Sonic Tales: Wanderlust

Prologue - Wandering Wind

The day sky was a bright, glorious blue, with numerous clouds floating effortlessly, forming a vast array of stories ranging from knights fighting dragons to distant mountains housing sacred mysteries in dark, hidden caves. The wonderful golden sun shone down upon the world known as Mobius, with it's deserts, jungles, mountains and so much more. On the outskirts of a dense forest were lush green pastures, which were used for farming and grazing as well as providing a pleasant sight. They also had a small number of dirt paths which would curve in all directions, almost like a slithering snake, and were formed naturally by wandering travellers seeking to make their own ways to and from wherever it was they were going.

On one such path was a weary farmer, a greying cat, who sat with a straw hat shielding his eyes from the sun's rays and wore an unpleasant set of rags. He rode upon a carriage, which was being pulled by an equally tired horse which huffed and puffed as it went. Along the side of the carriage, numerous pitchforks and other whatnots had been strapped loosely to the solid wooden planks that formed the farmer's means of transportation of goods. These goods consisted of vegetables, straw…those kind of things, all of which were hidden under an arch of cloth, held up by a rusty iron bar frame.

However, there was something other than the farmer's harvest inside this carriage. Hidden among the straw, sound asleep, was a young blue hedgehog, no older than twelve years of age. His quills were long and messy; his ears curved upwards, sharp-like; his face soft and at peace, meaning he was most likely in a pleasant dream, far away from the world he resided in.

No more than a few hours previously, the hedgehog had run many miles along the path and felt his tiredness had started to overcome his drive. He decided that a passing carriage was as good a place as any to rest…so long as the farmer at the reins never knew.

Time passed, the early morning had become afternoon, and the sleeping hedgehog was awoken by a sudden bump that shot him upwards, before he landed harshly on his rump. He gave out a small whelp, which was enough to draw the farmer's attention. As the elderly cat made his way to the rear of the carriage, the hedgehog sprung from it's confines! He landed not on dirt, but on cobble. As he fully regained his senses, the blue furred boy realised that he was no longer travelling along the paths of the vast green pastures, but had instead arrived in a large city!

The city's buildings varied in size, from large to small to average. They all shared the similarity of being formed from ancient stone, which was also used to build the walls that protected the city, and had numerous cracks from which flowers of all colours crept, trying to bask in the wondrous sunshine. Vines crossed paths at windows; butterflies flew aimlessly around the streets outside, as though rejected from entering through the oak doors that had images of acorns, trees and the like carved in them. The hedgehog was in awe. Never had he seen such a pleasant looking city, even after all of his ventures around the land.

A wonderful scent filled the air, one that pushed away that of the flowers. The young blue boy followed his nose, passing stalls that were selling food, trinkets and even oddities in what was, he guessed, the square of the city, which also served as it's market. Eventually, he found what had piqued his nose's curiosity: A small bakery at the corner of a street. Before going in, he slung around the rugged backpack that he had been carrying, removing from it a small pouch. Inside it were a small collection of golden rings - the currency of the world of Mobius.

The hedgehog made his way towards the wooden framed door; it's tinted glass, that separated into evenly placed squares, being a vast array of colours ranging from blue to green to red to yellow. As he opened the door, the sound of a bell rang from above and, almost out of nowhere, a tall rabbit appeared behind the counter in a flash.

"May I help you?" She asked warmly, a content smile on her face.

The hedgehog was taken aback by her sudden appearance but, after regaining himself, began to glance over what she had to offer.

He lifted his hand to scratch his chin and answered, with a smile on his face, "Just having a gander at what you've got."

"As you can see," she started, before waving her hand over the variety of foods that had been baked, "we offer a range of breads, jam tarts and even scones - all baked to perfection."

"I can see that…" the hedgehog commented, his mouth almost drooling from the choices he had.

The female rabbit chuckled at the young boy's face, before asking, "Would you like my recommendation?" The hedgehog simply nodded in reply, and she said, "Try the cracker bun! It has the tenderness of a white-breaded bun complimented by a crunchy cracker nested in the centre! It is bound to be a sure-fire hit!"

