Sonic Tribal: Ch. 3

Chapter 3 The Speaking Rock

Out in the deep jungle, Ash was moving around in some tall grass and plants.  He has been out for a good amount of the day, trying to find a prize to impress Mina with.  He has always had to compete with Sonic to get Mina's attention, However that was real hard to do, because Sonic had so much honor from all of his hunting.  And now Ash had suspicions that he would have to compete with that little fox too.  He saw how Mina looks at him.  Even Manic has his eye on Mina, as well as other girls.  But Ash was not too worried about Manic.  Ash knows Mina is not interested in Manic.

Ash was rather annoyed that he could not find much of a trace of an animal worth hunting.  There where plenty of birds chirping, bugs running around on the ground, and snakes that slither just about anywhere.

He eventually found some tracks.  Ash knelt down to it and started to sniff around.  It was an elk.  Seemingly to be a great prize to find, for that elk are not often found.  A rare prize will be the perfect way to impress Mina.

Ash started to follow the fresh tracks while he stayed low to the ground.  He followed them threw many bushes and tall plants.  And he eventually came to a point where he saw light paw prints moving towards the elk tracks.  Ash looked at them and found that they where Wild Cub tracks.

The mongoose started to get shivers down his spine for that he knew that those large cats can tear a tribe member into shreds within seconds.  Not to mention the ability to plan out ambushes.  While Ash was fingering his ear; mostly playing with his 4 pricings, he was wondering if he should risk it and see if he can find the elk, or just go home without a prize.  He knew not all hunts are successful, even Sonic returns empty handed from time to time.

Eventually the curiosity of; if the elk was able to evade the Wild Cubs or not, got the best of Ash.  An elk is too great of a prize to pass up, and he really wanted Mina's attention.  As he kept on tracking he said, "The only time I was able to have Mina was when I had my Ceremony of ageing.  But with an elk, I am guaranteed to win her!  Not even Sonic has much luck getting an elk."

It was in that moment that Ash came to a spot where there was blood on the jungle floor.  He knelt down to it and took a dab of blood with his finger and tasted it.  He found that it was elk.  Then he heard purring.  The tribe does not see purring as a pleasant sound, it's a sound to be feared

Ash looked over some large plants and he saw blood splattered all over the place, with 3 Wild Cubs feasting on a dead elk.  They where so cute, how they smile all the time and how there eyes shine.  Of course they don't seem all that cute to tribe members, because they seen what they do.

At this point Ash started to back off real slow.  Then he stepped on a twig that snapped and echoed.  The Mongoose just about turned white, but regardless if anything else heard it, he started to run as fast as he can.  While he was running, he did not see any Wild Cubs coming after him, but he did not want to take the chance, he knew they where crafty hunters.

Ash kept on running for his life but he soon tripped on some rock and fell with a yelp.  He was able to catch himself with his hands, but he found that he hurt his toes real bad.  Ash tired to get up, but his toes hurt so much he could not stand.  Then he realized that he was alive, "Odd.  Thos Wild Cubs should be all over me!  Man I'm lucky!"

He soon looked over to what he tripped on and saw that it was a flat rock, but not just any rock.  This rock was rectangle, about 13"x17".  And it had a bunch of wired stuff carved into it.  Ash never saw anything like it, and he knew it was not natural.  "What the heck is this?  Maybe Guardian Knuckles knows.  He knows almost everything about the jungle."

The Mongoose picked the rock up, and tried to stand up.  He had to ignore the pain in his toes.  He was not sure if he just hurt it, or broke them.  But he will have Amy take a look when he gets home.

After a long journey of limping, Ash made it to the gates.  The gate keeper saw him from the window, and opened up the gates.  He started to limp his way to the Temple Palace.  But that is when Amy spotted him, "Hey Ash! Put that thing down and come with me!"

"I need to take this to Guardian Knuckles!" exclaimed Ash.

Amy just took the rock from him and as she carried it, she helped Ash to her dwelling.  Once there she had Ash sit on a stone block and she started to feel around Ashe's foot, and he started to yelp a little, but tried to not seem week, so it won't damage his pride.  "It looks like it's broken," said Amy, "Brace yourself; I'm going to straiten them out."

Ash clinched his teeth as Amy started moving his tows back into place, the pain was rather intense but he tried to be a man about it.  Then Amy took some kind of cream and rubbed it on his toes as she started to chant some unknown words.  "There, all done!" exclaimed Amy cheerfully. "You feel better?"

"Yeah, did not hurt a bit," said Ash as he tried to hide his tears.  He then jumped off the stone block and he picked that strange rock up.  

He dashed out side and headed into the Temple Palace.  He went threw the large hall, and soon came up to the shrine where Knuckles was pacing in front of the Master Emerald.  "Sup Knux!" greeted Ash.  Knuckles looked over to him; apparently a little annoyed that Ash did not great him properly.  Ash held up the rock, "Hey I found something wired out there, and I wanted to know if you know anything about it."

