I scanned the board. The names were all different, none had the same first or last name as each other. But one stood out. "Hugh Parker." Not many people had that name. It's rare to see someone with a name like that, they weren't from around here.
I turned away and left for my carriage. I got up there and sat and think. "I need to find this Phoenix." I thought. "But how?" Suddenly though, I remembered something. A long time ago, when I was still just a boy, there was a man I used to listen to. I thought he was so cool, he always had a story to tell, and it was enough to entertain my prepubescent child brain, but now that I think about them, these stories were just a bunch of words thrown together at random, yet somehow they formed a story in such a strange way, I could decipher them as a kid. If I had tried today, I'd think he was just crazy, which he probably was, and still is if he's alive.
But he talked about animals. Lots of animals, some I've never heard of. Animals from lands far away, like 'tigers'. I had never heard of them until he had mentioned them and described them to me. They are a lot like the wild cats we have here, but they are bigger, and orange with black stripes running down their back. They have really sharp teeth, and they roar a mighty roar unlike anything I'd ever heard before. He tried to recreate this 'roar', but it sounded strange. It was deep, and loud. Something I wouldn't expect to come from a cat, so when I heard it as a kid, I laughed. It was good fun, but I had never believed him when I was a child. There's always a possibility that it was true, but now I think he was lying. I mean he'd also talk about mythical creatures just as much as those, and mythical creatures have the word 'mythical' for a reason. But now I don't know what to think, because I talked to a mythical creature, something I thought was fake, so tigers may very well be real.
I think if anyone had any info on mythical creatures, it'd be him. The fact he has any info on the specific one I'm looking for is a long shot, but it's worth a try right? I got moving out of the city. I got admitted out and got moving. Now I just have to figure out how to find the guy. He moved around a lot. I think he lives at one of the villages, but I'm not sure. He was around very rarely, so I'm not sure where he's be. But by now he should be an old man, and he surely has settled down somewhere. But then again, it's a crazy man, he's may be very active still.
I needed to see my mom. She'd probably know where to find him. She knew him, but she wasn't friends with him. In fact, she told me to stay away from him, as well as my dad at the time, so the probability is still low.
On my way there, I'd check the back of my carriage. I was so used to having the Phoenix back there, and I'd have to check on him, making sure he's not screwing with anything, and especially making sure he doesn't set anything on fire. But he's not here, and it felt so strange. I had grown used to having someone by me during my journeys.
I eventually made it to the first village. I parked my carriage outside my moms house and went and knocked the door. She opened it saying "hello."
"Hey mom, I need to talk to you."
She let me in, worried something had happened again. We sat down and I assured her I was fine though.
"Mom, do you remember that guy from a long time ago. He'd tell me about animals from far away, and things like that." I asked. She thought for a moment. It was only natural, I mean she hadn't seen him for decades.
"I think I know who you're talking about." She said. "I forget his name, but I know he lives in one of the villages."
"Really, he does?"
"Mhmm." She nodded. "It may be the second closest one to the city."
"The third?"
"Sure."
I stood up and checked my pockets, making sure I had everything. "I'll be off now." I said.
"You're going home?" She asked.
"No, I'm going to the village."
"But the sun is already setting." My mom reminded me. I looked out the window to see the sun, setting behind the mountains.
This was tough. Do I go there during the night and miss my schedule, or do I find out where the Phoenix is. "I'm going to the village anyway." I decided, and I left.
I hopped onto the carriage and started moving. As I left, the people at the village stared. After that show I put on last time I was here, I made a name for myself I guess. "The bleeding guy" is probably what they call me. I waved and left, heading down the path.
The third village is pretty mysterious. I've never explored it, so I wouldn't know if anyone lives there, but it's always clean. Not even a single carriage is left out in the road, nor are there any carriages. Every time I'd go there, there was always this weird feeling I got. A shiver down my spine, or goosebumps. This feeling came in many forms, but it was never pleasant. It was always like a sign telling me to leave, which I did. But now I'm going to have to stay, there's no getting around it, unless I decided I didn't want to find the Phoenix.
I made it to the second village. It was louder than usual. I knew I shouldn't, but I got curious, so I investigated. It was clean, as usual, but loud. It's not like there were many people outside, I couldn't really see any, except for some beggars on the street. They also looked like they were looking for the source of the noise. I rode around the village, and I saw two people wrestling in the street. "Fully grown men tackling each other. How sad." I thought… until I saw the knife.
One of them had a small knife, and the other had nothing but his fists. I didn't know what to do. I don't think I could've done anything. But my lack of action ended up with the other getting stabbed. The man jumped on top of him and swung away on him, stabbing him left and right. The blood was as red as a rose, and the man became as white as a ghost as the blood drained from him.