"Well," the blue hedgehog's face lit up with a grin, "may I have one of those cracker bread thingies-"

"Cracker bun."

"Yeah! Can I have that with a…" the hedgehog's words trailed off as he scanned for a reasonably priced treat. "…A blackcurrant jam tart, please?"

The rabbit nodded happily and walked towards a pile of paper bags before saying, "Just one moment, young man."

Upon paying the rabbit, the hedgehog thanked her and made his way back onto the street, but not before hearing the voice of a man shout in complaint, "Honey! She's crying again! Keeps going on about her Chao egg not hatching yet!"

"I'll be right there! You come and mind the front, will you dear?" The boy heard her respond, but the rest of the conversation was cut off by the door closing behind him.

After he had learnt that this was, coincidentally, the city in which he had been meaning to come to after hearing locals chatter away, the hedgehog decided to wait until he had delivered the package he was carrying before settling down to eat his food. It was fortunate that the farmer who had given him a 'lift' had the same destination.

As he explored the city, he saw that there were many shops based around mysticism and the supernatural. In the windows, fortune telling was advertised, as well as the chance to make contact with the 'spirit world'. The hedgehog couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, as he believed such things to be nonsense. Indeed, the stone city had a range of places to shop, sleep and visit. It had cobbled streets separated by small streams running down the middle; arched bridges connecting the upper-gardens of houses; fountains that lay in the centre of parks with children running bare feet in their shallow waters.

To this young hedgehog, it was almost like stepping back in time, to how Mobius was before industry and the like. Mobius was a peculiar place, not only due to the land itself but also those, the Mobians, that lived there. Cities such as this one seemed to have frozen all 'progress' at one point or another. There were also cities that resided by the sea, with large ships that ferried people across the ocean to distant lands. There were even cities that had machines that could talk, walk and even fly by their will alone, though the hedgehog had never been to such a place.

However, there was also one particular city where machines such as these were said to be extremely common, with buildings made of steel and glass that reached above the clouds. Although, for some reason unbeknownst to the hedgehog, the clouds were said to be black, with some even saying they were unnatural and choked the planet, slowly squeezing life out of the air itself. Though not many knew actual facts regarding this city, as it resided in the sky by the means of, supposedly, large spinning wings that allowed it to stay afloat.

The only other landmass that could remain in the sky was Angel Island, though there were even more mysteries surrounding that place. No one knew how it levitated above the sea, or even what lived there. The hedgehog had decided not too long ago that he would one day venture to this place of mystery and see for himself what Angel Island held aloft; the land it kept secret from the world below.

Eventually, the young hedgehog found the building he was looking for. There was nothing noteworthy to say about the delivery. The hedgehog knocked, an owl answered, paid the delivery boy his sum of rings and then took the package inside and closed the wooden door. This was how it always was, and how the blue hedgehog wanted it to be. He saw new places and had minimal hassle along the way, with the actual acquisition and delivery of packages taking up only a few precious moments in-between.

The hedgehog settled down on a low stone wall covered in moss, beside a large fountain which had a quadruplet of bronze baby elephants stood around a small pool of water in the centre. Every minute or so, the elephants would shoot water from their trunks into the air, with the water reaching a decent height as they did so. Unfortunately, the hedgehog didn't know this until the droplets landed directly onto him. With a shudder, the hedgehog stood up angrily and searched for another place to eat in peace. After a few minutes had passed, he found the perfect spot to sit down, relax and have his food. In one of the many parks that the city held, there was a large blossom tree resting peacefully beside a pond. There was no fountain in sight, fortunately.

After resting his back against the trunk of the tree and crossing one leg over a stretched one, the hedgehog began to eat. However, once again, the hedgehog's was tested. After taking only one bite out of the cracker bun that the rabbit had recommended, his taste buds exploded in disgust. How something like fresh bread, whether it was in the form of a loaf or bun, could be so foul was beyond him. Maybe it was the inclusion of a cracker in the centre? Even so, it wouldn't, couldn't taste THIS bad! But the brave blue hedgehog stuck out his chest, plucked up a good amount of courage and decided to consume the 'food' rapidly, as he would not let the rings he had spent go to waste!

