Espio couldn't recall ever being in a place so tranquil. The forest floor was covered in a soft blanket of dead leaves and moss, while the sunlight streamed in between the cracks of the wide, pale-barked trees. Their trunks were straight and did not sprout branches until about fifteen feet up from the ground. The brightness of their bark provided a stunning contrast with the lush green of everything else in the woods. The terrain was also relatively hilly, as Espio soon realized that the forest was at the base of a range of pillar shaped cliff-like mountains. For the past day since their arrival, he and Charmy had been journeying towards the mountain range in hopes of getting a better look at this new world and where they should go to find Knuckles and Vector.
Charmy had flown up past the forest canopy to determine the forests' far off surroundings, and found that in the direction opposite of the mountain range, there was nothing but endless forest. Also, because that they had not found Knuckles, Vector, or Rouge he was unwilling to fly too far from Espio to see how long the forest stretched on for. The two were currently making their way through the brush of the forest which was dead silent, aside from Charmy's constantly moving mouth.
"How do we even know we'll see anything from this mountain?" he complained. "I still think we should go the other way."
"If you want to get lost in an unending forest, be my guest," Espio replied plainly. "We need to find out where Knuckles and Vector have gone, and the best way to do that is to get a bird's eye view of the land. And we don't know what lies within that mountain range. It looks more promising than a maze of trees."
"I really hate that you always have to be right," Charmy griped. The duo continued moving through the woods and were approaching the base of the frontal mountains when Espio began to feel uneasy. The sun was beginning to set, and the twilight seemed to stain the tree trunks with a reddish tinge. He stopped and looked around, feeling some elusive presence.
"What's up, Espio?" Charmy asked, landing on the ground beside him.
"Shh," Espio whispered. Charmy looked around, confused. The forest was very still without a sign of sentient life anywhere. Espio drew his throwing knives from his back sling and clutched them tightly. His eyes shifted all around him, much like he did when he would shift from wall to wall. Suddenly, he extended both his arms while performing a jump spin. He landed facing the direction he previously had his back to. A black cable with a tight knot on each end, most likely meant to immobilize its target, landed in front of him sliced in three pieces.
Both Espio and Charmy looked up in the direction the cable had come, and the canopy leaves rustling. Out of the corner of his eye, Espio saw a black booted foot and dark red fur step on one of the branches. He sprinted to the nearest tree trunk and scrambled up to the canopy quickly, while Charmy flew in pursuit of the creature in the trees. Following the swift movement of the branches, Espio sprung from tree to tree and used his hands to stick to the treetops. Predicting where the attacker would move next, he launched himself downwards diagonally onto one of the tree trunks and saw the branches rustling directly above him. He sprung up vertically as quickly and collided head on with the assailant.
The force caused both Espio and his target to be knocked out of the canopy and toward the ground. The attacker tried several kicks and shoves to distance itself away from Espio, and all Espio could do was block them without letting his opponent get away. Just before they made contact with the surface, the attacker sprung its knees and broke away from Espio. They both landed on the ground stealthily on their feet, where Espio got a clear view of his enemy for the first time.
A female echidna, looking about the same age as Knuckles but with much darker fur was now standing a short distance away as she drew out two scythes. Her dreadlocks were tipped black and she was dressed in tight fitting white attire. Her outfit was ripped down along one side below her elbow and along the midriff area in the front. She also had tightly laced black boots that rose up to her shins, both having throwing knives held in place by straps on their sides. She was breathing heavily and had her eyes fixed on Espio with both a look of surprise and a seething dislike. The two continued to look at each other with weapons drawn while Charmy flew up behind Espio and landed beside him.
"Ok, that was intense!" Charmy exclaimed. The echidna's eyes shot quickly to Charmy, then back to Espio. Espio sensed that she seemed more scared and defensive rather than actually wanting to fight, so he lowered his knives slightly.
"Ok…let's just calm down a little," Espio started. The echidna did not lower her weapons and continued to stare silently. "Can I ask…who are you? We mean you no harm," Espio finished in a stern voice.
"Tell me who and what you are first," she responded, her voice full of distrust. "And what you're doing here." Before Espio could answer, Charmy spoke.
"I'm Charmy and I'm a bee!" he friendlily introduced. "This is Espio, he's a chameleon!" Charmy smiled at her while Espio rolled his eyes. "And we came here to help our friend that got transported here by accident through a portal!" The echidna gave him a confused and bitter look while he continued to grin at her.
"Can you tell us who you are? I promise we aren't looking for trouble but we don't know much about this place and we could use a little direction," Espio offered. The echidna turned her gaze back to Espio and lowered her scythes inconsiderably. She finally spoke after a few seconds.
"My name is Dilek," she said cautiously.
"Can you tell us where we are?" Charmy asked eagerly.
"You're in the Kalock Forest, north of the Mearyn and Goribe territories," she said, uncertainty and suspicion still prevalent in her voice.
