasp as they sprinted (and flew) off with excitement. They could say no words as laughter and chuckles obscured their vocal chords. Rouge and Amy took a seat on top of that hill and took in the sights. Amy’s hand was mindlessly running through the soft grass. The grass was short where they were but they could see where it grew tall not far off. Sonic was already probably half a mile off in the distance. He sprinted through the tall grass leaving a trail mowed over in his wake; a path carved into the undisturbed stalks that weaved sporadically about the hills.
“I take it these are the Green Hills.” Rouge stated the obvious.
Amy wiped another tear from here eye. “It’s beautiful.” She sniffled a little. “I’ve never seen so much green!”
Rouge took a deep breath of the cool fresh air and just smiled. “Yeah.”
Meanwhile, Sonic continued to run and Tails hovered over him. The landscape became an instantaneous escape and they relished in the moment. Sonic’s arms were extended so he could feel the brush of the tall stalks as he wisped by. Tails flew a bit lower and reached one hand down so he could do the same.
At one point the grass began to shrink down to a similar height as that first hill. Sonic stopped and Tails followed suit, hovering a bit as he lowered his feet gently onto the ground below. They looked back and saw Rouge and Amy maybe a little more than a mile off sitting and relaxing. Sonic waved to them and they waved back. He placed his hands on his waist and looked around. The sight of endless rolling hills of green and the earthy scent of the greenery around made Sonic extremely content. But it also shot a pang of sadness through him. All his life, he had lived on South Island and though it was vastly greener there than in the Greater Area, it paled in comparison to this. But that was his home and he knew he would have to return to the desert once again and eventually for good once they were all finished with their journey. He almost wished he could live in the free open Green Hills forever but knew he couldn’t abandon his friends and family, and his chapter of his Society.
The sadness left him as a breeze rolled through and the light rustling of the grass was heard all around. Waves were seen rolling over the hills from the wind as if they were in a green ocean. He smiled once more.
Sonic and Tails made their way back to Rouge and Amy who were now standing on that same hill they left them on. Amy was twirling around with her eyes closed, chin high, and arms extended out. As Sonic came up, she stopped and smiled at him. “Oh, this is wonderful isn’t it!”
“It sure is!” Sonic answered. But Amy continued.
“The air is so fresh, the scent is new, the breeze is cool, there’s so much green!” She placed her hands on her chest and took a deep breath.
Something came over Sonic and he formed a light grin as he walked up to Amy and took her hand. He pulled her a bit and twirled her to kick off a bit of a dance. They moved around in the grass smoothly. Tails smiled while Rouge rolled her eyes. After a few extra seconds, Tails broke out his feadóg and began playing a light tune. Rouge couldn’t fight the feeling for long and began lightly clapping to keep a beat with Tails’ tune.
The couple continued to dance for a bit, now to Tails’ jig instead of a melody inside their heads, and as the tune slowed down to end on long note, Sonic and Amy also concluded their dance.
They rejoined Rouge and Tails and quickly decided it would be a good time to stop for some food. They sat down on top of that same hill and began eating, looking out at the vast sea of green. The meal was relatively quiet as they just stared at the sight in front of them. Who knew a view with nothing but hills and a few trees could be so breathtaking, but when that sight is new, and so different from empty desert, it was wondrous to the quartet.
Knowing they couldn’t sit for much longer, and that they could continue to take in the scenery as they journeyed northwest to Smithwick, they cleaned up from their meal and strode on.
The ground beneath their feet was firm compared to the sand they were used to but also soft and not a discomfort to their roving feet. The grass was soft as they kept up a good stride often with hands extended. The breeze continued to welcome them to the new land and the sounds of flickys in some of the trees created a peaceful ambience.
They continued their trek and as the day continued, they knew they should be able to see Smithwick at some point off in the distance. But for the first time since leaving South Island, they almost wished they would not arrive at the seaside city just yet. The buildings, streets, commotion and crowds of a city were not at all appetizing to them now that they were in the open lands of the Green Hills. But nonetheless, they continued on to try and make it to their destination before it got too late. The sun was already setting to the east as it did on Mobius and the far off peaks of the Sléibhte Scáthaigh were barely seen over the top of some of the hills. The sun began dipping below the highest peaks on the far off horizon and the sky to the west was warm with sunset colors.
They came up atop a hill and finally saw Smithwick off in the distance. The landscape sloped down from that hill but the green pasture continued to the city and beyond. The sea was sparkly with the sun’s dying light and lights from the city were beginning to shine as the night sky took over. They figured another hour to two they would be out of the fields and back to the city. They were reminded of their first visit to Cap and prepared for the variance of Societies and hustle from street vendors.