Soon enough, the ordeal was over and the hedgehog had his dessert to look forward to. With haste like that of the wind during a hurricane, the hedgehog consumed his blackcurrant jam tart in mere seconds, before happily stroking his stomach in satisfaction and closing his eyes, as the problem of his hunger had finally been resolved and would allow him to relax.

He dosed in and out of sleep, completely unaware of the world around him as the sun fell graciously behind the distant hills and the moons took their place in the sky; one a dull grey and the other, the larger of the two, being the palest of whites, emitting a ghostly aura around it's circular shape. Eventually however, as though a voice in the back of his head had kicked him out of his slumber, the hedgehog's eyelids opened suddenly as he remembered that there was an establishment recommended to him by his employer: The Knothole Inn.

After a brief argument with himself over whether to venture around town in an attempt to find the inn or just sleep outside like he had been doing, the blue furred boy decided that it was probably best for him to recuperate indoors as the night air was especially chilly in these parts of Mobius, despite the day being the very opposite.

As he wandered down cobbled street after cobbled street, the hedgehog began to regret his decision. There was no sign of The Knothole Inn anywhere, and the night was only settling in more and more, darkening all alleyways until they were pitch black. The street lamps, which protected small flames behind clear, thin glass were barely able to bring light to the city streets. Windows of houses had their curtains drawn or wooden shutters closed, preventing all light from escaping.

However, just as the hedgehog was about to give up hope, a distant, almost non-existent sound caught the attention of his ears. It was the sound…of song. As the hedgehog boy followed the tune, it began to sound more and more like men drunkenly singing in unison to an off-key string instrument - maybe a fiddle. The closer he got, the less pleasant it all sounded. Although, it was thanks to this 'choir' of drunken men that he had found the place he was looking for as, just above a large door, there was a sign that had the words 'The Knothole Inn' carved into decaying wood. Not a moment after seeing this, the hedgehog bore witness to the inn's door being flung open and a large boar being thrown out onto the street.

"And I'll tell ya now," a deep, bellowing voice started, "if ya show yer face 'ere again after pullin' a stunt like that, I'll 'av them what'cha-call-'em Rogues come after you, ya hear me?!"

The evicted boar nodded in fear before stumbling away so fast that he ended up falling into an open barrel and rolling down a sloping street. The hedgehog couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the boar's misfortune. But, with luck once again not on his side, this earned him the attention of the one who had the booming voice; a bear who was standing mere centimetres away. He stood up straight, his broad shoulders further emphasised due to his small head. His paws were large, as were his feet, with both resting at the end of arms and legs built like tree trunks. His stare was cold and intimidating. The only part of him that didn't quite fit the rest of his fearsome image, apart from his head, was the large beer-belly that stretched the fabric of his stained shirt.

With a snarl he asked, "An' what are you laughin' at young'un, eh?"

"Oh, nothing! I was just, er-walking by when you-I mean he, err…fell into the street then-ummm…" The bear raised an eyebrow, waiting for the young hedgehog to finish what he was saying, despite him trailing off. Hoping to change subject, the hedgehog said, with a nervous grin, "…I…I need a place to rest for the night and this inn was recommended to me by a friend…I mean, employer! My employer! He said to come here!"

The bear slowly made his way over to the boy, who could only stand there as the bear's terrifying figure towered over him. As he looked down at the hedgehog, who stood in his shadow, the bear questioned, "So…you're a customer?"

"Ye-yea-yes…?" The boy stuttered unsurely while slowly raising an eyebrow. The bear placed a paw firmly on the young hedgehog's shoulder and…sighed.

The bear's straight face suddenly transformed, his yellow fangs were now out on full display as they formed a grin and he shouted, "Well, why didn't ya say so?! C'mon in, young'un an' sit by the fire! You're more than welcome 'ere!" He then led the hedgehog towards the door, before adding, "So long as you're willin' to pay, that is."