"And…you live here? And what is Mearyn and Goribe?" Espio asked her. He had withdrawn he knives completely now as a sign of non-hostility. Dilek lowered her scythes to her side and softened her expression a little.
"You're really not from here, are you?" she asked in disbelief. "I've never seen beings like either of you before. But then, there have been a lot of strangers turning up in Mearyn lately."
"Strangers? Did you see a bat named Rouge?" Charmy questioned excitedly. Dilek just gave him a blank face.
"She would have had white fur, and black wings," Espio explained. Dilek's faced face turned from confused to hesitant again.
"Yes, I think I know who you mean," she said. "I think she was turned over to the council of seers in Mearyn."
"What does that mean?" Charmy asked. Dilek looked around worryingly for a minute and then spoke with a lowered voice.
"We shouldn't talk out in the open like this…you have got to promise me that you are just here to help your friend and nothing more. You swear that you're telling the truth?" Espio and Charmy both nodded. "Follow me then," she beckoned as she jumped back into the forest canopy.
Dilek moved very sharply through the branches and leaves, and while all Charmy had to do was fly, Espio found he had to actually stay quick on his feet to keep up with her. After traveling for about half an hour, they reached the base of the mountain range. The forest extended up the mountain slopes and thick vegetation was still present on top of some of the summits. Suddenly, Dilek dropped down off a branch and onto the ground. Espio and Charmy followed, and saw that she was standing in front of a massive tree trunk. It looked very old, with several of its roots sticking out of the ground as they stretched into the soil. The truck also deviated into its roots above the ground, leaving spaces in between them and exposing an underground tunnel.
"A burrow?" Espio asked.
"You're observant," Dilek said, with a hint a dry humor. She lead them inside, revealing a spacious, underground, cave-like den. There were a few items of furniture and a fire pit in the center, alone with several tapestries, papers, maps, and notes on a small desk in to the left of the entrance. There was also a separate, smaller room with a dark curtain draped over it.
"This is where you live?" Charmy looked around curiously. "By yourself?"
"Yes," Dilek answered solemnly as she began to organize the papers on the desk. "You'll have to forgive the untidiness, I wasn't expecting company while staying here."
"But why do you choose to live by yourself?" Charmy continued to pry.
"I was banished from my former home in Mearyn," Dilek responded. "For defying the council of seers."
Her voice sounded bitter, yet sad. The way she spoke seemed to be a sign that there was some kind of internal struggle happening in her mind, and Espio whole-heartedly noticed.
"Dilek, can you please tell us everything you know about this place called Mearyn? And about this council and what they want with Rouge?" he said soothingly. Dilek sighed as she sat down in the chair in front of the desk. Charmy and Espio sat down on the floor, with Charmy leaning back onto his hands and Espio sitting cross legged with his arms folded over one another.
"Mearyn is the territory where I was born and it's where I grew up. It's an echidna civilization and is governed by a group of those gifted with foresight called the council of seers. My uncle is one of chief seers on this council, and as such had a great amount of political authority and power. Because my parents died when I was very young, myself and my younger sister were left in the care of my uncle." Dilek paused for a moment, seemingly working out how she was going to phrase what was coming next, then continued. "As a grew into an adult, I couldn't help but notice the increasing polarization of the society I lived in. The council became further and further alienated from the people it was suppose to serve, and instead became more concerned with wealth and power. They only cared about improving their own lifestyles and did not take the ongoing conflict with the Goribe peoples seriously. They became corrupt."
"And you called them out on it, didn't you?" Espio asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Eventually, yes. I would often address the people of Mearyn and I took it upon myself to play the role of interface between the people and the council. While the Mearynite citizens appreciated that I was taking their day to day concerns into account, the council frowned upon it. I do not have the sight and gift that they do, and I am young and too inexperienced and foolish. It came to a point where they would not listen to the peopled outcries I presented to them, so I publically criticized them for it. Our soldiers were being killed from repeating conflicts with the Goribes and I could not stand by and let them to continue to allow it to happen. So they banished me."
Espio closed his eyes and ran his fingers over each other while Charmy looked on with a wondered interest.
"Your own uncle banished you? That's rough" Charmy sympathized.
"Yes…but in the past few months, there has been something very wrong with him. His behavior has changed so much. It's almost as if he can't think for himself. None of them can…not since that doctor showed up. He's been manipulating their every decision," Dilek said barely above a whisper. Espio had been listening intently with his eyes closed, but immediately opened them upon hearing the word doctor.
"A doctor? What did he look like?" he demanded.
"He had these blue eyepieces on his head, and he wore a strange looking red and yellow suit. And he had very thick hair growth above his mouth. He calls himself Ivo," Dilek answered, sounding a bit disgusted with what she was describing.
Espio and Charmy looked at each other worringly as the same thought crossed both their minds. Dilek noticed their expressions and worked out exactly what they were thinking.
"You're familiar with him, aren't you? Do you think he's the reason your friend was brought here?" Dilek asked.
"We know it is," Espio said coldly. "And if he has somehow gotten power over this council, we need to get Rouge out of there."