Tails broke out a piece of paper that showed a rough layout of Smithwick that Uncle Chuck gave them. The library was on the far end of the city, opposite of the ocean but was not too far from them as they were coming up on the southeastern part of the city with the ocean to the city’s southwest. Tails explained the location of the library and the crew decided to stop by the next day after finding a lodge for some rest and a warm meal. And with that, they moved on – saying goodbye to the lush Green Hills for the time being as Smithwick awaited their arrival.
[x]
As the gang entered the city, their expectations were met as all types of people moved about despite it being well past dusk by now. They did not enter right into a market place as they did when they arrived at Cap which was a relief for the weary travelers. They quickly decided to find an inn and settle for the night and pay a visit to the library the next day.
They passed a few inns that clearly delineated specific Societies. ‘Greens Only’ – they continued to move on. ‘No Reds Allowed’ – it fit the mark for the time being but they still felt weary about it, especially if Knuckles joined them before they left. Finally they came across an inn with a sign posted in the window, ‘All Colors Welcome’. It was not in as great of condition as the others but it wasn’t bad and definitely felt like a place worthy of their patronage. They stopped by.
As they walked in, they saw many Mobians dressed in varying attire attributing to their respective Society. Though all were welcome, they all still sat in cliques with groups of their own. They approached the innkeeper behind a desk near the front. “What can I do ya for?” He asked.
“Two rooms please, two beds each if you can spare them.” Sonic asked.
“Sure thing. What Society?”
“Oh, uh.” Sonic was a little taken back. He looked at the rest of his group with a raised brow. “I thought all Societies were welcome?”
“Oh sure! We have rooms available in all our Society-separated corridors!” The innkeeper said cheerfully.
It definitely wasn’t what they were expecting but they shrugged it off. “Uh, Cyan please.”
“Sure thing, right this way.” The innkeeper stepped out from behind the desk and took them to a small hallway with a few doors with a cyan colored pane. “I assume one room for the lassies and one for you two lads?”
“Correct.” Sonic answered.
Their host nodded and opened the first room. It wasn’t bad at all, in fact it looked better than the exterior of the establishment. “Will this suit ya?” Sonic gave a thumbs up. “May I ask how long you’ll be staying?”
“Uh.” Sonic looked at Amy. She shrugged her shoulders. “Can we pay night-by-night?”
“Of course. Just ask that if you are looking to take your leave you let me know at the desk by mid-day ‘tis all.”
Sonic smiled kindly and agreed. Amy brought out a coin sack of tokens and gave the innkeeper the pay for the rooms. He thanked them and gave them a rundown of amenities before returning to the desk.
The four of them decided to freshen up after their long travels and then meet in the lobby for a meal. After some time, they were all ready except Rouge.
After a few urges from Sonic and Tails to get her moving, she came out of her and Amy’s room and they headed to the lobby. They each sent their food ticket to the bar and waited for their food at a table near the Cyan hallway.
“Well I’ll be.” They all heard in a familiar voice. Sonic felt a firm grip on his shoulders as he looked up to see Knuckles staring down at him. “And here I figured you’d be staying at the ‘No Reds’ inn down the street.” He said with a smirk.
“We almost did, figured it’d keep us from running into you.” Sonic jested. He stood up and gave Knuckles a fist bump. “Good to see you! How long have you been here?”
“Got here yesterday. I had to sell a few bushels of fruit from Angel Island before I could rake in a comfortable amount of tokens. I still hate how you all have to deal with currency down here. Was getting some grub myself when I saw you all sit down here.” He pulled up a chair and joined them.
The quintet exchanged stories of the past few days. Sonic Amy Rouge and Tails on their travels, Búra, and their experience that morning seeing the Green Hills. Meanwhile, Knuckles joked about all the shenanigans his group up on Angel Island got into. They all ate their food and had a pint or two of some beer before calling it a night. They arranged a time to meet and head out to the library first thing in the morning.
…
Sonic was not greeted by any morning sun the next day. In fact, to his slight surprise, he awoke to the light sound of consecutive ‘tings’ and a grey sky. It was raining outside. He slowly got out of his bed and gave a big stretch. He scratched his sides as he looked over at Tails in his bed, still sound asleep with his hands under his cheeks and the occasional flick of his ear. The sight gave Sonic a bit of a smile before turning his gaze out the window. The rain was light but steady. It shouldn’t give them any issues to travel to the library later. He also figured it must have been much later in the day than he, or any of his crew, likely anticipated waking up to. But after their travels out in the wild and having only the grace of one night at Búra’s, he was glad to sleep in.