The man stopped stabbing him, and looked to me. We made eye contact. But his eyes were familiar. I've seen them before. I began to laugh and point at him. Oh it was hysterical! It's that guy that threatened me with that dull knife! I leaned forward because I was laughing so hard. The guy must've remembered me, and he was real offended. I wasn't scared though. Why would I be? The man got up, but instead of coming to me, he started kicking the body. He ruthlessly kicked that corpse, like it was a pebble on the ground. But that reminded me of something, which caused me to reflect on myself. This guy just killed a man, and I was laughing. I knew it wasn't the man being killed that was funny, in fact I didn't really remember what I was laughing for. I guess I wanted to just go back to a time when I didn't care about life or death, but now that I've gotten so close, I finally realized my error. I never really cared about what happens to people, but now I do, and I don't like it. I turned my carriage around and left. The man must've grown wiser, because he didn't chase me this time. He must've been humbled by my last appearance here. But why was he killing that guy?
I stopped by a little outdoor market. They hand fruit, candles, knives, and oil lamps. I picked up one and looked at it. It was small and lightweight. I payed about 3 phila for it. It wasn't that expensive, but it was a lot more that I had expected to pay. I thought it'd be just 40 phil, but I guess that's the type of 'deals' you get at an outdoor market like this.
I left the village and headed out for the third village again. It was getting late, the sun had set below the mountains. All that was left was the remaining light in the blue sky illuminating the area with its glow. I almost never stay out this long. I'd probably be in bed by now, but as much as I want to stick with my schedule, I need to find this Phoenix.
I finally was able to see the village, but with the sun setting, it was just a mere outline at this point. I couldn't see any detail, like lights, windows, or even the doors. There were only about 3 houses, all shrouded in darkness. I knew it'd be dark so I took the lamp. I'm not usually afraid of the dark, but I'm usually not outside in the dark, so this was sort of scary for me. I heard the howling of wolves in the distance, which made my anxiety rise even more. The last thing I needed right now were wolves attacking me.
I lit my lamp. It didn't do much, I could only see about 2 meters in front of me. The dark orange hue of the light didn't make it any easier to see either. I went by one house. It was smaller than the other two. It had no porch, but a staircase leading to the front door. Each step I took, the wooden staircase would creak. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I looked through a window. It was pitch black inside. I turned away from the house and went back down to the road.
I went to the second house. This house was the biggest, but from what I could see, it looked worn, almost abandoned. It wasn't dirty by any means, there weren't even any broken windows, nor any mold on it, but it just had that 'haunted' feeling to it. If no one lived there, a ghost definitely did. I knocked on the door, to no answer either.
I went to the final house. This one was a medium size wise. It had a nice decorated porch. I didn't mind this, because it was always decorated. Nice red ribbons on the fence outlining the porch, weird carvings on the wall. It had been known to me as simply 'the decorated house'. I went up the porch. I was surprised by the quality of the porch. Unlike the other houses, there were no squeaky boards. Every step I took was quiet, no noise at all.
I knocked on the door. No answer. I thought if anything, there'd be someone in here. I turned away and went to the stairs and sat down. "How will I find the Phoenix now?" I don't want to wait until he comes back on his own, even though I could. I want to figure out what's happening with him. Is he just looking after others who are also destined to die? Maybe this could all be some weird coincidence, but it's definitely suspicious.
I got up and went to my carriage. I patted my horses head. She was tired, and getting ready to sleep, so I had to wake her up a little. I climbed up onto the carriage and put my lamp down, grabbing the ropes.
"Hello there!"
I instinctively looked to the back of my carriage, expecting it to be the Phoenix, but I realized it wasn't the voice of the Phoenix quickly. Also I saw that it wasn't even there. I looked to the other side of my seat and saw an old man. I immediately recognized him. It was the guy!
"It's you!" I exclaimed, pointing at him.
"Yes that's right, I am in fact myself!" He said laughing at his own joke."
He was a nice black man, old of course. He had white hair, a wrinkly face, and feeble boney hands. He was also very skinny. You could see veins running through his hand and arms, and his ears were big. He spoke in a loud voice, contrasting with the mostly silent night. It was raspy, like he had smoked all his life. My suspicion was confirmed by the smell of smoke, and the fact he pulled a cigar from his front pocket.
"See this?" He asked.
I looked at the cigar, but nothing of note was really on it. He rolled it to another side and pointed at some writing on it. The writing read: 1357 Griffin. It was a cigar produced in 1357, almost 100 years ago.
"What does that mean?" I asked him.
"Oh nothing, but I thought that's what you came here for. To talk about animals!" He responded loudly, raising his arms like he was frustrated that I didn't remember.
"How would you know that?"
"You always came to me to talk about mysterious animals, remember?"
"Huh." I said, realizing he was right, as he put the cigar away back into his pocket.