When Ash put the rock on the floor of the shrine, Knuckles took a look at it.  After a few moments of Hummm's, Knuckles finally said, "I think that is writing, on that stone piece."

"Say what?"

"Writing.  It's a form of talking with these wired pictures.  Our tribe never hade a use for it, so you don't know about it."

As Ash leaned over the rock to look at all the characters on it, he asked, "So what does it say dude?"

Knuckles just shook his head, "I don't know.  I can't read either.  Like I said, talking with stone is useless to us!  But… Sally has the knowledge of reading, you can go ask her."

While Ash started to pick up the rock, Boomer came up, put his two fists together and greeted, "Guardian Knuckles."  This was the proper way to great some one as important as Knuckles.  "The Chaos Emerald has been pumping a lot of extra water threw our pluming!  I was just trying to use the (bathroom) and a geyser came up when pulled the leaver to dump my stuff.  We need a new relief point if the Emerald's power on the water keeps growing."

Ash was not interested with the village pluming issues.  He wanted to find out what this rock says.  He went back to the palace and went to another wing of the building.  He came into Chef Sally's chamber.  It was round, and had columns that held up the ceilings, and there was even a long dome.  Some water falls came out from ledges that had hanging gardens.  There were trough designs on the floor where the water flowed.

The Mongoose went up to Sally, who just sat on her Throne that was elevated by round steps.  Ash put his two fists together, "Chef Sally, I found this wired rock outside the village and I wanted to find out what it says."  He then put it on an alter in front of the throne.

Sally took a look at it.  She read it all through first, to find out what it is about. "This is a prophecy tablet, one of many from the looks of it.  It's from an ancient civilization from long ago.  But it does speak of the Master Emerald and it eventually replacing the humans."

"Humans!?" asked Ash as one ear went up.  "What the heck are humans?"

"I don't know.  Perhaps it got rid of them all ready, and that would be why we never heard of them. But replace them with what, I don't know.  That's all I can tell you with what you given me.  If I had the rest of the stones that go with this, I may be able to tell you more."

Then all of a sudden all the water falls in the room started to shoot out further from the spout as the pressure was growing.  After a few moments they started to flow normally and calmly.  Sally looked back at Ash, "Speaking of the Master Emerald, its power has been pulsing today.  I should ask Guardian Knuckles about it, so excuse me."  Sally then started to head out of the room as she added, "I hope it has not affected the plant life."

When Sally got up to the shrine she saw Knuckles there pacing, he was thinking hard about something.  And Knuckles does take a lot of time to think  She soon went up the steps as she said, "Guardian Knuckles, Have you noticed the power of the Master Emerald Pulsing?"

Knuckles did not stop pacing at all, "Yes.  It's preparing to do something.  More involved than giving birth."

Sally noted the tone that Knuckles had when he said (It) "When you mean It's preparing, are you talking about Chaos?"

Knuckles nodded, "I don't know what the deal is.  He seemed to be content with the forces of this jungle, and being over it.  All I know is that there is no negativity toward us."

Then Sally started to think about that rock that Ash found.  Him finding that and the Master Emerald pulsing in the same day seemed rather convenient.  "I wonder if that tablet Ash found could be related to what is going on."

"Sally!!!" exclaimed the voice of Tails as he was running up the hill to get to the shrine.  When he got up to her, he was nearly out of breath.  He put his fists together to show his respect and continued, "Sally the trees!  They are saying that they feel a tremor in the power of the Master Emerald!!"

Sally knew trees don't talk, but she also knows that Tails was not taught about the works of the Master Emerald yet because she believes he is not ready at this time. So how else would he know?  But Tails did so seem to posses many abilities that no one understands.  She knelt down to Tails and asked, "What do you mean Tails?  Trees don't talk, you know that."

He looked up at her with his shiny eyes, "I feel them speak, not hear them.  And they say they are growing too fast!  What's happening Sally?"  He knows that if anything deals with the Master Emerald; no one will tell him much because he doesn't have that freedom yet.  But he was scared, and wanted to know why.

At that moment Sally started to hear the trees creak.  She looked down to her feet and saw that the grass was a bit taller than what it was when she came up.  She soon turned to Knuckles, "Knuckles, see if the Emerald will grant you some visions.  I will send out some scouts to see if we can find anymore tablets that go with the one Ash found."  Then she looked down to the twin tailed fox, "Tails, you stay in the workshop with Boomer.  I think it will be safer for you."

Tails's ears drooped as he turned around to exit the shrine.  His tails where dragging on the ground as he mumbled to himself, "Yeah right, you just don't want me to know what's going on."

More to Come