He and Tails were out in the common area drinking some tea while waiting for the rest of their crew. Knuckles joined them, though not from his room but from the streets where he claimed to have been searching for some fresh fruit in the market. Shortly after Amy and Rouge emerged and they took their leave for the library.
Though it was not the first time the crew had seen rain, it definitely was not as common in the Greater Area as it was there in the Green Hills. The topography would surely look different had it been. But they enjoyed it, more so than their encounter with the storm after leaving Cap for they did not have to sleep under cover from the weeping sky. The light drizzle and the cool air made for a brisk climate and the ambience was peaceful. There were many overpasses and a lot of cover as they traversed through Smithwick so their fur and clothes remained mostly dry.
The city was vastly different than Cap, as that was their only frame of reference for anything urban. Grey and white stone were the basis for the structures around. Lichen and moss were sometimes growing on the structures and vines draped portions of walls in some parts. The architecture was different as well. With arches of stone wedged perfectly together to support the block to its sides and crude etchings in the stone, there was an aesthetic to the place.
They came across a courtyard with an aqueduct that ran overhead with little rivulets spawning from it, leading to smaller channels that snaked around. Some of the outpourings led to a garden behind a rusty metal gate. Another few led to a fountain where some people were washing their clothes, not even being bothered by the trickling of the rain. A large portion of the aqueduct passed by a watermill with a small window above the wheel that allowed the scent of delicious fresh bread to creep out into the open air. A bakery must have been on the other side of the watermill, utilizing the rushing water’s motion to mill grain. The group was curious if the rain had any major affect on the water level of the aqueduct or if the flow they were seeing was about standard on most days.
They passed through some small tunnel-like passageways where steps branched off the path and led up to doors and terraces above that ended up being the cause for the small tunnels. This happened for a while as they must have been passing through a residential area of the city. They noticed the city was not as bustling as it was the night prior when they first stepped foot into Smithwick but quickly concluded it was likely due in part to the weather.
The group passed through another small passageway and found themselves in an opening with what was clearly the library on the other side. Just like the one in Cap, it had grandeur to it. It too stuck out from the rest of the city and looked much older than the architecture around. However instead of clay, like the library in Cap, it was crafted with stone and wood – much like the city that surrounded it. There were pillars outside the entrance that held up a small overhang. The doors were a sturdy red wood with delicate carvings. They entered and saw the interior was quite similar to the library in Cap. It had three levels to it with the center being clear all the way to the roof. There was slanted glass in the ceiling that would likely bring in a lot of natural light if the sun had decided to show its glow that day. The rain falling on the windows ran down out of sight to the rest of the rooftop. The library was much more populated than the one in Cap and Mobians could be seen traversing the tall bookshelves on the balconies of the second and third levels.
The gang continued to walk through to a desk in the back where a small koala was flipping though an old book. She gingerly adjusted the glasses that rest on the end of her nose as she turned another page.
“Excuse me ma’am?” Sonic asked as they approached her.
“Yes?” She looked up to them with tired aged eyes.
“We are looking for some books on some ancient texts. My uncle said he sent some correspondence to this library that may aid in what we are looking for.”
“Hmm.” She looked away and grabbed a small notebook. “Ah, yes. The head librarian had passed that we might be expecting a group that meets your description.” She closed the small notebook and left a bookmark in the other book she was reading then stood up. “Come with me.”
She took them to a small study in the back part of the library. It was a cozy room with a few comfortable chairs and a single desk. “Wait here while I bring the requested material for you. We set it aside a few days ago.”
She briefly left and Amy noted how accommodating she was compared to Eiméar. Rouge joked that it was likely because they did not personally know Uncle Chuck like she did. Though they don’t know the history behind the elder hedgehog and the bandicoot, they had gathered that it must have been an exciting one.
The koala came back with a small cart and a few old books stacked on it. Tails thanked her for her hospitality but she insisted that that was the accommodation was standard in the great libraries as their intent was purely for scholastic advancement. She left with a declaration that they were free to ask for any assistance if they needed it.
To no one’s surprise, Tails was the first one to dive into the books. Knuckles was a little less interested and decided to claim one of the chairs as there were not enough for all of them in the small study.
They toiled over the books but did not find much. After some initial readings, they all ended up indulging in their own interests as Tails read up on understanding ancient Ogham. Amy looked up ancient runes however the most progress she made was relating to what some of the symbols on her tarot cards meant. Most notably a quarter of the cards seemed to relate to water and another quarter related to fire, based on the cen and laguz runes they had found. The other half of her cards must then have related to earth and air and she was determined to figure out which were linked to what. Knuckles continued to take an easy nap, Sonic became more preoccupied with a chain bookmark in a random book he was ‘studying’ and Rouge took numerous breaks between any short reading she was doing to ogle at the embedded gems and embroidery in the ancient texts.