"You know, Griffins are mighty creatures." He continued. "They are half lion, and half eagle!"
"I've heard of eagles, but I've never heard of or seen a lion." I said.
"Remember when I told you about tigers? Ah, you probably don't, but they are like them, but lions are only one color, a sort of light yellow, with brown manes."
"What are manes?"
"Hmm." The old man thought, scratching his chin hairs. "Think of it as a crown, or even a necklace, showing dominance over all other beings…"
Here he goes on one of his incoherent jumbled mess of a rant. I remember this so clearly. It's like I was just talking to him about creatures from far away just yesterday.
"…Anyway, a mane is quite literally a big mass of fur around the lions neck. He finally finished.
I had a clear picture of what lions looked like now, but whether or not it was accurate is beyond my ability to comprehend. But he gave just enough of an explanation to imagine the creature, but left just enough out to leave room for imagination. I know this because he told me this himself back when I would talk with him as a kid.
"By the way, what's your name?" I asked.
He looked at me in confusion for a second, and laughed hysterically when he realized I was serious. "All those years I talked with you, and you don't even know my name?!" He laughed so hard he wheezed. It reminded me of what I did earlier, and I didn't like that.
"So what's your name?" I asked again.
"You don't need to know my name son, it's fine." He said wiping tears from his eyes.
"Well I'd at least like to know what to call you."
He looked up and thought for a second. This seems to be something he did a lot, although I don't remember him doing that when I was a kid.
"Mr. Parker." He finally said. "You can call me Mr. Parker."
"Parker?" I made sure he was saying what was hearing.
"That's the name!" Before I could ask him about it, he hopped off of the carriage, and he invited me into his home. I of course excepted.
He directed my to the third house. He opened the door, which was unlocked. I could've just walked in there at any time.
"So you don't lock your door?"
"Never!" He exclaimed. "Why would I?"
"I mean, people might break in. I mean with a n-"
"Nah, why would they do that?" He interrupted me. "I ain't got a dime in this house."
"How do you get food then?"
"Hunting!"
"You're still hunting at this age?"
"What's so strange about that?" He asked. I looked down and didn't say anything. He took the sign. "I'm old, is that it?" He chuckled. "Being old don't hold you back from doing what you wanna do! Never limit yourself son."
I nodded, although I didn't really understand. It's not me who limits myself at an old age, it's my aging body that limits me, but I'll just go along with what he says. Mr. Parker ain't exactly sane, like I said, he goes on rants, and tells stories that don't relate to what we talk about, but that's part of his charm I guess. There's nothing more fun to a child than listening to someone older than you tell you about the wonders of the world.
He sat down on a wooden rocking chair. It was obviously old, but in great shape. It didn't even creak when rocked, and it looked very polished. There were parts that were chipped off of the chair, but that's only natural with old wooden chairs.
"So there's something I wanted to ask you about." I told Mr. Parker
"Yes?" He said.
"Do you know Hugh Parker?"
"Hmm, I don't recognize the name." He said. He started snapping his fingers trying to remember. "The name sounds familiar, but I don't know em'." He concluded.
"Okay then." I said, moving on. "Do you know about Phoenixes."
"Nope, not a thing." He answered quickly, looking away from me. He started snapping his fingers when he realized I didn't buy it.
"You're saying you know nothing about Phoenixes?"
"I know stuff about Griffins, they are quite big-"
"Just tell me what you know Mr. Parker, and I'll be off."
"How about dragons?" He tried to change the subject.
"No, you've told me about them before, I just need to know about Phoenixes."
"No, I will not speak of those monsters." He said strictly. "They are wayward, hard to predict. They are perverse in their nature, and exploit others for their own gain."
"Can they predict the future?" I asked. Mr. Parker looked at me suspiciously, and I realized my mistake in asking that.
"No, they can not." He answered slowly, squinting at me with one eyebrow up. "Unless you know something I don't."
"Ha ha, no, I've just heard stories about that, sorry to trouble you." I lied.
I got up and went to the door. But before I opened it to leave, I looked back. I had one more question.
"Hey, Mr. Parker, are you familiar with the Parker Company?" Mr. Parker looked up at me, not saying at anything. "Were you perhaps the founder of the Parker Company?"
Mr. Parker smiled very wide and his eyes lit up. "No but I was part of it!" He said laughing. "Oh we would go on these great adventures! We saw all sorts of things, new bugs, new animals. We saw everything!" He laughed remembering his adventures with the Parker Company.
I left the house, but I still heard him laughing and telling stories to himself. He had such a great time on his own. I went back to the first house to see something. There was a sign next to the door, and it said "Parker." There was also the same sign at the second house.
"So that's why no one's ever here." I concluded.
As I left the village, I could still hear him detailing adventures from inside his house. I'm sure he stayed up all night recounting his past journeys.