Rise of the Archmage Alister

“The basilisk has already been moved to the facility in Rythwith while you all were away,” one of the knights escorting the kids explained when Harriet asked about if she could see it. They didn’t seem bothered by escorting the group of kids. There were six knights for the three of them, all but one of them men, and they chatted amongst themselves behind the group as they slowly walked along.

Olana and Harriet did a good job of keeping each other from wandering off since the two held hands the entire time. The twins were practically attached at the hip. It was cute but strange. He didn’t know many twins in his old life. Maybe it was just a twin thing.

“The actual fight took place not far off from town. It shouldn’t be a long walk,” Alister said as they walked through the gate.

A knight, a different man than had said the basilisk was moved, spoke up, “Stick close, young lord and ladies.” He stepped ahead of them, leading the group now, “We’ll lead the way. Please behave. Though the area is relatively safe, it is clear that it was not as safe as once thought. Though the adolescent dragon and basilisk were handled, there was also eldritch activity a few days from here. One never knows what danger is around.”

Alister and the girls gave small noises of agreement, following behind him. He was tall, with dirty blonde short hair and intimidatingly large muscles. The sort of build he didn’t have even as Raalin, and that he seriously doubted he would ever have here with how small he was. He was a tiny bit jealous of it.

“Have there been any more issues of eldritch in the area after that fairy last year?” he asked the knight.

He got a quick reply, “A bit. It’s like a plague. A corruption. Where there is one there will be others. Thankfully it seems that for this area it was caught quickly and there have only been reports of a few other minor interactions or attacks. All the more reason I’d like you three to stay close.”

Another knight, behind the trio, spoke up with a softer voice like one who had kids of his own, “Thank you for actually trusting us this time, young lord. We are all here because we want to serve the Severin family. It isn’t a position one ends up in easily. Working for any of the ducal families means one must work very hard to get there. Some of us had been worried you did not trust or like the knights as a whole.”

Alister felt his cheeks get warm, “I… am sorry. I don’t dislike the knights. You are all very capable. I just feel very strange being followed and doted on and protected like this.”

“I usually don’t like it because it’s harder to stay undetected with knights following me,” Olana added, shrugging, “Dad finally gave in and assigned some stealth knights to me.”

“I don’t mind either way! I like the extra company. The more the merrier,” Harriet said, bouncing alongside her sister. She was so different from her sister or most of her cousins, but her happiness about life was downright contagious. She continued, “And if we get in a fight with knights around it’s even more fun. My usual knights know I loooove fighting too, so if someone ever tried anything in the capital, they’d let me get some hits in if it wasn’t too dangerous!”

“Like a humanoid party pot…,” Alister mumbled, imagining her smacking some idiot thief with a club, candy dramatically and unrealistically popping out of them.

The walk to the site was thankfully unremarkable, just a long forested walk with a lot of chatting. Most of the talking was done by Harriet as she eagerly asked the knights questions about the area. She occasionally surprised Alister by asking him a question instead, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Seeing a happy child acting her age was nice. Once Wisteria had a chance to stop worrying about the future or her mother’s boyfriend, he felt like the two of them would get along scarily well.

By now, the small plants of the forest had started to regrow. Anyone who tried to keep weeds out of a garden would know how tenacious they could be, and this was no exception. The area where the basilisk fight had gone down was a messy half-clearing of fallen trees in a wide area and a thinner path trailing further into the deeper forest. It felt weird that it had been close to a year.

Harriet let go of her sister’s hand and rushed up to a fallen tree, poking and marveling at a host of yellow mushrooms that had taken advantage of the mess, “They’re so bouncy and big!”

“I’m more impressed by the fact all these trees fell down…,” Olana mumbled, walking towards her, “But yes. The mushroom is bouncy. Don’t lick your fingers, I don’t know if that one is safe to eat or not.”

“Nearly all of the mushrooms in this area are, thankfully,” a knight spoke up as he looked around, “The one that isn’t is white with a brown beard-like fringe, and when it’s small it’s got a white tip and brown wrinkled rim. Aside from that, it should be fine. The bouncy, meaty yellow mushrooms that Lady Harriet is prodding should be safe.”

That was all it took for Harriet to tug one off the log and stuff it in her mouth, only to deeply regret it moments later as the bitter taste made her shriek in displeasure. She spit it out in a bush and flailed her hands trying in vain to make the taste go away, “Aphlbphl! Water! Pleaseee!”

The knights and Alister tried their best to hold back their chuckling at her. Alister failed as he hurried to hand her his own water at the same time as Olana did, laughing, “Harriet you’re ridiculous. Hah, somehow I think that just because it’s edible doesn’t mean it’s tasty, right?”

Clearing his throat, the knight that explained the mushrooms initially coughed to mask his laughter, “Ah, that’s true, I suppose I didn’t say anything about how it tastes. Unfortunately they are extremely bitter. They make a good medicine for sore throats if you brew it into a tea, though. My mother used to make it often for my younger siblings.”

Harriet whined loudly even as she chugged the water, pouting at everyone like they had betrayed her, “You guys suck! That was so bad.”

Olana couldn’t even truly be on her side for this one, she sighed and took her sister’s hand again, “We shouldn’t just eat random things. Last time mom did something like that she tested a plant for poison and ended up with a bad stomach ache. Not lethal doesn’t mean not gross.”

“I get itttt!” she huffed, tossing her hands up, “The bitter was bad enough. I don’t need the extra bits from you guys. Can we look at the snake trail a bit now? I won’t eat any more mushrooms unless they’re like stew mushrooms or something. Okay?”

After that she didn’t seem too keen on eating the other mushrooms they could see as they walked along the rough dirt path. It was about a ten foot gouge that had been dug into the ground by the basilisk’s scaled belly with another five feet on either side that was a mound of upturned dirt. Alister stuck to the middle of it while Harriet poked at things with a stick and Olana scribbled things in a small notebook. It wasn’t exactly a fascinating adventure, but it was a good nature walk and a relaxing trip considering everything had been so stressful and chaotic.

They stayed out there for a few hours before returning to the house, and even Alister was happily chatting and getting along with his cousins by the end of it. When they returned, Wisteria and Sir Alexys were outside in the front garden, talking between themselves. Wisteria had her arms folded, onyx hair tied up in a high ponytail as she looked at Sir Alexys. He was stiff and awkward but didn’t look uncomfortable, just like he didn’t know how to interact with the young girl. Their eyes darted up to Alister and the twins and their group of knights as they approached.

Alister waved, “Wisteria! You're free? We just went to the forest.”

She took an extra step away from Alexys and smiled at Alister, “I’m sorry I missed out on that. I was busy with my mom.”

He waved it off, “We just took a walk in the area where the basilisk fight happened. There wasn’t much to look at, honestly.”

“Still. I helped her with some prep work she had to do for her job. Your household has been treating her very well. I’m… I’m really happy to see her feeling this happy and safe. I barely remember the last time she was like this,” Wisteria said softly, a smile touching her lips.

“Of course…,” he nodded, quiet, unsure what to say after that.

Harriet had no such qualms as she spoke up, “So whatcha doing with Sir Alexys, then?”

“O-oh! We’re just… getting to know each other, I guess,” Wisteria stammered, looking away. She still didn’t trust him, but she wanted to try for her mom’s sake.

Sir Alexys nodded sharply, “Yes. Myrtle felt it would be best for the two of us to get better acquainted. We were talking about my history as a knight.”