The group left the library mentally exhausted. Up until now, they had Uncle Chuck to point them in the right direction. He was the one that would toil for weeks over possible interpretation of these symbols that have lost their meaning many centuries ago. Sonic and his troop didn’t know where to begin, let alone any hint of where to possibly find another crown.
The rain had stopped at this point and the sun was beginning to show its face behind some of the clouds. Knuckles and Rouge wanted to go out and get some food and Tails wanted to go back to the inn to look over some of the notes he took so he could try and learn more about Ogham to make future studies quicker. It would seem not all of them were mentally exhausted.
Sonic at this point had beckoned to Amy that this would be a good time to get out of the city and explore more of the Green Hills. She agreed to join him and the group took their separate ways for the rest of the day.
Outside the city, Sonic walked with Amy along a main road that headed north. The road was lined with wildflowers and had divots for both carriage and vehicles; although the latter was actually quite a rarity in the world. The Reds at Rockbase had a few desert buggies and Tails had the Syphon but even those were not a common sight in the general sense. Tails happened to come across the Syphon, abandoned in a canyon in the Jagged Browns, and was only able to get it running through his acquired knowledge of mechanics. Most of which he obtained simply by studying the Syphon’s systems. When it was brought back to South Island, with help from Sonic’s legs and Knuckles’ strength, most residents didn’t even know what it was.
But Smithwick must be large enough to see high levels of trade requiring the rare and expensive modes of transportation. Much of the world still utilized more traditional modes of travel which Sonic was quite content with, based on his natural ability.
He and Amy continued walking for a while. Amy could tell Sonic was getting a little antsy at the pace and rolled her eyes before offering to Sonic that he could carry her. He gladly obliged and swooped her up then quickly sped off into the distance.
They came across a rocky area off the main road. There were some rocks protruding from the soft earth that led down toward the bottom of a hill. There, a small creek seemed to have cut through the earth from runoff of the rain that ends up occurring in the area. The creek snaked around the base of the small hills and led off into the distance. Thousands of years of runoff must have eroded the land to expose the rocky terrain beneath as natural stone surrounded the creek for as far as the eye could see.
Something else peculiar about the stony terrain must have been revealed through the sands of time as they also seemed to create arches and tunnels; some only a couple feet in height, others tens of feet.
“Oh yeah, now this seems like a fun playground!” Sonic exclaimed.
With a huff and a grin, Amy conceded. “Go have your fun I guess… as if the past few days of walking weren’t enough for you.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he put her down and bolted off.
Amy watched in admiration at his wild spirit as he ran toward the structures that seemed so alien to what they were used to in the sandy Greater Area. She sat down and pulled out her tarot cards to try and further understand their use, all the while letting the soft breeze caress her fur while the rustling of the tall grass from that same wind brought a calming ambience to her ears.
Sonic, in the meantime ran along that creek – small in nature but mighty in the fact that it carved through the land in a timeline that surpassed thousands of generations of fauna that was found in the fields.
He followed a path of smooth stone that led to a slight drop off and leaped into the air. He curled into a ball and landed at the base of an arch, unraveled himself and sprinted so fast he ran from base to base, upside down and all, as if it were just another path and continued on. That first loop was only the beginning in his wild timeless time trail.
Amy sat there with her knees bent and off to one side and she shuffled the deck of cards. There she laid out a number of them and flipped them over one by one. Wheel of Fortune, Ace of Cups, Ace of Swords and some others… She still was unsure how to utilize them but felt a deep connection with them and the unknown guidance she was sure they were trying to lend her.
Meanwhile Sonic’s silhouette could be seen nearly a mile away already, snaking around the bases of multiple hills. He leapt off a rock into a makeshift foot track that only he could manage. He ran along the creek that seemed to have gotten larger the further from the road it went. He saw another nearly alien rock formed loop and ran its course.
The terrain around was already like nothing he had ever seen, or even imagined possible. But then again, up until now, he only knew one small corner of the vast world. He continued further where the hills became larger and the rocks protruded higher from the ground. Topping a steep hill, nearly like a small mountain, he came across another astounding sight.
There, the rocks created a fantastical formation resembling pathways of abstract spires. Steep hills, nearly small mountains, created a bowl with pillars of rocks protruding from the sides as if each one fell from the heavens and imbedded themselves in the earth below.
