Rise of the Archmage Alister

Morning came swiftly for Alister, as he passed out nearly as soon as his head hit the pillow. Yes he was happy for Wisteria and Myrtle. Yes it was nice to be in Keene again. But he was exhausted and desperately wanted for things to stop happening so he could get at least one night of real rest!

When he made his way out of his room, the home was already bustling in the warm morning light. The air was crisp, the chilly spring wind making him want to get back in bed, but he trudged on to the dining hall nonetheless. Inside was Harriet and Harriet… Huh. He hadn’t thought about the fact that the butler and his cousin had the same name. That would be slightly confusing if he called out their name for something. Thankfully, butler Harriet and cousin Harriet were vastly different from each other, not just from one being human and the other half-beastkin. Harriet the butler had her black hair and striking white eyes, whereas his cousin had bright purple hair and the Severin grey eyes.

He had missed this head butler dearly. She was one of the first people that made him feel comfortable in this confusing new life, and it was nice to see her again. Alister gave her a tired smile as he approached and sat down at the table.

His cousin was chattering with her about something, missing half the conversation he could only guess what about, “Anyway so Boln Acorns aren’t tasty but Julkiri Acorns are and they look really similar to me. I ate one of the good looking ones off the ground and it was bitter so I assumed it was a Boln one, but Olana told me that there’s another kind that…”

Alister completely zoned her out as he pulled an orange from the fruit bowl on the table and began to peel it. He waited for a lull in the conversation to speak up to butler Harriet, “Do you know where Wisteria is? Has she gotten up yet?”

“Yes, my lord,” she replied, as polite as he remembered her to be, “The only one who has yet to wake up would be Lady Marabell, who I believe had requested no one to bother her sleep, on threat of getting thrown out a window.”

The other Harriet nodded enthusiastically as she roughly swallowed a spoonful of oats and honey, “Mhm! Mm. Mom’s a heavy sleeper. She doesn’t like mornings unless there’s a job to do. And I mean if there’s a job to do she’ll wake up early for it but won’t be happy about it.”

“Wisteria is with her mother right now, I believe the two are catching up while Myrtle works on packing her alchemical supplies,” the butler Harriet explained, “Sir Alexys went with them to get to know Lady Wisteria better. The young woman is very sweet and protective of her mother, it’s nice to see. Sir Alexys will certainly have his hands full..”

“I see,” Alister said, still unsure yet what he wished to do for the day, “Harriet- not you,” he interjected as his cousin looked up with a mouth full of food, “Anyway. I am curious. How do you feel about us all moving back to Rythwith?”

The butler lightly chuckled, her kind white eyes looking over the two kids as she considered how to answer, “… I am happy to follow the duke wherever he goes. My life is indebted to him. I enjoyed this relative calm of the countryside, but I will be just as happy to move to the bustle of Rythwith. Both are home to me as long as I may serve the Severins.”

He hesitated as she said that. It felt strangely daunting, to have someone so devoted to his family. He didn’t want to do poorly by her. Alister cleared his throat, looking away, “Well… I’m happy to have you around. I missed you during our travels. It will be nice to have someone as reliable as you in Rythwith.”

She smiled, “I thank you for your confidence in me, though I assure you Rythwith is full of very capable people. Once you’ve settled in and gotten familiar with them, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. That said, young lord and lady, I must take my leave. I need to ensure the kitchen has Lady Marabell’s food prepared. Thank you again for your kind words, Lord Alister.” Harriet bowed and took her leave, leaving Alister and his cousin Harriet as the only ones in the dining hall.

Harriet stared at Alister, cheek full, “Wanna go oushide?”

He rolled his eyes, “We shouldn’t… and you should finish your food before you speak.”

“Bah! Coming fhom you,” she mumbled, chugging a cup of juice with both hands, “Ahhhh. Ok! Soooo. Yes, we shouldn’t, but. I’ve never been here before. And your dad and our mom are gonna be busy planning today. And Wisteria’s busy with her mom and that boyfriend guy. Soooo. Olana and I are gonna be bored and I bet you’re gonna be bored too.”

“I dunno. I mean I think a day of doing nothing actually sounds a little nice.”

“We’ve been doing almost nothing for too longgg! Aside from that bird attack, we’ve just been traveling. I wanna see the town!” she complained and whined so loudly.

Alister rolled his eyes, “Fine, I can show you around the town. It’s not very interesting. This place is small. It’s got some trade and other transient things because of how close it is to the border, but it really is just a small town.”

“I mean it’s not like THE border town. That’s Ebbern. I heard they’re busy because of how much stuff goes through them. And then people go to Gunthram to follow the coast and they don’t come to Keene as much. Mom says that there’s a Golden Axe branch in Gunthram and in Ebbern but not in Keene. She was complaining about it before,” Harriet chatted, going on and on, “When uncle Blas and us go to the border to check on stuff we’re probably gonna go to Ebbern to do it. But even though this place is small it’s still fun I’m sure! It’s closer to the foothills and the forest is deeper here and there’s more like… I dunno. Small town stuff.”

“Yeah like a surprise fucking adolescent dragon…,” he muttered between orange slices, “No it isn’t there now. Before you ask.”

“Nah, my sister and I heard what happened! I wonder how that giant snake thing is doing too. It got brought to a training facility, right?”

“How would I know?”

“I dunno I just figured you’d think it was cool… I think it’s cool. I think it’ll be even cooler if uncle Blas can use it in the war if it gets trained in time. That’d be really awesome to see. I bet uncle Blas is a strong fighter,” she continued to babble, unbothered by her cousin’s terse attitude, “It’s sad seeing him sad though. My mom’s worried about the war thing but she’s not like… worried about the fighting part, just the people dying part. I wonder if that’s what uncle Blas is worried about too. Dad is worried about a lot of stuff… but he’s always worried about a lot of stuff. He’s not super happy about moving to Rythwith for the time being but he still agreed to anyway. Managing the brothel from there instead of from the capital is gonna be more annoying. Especially the actually good and more secret parts of the brothel like the school parts.”

Alister breathed out a long quiet groan at her constant chatting. She was so enthusiastic and hyper and had absolutely no care in the world it seemed. Even talking about such a serious matter, she was chipper and bouncy and happy. He finished his orange while she continued, and stood to interrupt her. He’d get more food later. “Harriet,” he said, motioning to the door, “Let’s go get your sister then and I’ll show you around the town.”

“Really? Sweet! I thought you were just saying that before to get me to shut up,” she exclaimed, tail wagging as she shoveled the rest of her bowl into her mouth, “Orana gosh heh lih fuve mimums ago.”

Olana, mentioned albeit barely understandable, hopped down from a rafter and landed beside Alister, “I was finishing my food.”

“ACK! Child, why are you like this!?” Alister flailed, swatting in her general direction, “You said nothing! Why were you just listening and being weird?”

“Dad thinks it’s partially because I have no memories at all of my past lives. He also thinks I may have a minor developmental disorder of some kind. Not that it matters,” she answered, “I more than make up for whatever shortcomings my strangeness makes. Anyway, I need you to eat the vitality ginseng and drake heart that I got for you so that your mother thinks I made the purchases with your health in mind.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. The two items were given to the kitchen for preparation. They’ll probably be ready by dinner,” Olana said, heading to the door, “Alister, shall we go now?”

“...Fine,” Alister huffed, heading out with the twin girls. They were absolutely exhausting. And while the drake heart and ginseng were absolutely not bought for his genuine benefit but a blackmail opportunity… they could be a little helpful to make his frail body a little stronger. He’d have to get her a half-backhanded gift in return.