Upon entering the inn, the air felt musky; heavy. The young hedgehog's senses were numbed by the profound aroma of alcohol and various things being burnt, from the tobacco in elderly men's wooden smoking pipes to logs in the fire to whatever was being cooked in the kitchen. Drunken women sat on even drunker men's laps, laughing hysterically as they did so to bad jokes and unheard profanities. Indeed, while this place was ideal for any adult looking for a good time, it was hardly suitable for a young boy hedgehog, who was starting to think he may have been better sleeping underneath that tree he had rested at earlier.

"So you said you're lookin' for a place to stay?" The bear asked, while taking a weathered beer tankard from the bar counter before taking a dirtied cloth from his pocket and scrubbing the beverageware's insides.

The hedgehog nodded in reply, before saying, "Will…that be a problem?"

The bear shakes his head, an amused smile on his face, "No! No, no, no! Just so happens we have one free, so you can have that'un."

"They're all free, Merle!" A female voice stated with a shout. Just after this, another bear appeared, coming from the door that led to the kitchen. "Ain't a single bleedin' one expected to 'av an 'ed restin' in 'em tonight, and your woodman-ship's to blame!"

The male bear, Merle, jumped in shock, "How dare you, ya wretched wretch of wretchedness! I'll

'av you know I spent over a month workin' on those bleedin' beds, and I'm not half proud of 'em!"

While Merle had been defending his work, the 'wretch' had been collecting all the used plates and tankards from around the inn and placed them on a rusted iron tray.

"Keep telling' yourself that, ya bleedin' idiot! Meanwhile, I need to get back to cooking for our-oh!" She stopped just short of the door from which she came, and turned to give Merle a wicked look before continuing, "My customers."

Merle could only huff and puff in frustration, at a loss of words to say and insults to throw. He then stomped away, out of sight and, almost, out of mind until the hedgehog heard a sudden sound, accompanied by a shriek of pain. The clatter of numerous metal objects somehow managed to top that of the merry patrons in the inn, while Merle's minor curse words were on the other end of the spectrum, just quiet enough to escape the young hedgehog's ears. Before long, Merle returned, numerous bruises on his forehead and exposed feet, which were undoubtedly the main victims when he was being attacked by the onslaught of keys. The hedgehog had gathered this as, in Merle's hand, was a silver key which, despite almost everything else in the inn, was in surprisingly good condition.

The hedgehog thanked Merle, handed over the rings that he owed, and then made his way up a creaky set of stairs after Merle explained that he was staying in the room at the far end of the hall to the right once he had reached the landing.

While making his trip to the second floor, the blue furred hedgehog only just managed to avoid a nail that was menacingly pointing upwards out from one of the wooden stairs. He promised himself that, once this night was over, he would never set foot in this establishment again, even if he was to visit the city in the future.

The second floor consisted of one long hallway, down the middle of which was a long, sickly green coloured rug. Around it's edges was the pattern of a continuous golden chain, or, at least, what had been a golden chain, as it was now nothing more than a pale yellow squiggly line.

When the hedgehog reached the door to his room, he placed the silver key inside the lock and…it opened. It seemed that this key was not only the best preserved object inside of the inn, but also the only thing that performed it's function without complications, as well.

Once inside his rented room, the hedgehog was even more surprised at what he saw. The bed sheets had been placed neatly; there was a drawing desk for writing and, for the ladies, putting on make-up; a mirror without a single crack; the window could not only be opened and closed, but also had curtains. The hedgehog was beginning to see why his employer had recommended the place.

And so, after putting aside his things and washing his face using a small pottery bowl filled with water, the young blue hedgehog jumped underneath his covers and rested his head comfortably on a pillow. The terrible music that he had once heard the men sing and fiddler play began to sound…soothing. Perhaps it was the fact that, downstairs, they were sobering up, or even just growing tired and so settled for quieter and more relaxing tunes. Either way, the hedgehog couldn't help but smile as he fell into a deep, much needed sleep…

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

And so ends the prologue of Sonic Tales: Wanderlust. I'm really excited about writing this story, and feel it'll give me a chance to stretch my creative legs. For more information regarding this story, such as what it is and what I hope to achieve with it, check out my account. If there was any mistakes, let me know and I'll fix them!

Thanks for reading!