Sonic did not waste time with exploring the area and jumped right from the ledge he was peering into the basin from and bounced from spire to spire, leaping between them as if his feet transformed into springs. He finally had landed next to one of the rock structures and ran long it enjoying the sights of springs that wept from the rock faces and large condors that soared up above. He zigzagged up a steep mountainside and found another depression beyond the bowl where more large boulders were piled high as if the children of giants were making rock piles. He found a natural reservoir created by the dam of some creatures with a waterfall that led to a cave-like tunnel. Sprinting through the rock tunnel, leaving behind nothing but a flash of blue and his footprints, he came across a lone peak in a flatter piece of terrain nearby. Zooming around it until he reached the top, he finally came to rest. Gazing off in the distance to take in the sights, he now noticed the basin he previously traversed, a couple miles away now, looked almost like a cage from this vantage with large gaps between the rock spires that lined the edge.
He zoomed back and circled the outside of that ‘cage.’ To his surprise, he came across a ledge side where the ground had loosened and fell to the land below. He screeched to a stop and looked down to see a cave. With his curiosity, he rushed down to take a look.
The space did not allow for such swift movements as he preferred but he continued to explore as the light from the sky above would shine through the crevices that were overhead. He moved around a bit more until something caught his eye. He squinted trying to see what it was; something etched in the rock face? It was hard to tell with the limited light. Was it getting darker? He then heard a faint roll of thunder in the distance.
He left the cave and sprinted out to a high point and saw dark clouds rolling in miles away. He immediately bolted off back toward Amy, still running through the ‘playground’ as he referred to it earlier - swiveling between rocks and up and down hills, through loops and leaping over ledges.
He got back with Amy and saw her standing there waiting for him. She too must have noticed the incoming rain. “Have your fill?” She asked.
“Was pretty cool if you ask me. There’s a cool place over there like nothing I’ve seen Ames! And of course really good for stretching the legs.” Sonic responded which earned a chuckle out of Amy. “But never mind that now. Think we can beat the rain?” He smirked.
“I think YOU can.”
“Let’s see!” He swooped her back up and sprinted off back toward Smithwick.
They made it back to the city where Sonic figured Amy could now do her own walking. “Got some time to spare as well!”
“It seems we do. Though I’m not quite sure I want to stay cooped up just yet. Oh it was just wonderful being out there, feeling the breeze and just admiring the view.” Amy added. As they walked toward their inn, they passed by a little café. Amy fiddled with a token or two in her pocket. “Care for some tea before we head back?”
“I won’t complain.”
They stopped at a small table and a waitress came up shortly after. “None of y’all are whites are ye?” The statement took Sonic and Amy a bit by surprise. They once again were reminded that South Island seemed to be a much more hospitable place than the rest of what they’ve seen of Mobius. The inquiry was probably sharper to them than most people as others at the café didn’t seem to even acknowledge the question. They shook their heads with slight concern and the waitress immediately changed demeanors. “Alright, just had to ask. What can I serve fer you two?” She asked quite cheerily.
Still feeling a little awkward, they simply made their request for some herbal tea and carried on. Sonic began to tell Amy about his ‘light jog’ and how the land seemed to transform into a fantastical landscape further upstream of the creek they departed from. He vividly described the sights and all the rock like pinnacles that were scattered around.
It wasn’t long until the waitress came back with their tea. “He ya go you two. Hope everything is to your liking.”
“Thank you.” They said in unison.
“I apologize fer asking, but I saw you two coming in from the east gate there. Are you travelers?”
“Well, yes, but we actually arrived yesterday. We’re not from this area so we were just enjoying the Green Hills a little bit.” Amy responded a bit bashful.
“You two didn’t happen to see any others comin’ down the road did you? Wearing garments resembling…purples did ya?” Her tone wasn’t spiteful, nor was it concerning; it was more inquisitive if anything.
“Purples?” Sonic asked.
“Now, I know what yer thinking. There ain’t none no more. But rumor has it two Mobians been seen wanderin’ between cities that people are claiming are purples! Heard another patron say he heard they were headed toward Smithwick from over the mountains. T’was just curious is all – sorry for the bother.” She grabbed the tea pot she walked out with and headed back indoors.
“Purples?” Amy said curiously.
“Yeah, weird.”
They continued with their own conversations and Amy was discussing her tarot cards and how she felt a connection to them but still does not quite understand them. Sonic joked about how they’ll likely find Tails asleep on his notes when they get back to the inn.
They lost track of time and started to feel the light pellets of rain hitting their fur. With apt timing, they were nearly finished with their tea and decided to make their leave before the rain picked up too much and headed back to the inn to join the others.
