Rise of the Archmage Alister

The next day they retrieved a new carriage and horses from the stables, which the lord of the town tried to offer for free for the trouble but Blas only accepted at a discount, and they continued on their journey south. They passed Umber without incident, the jeweled island in the distance glittering in the sunlight, in no way looking like the skull of the corpse of an eldritch creature from this far. One day he wanted to investigate that place, once he could handle things on his own again.

Ekrin was the next major stop, and by now the mention of sending a messenger had disappeared from Alister’s head entirely. The chaos of the last week overrode the conversation, especially considering the discussion hadn’t even been allowed to finish - interrupted by the attack.

Blas, however, did not forget his goal of sending a messenger to the orcish tribe. When they stopped for the night in the city, he put a hand on Alister’s shoulder to stop him from wandering away to his room, and looked to Marabell, “I think the best option for me to send my missive will be a mercenary. Marabell, could you come with or give me a seal of yours or something of the sort? I want to hire someone capable of discretion and who isn’t afraid of the orcs. But also, someone who won’t just attack them.”

Marabell handed a fabric bag to Olana, who hugged it before hurrying off to her and her sister’s room, “Hm? ‘Course I’ll come with! If you’re hiring from my company then you’ll get the best deal if I’m with ya. Harriet you’re coming too. Ekrin’s not a huge outpost for us, not as much work out here usually, but we’ve got an office. Should still be open too, though not for more than an hour longer I think. We ought to go now.”

“I… could try sending it myself like you mentioned, Father?” Alister offered.

Blas shook his head, “We’re already here, and I may as well support my sister-in-law’s business. Wisteria you can stay behind if you’d like. Alister I’d like you to come with me to see the transaction, but if you’re tired you may stay behind. And please don’t feel bad about the magic message thing. I really don’t mind.”

“Ah, no, I don’t feel bad exactly,” Alister replied, “More… mildly disappointed. I would have liked to help, to actually use another bit of magic since I’ve been so crippled with it recently, but I understand why things changed. None of us could have foreseen being attacked like that. Bandits maybe, but not a bird monster.”

His father smiled a little, putting his hand on top of Alister’s head, “As much as I’m relieved you’re acting a bit calmer, it’s so unfortunate what had to happen to make it so…”

Alister awkwardly cleared his throat, looking away, “Yes well… multiple near death experiences and all that… A-anyways, yes I’d like to come with. I’m curious how you intend to word such a message to orcs.”

“Hah… carefully,” he said, letting his hand drop back to his side, “Wisteria, will you be alright on your own here with Olana?”

Wisteria jumped a little, having been looking off in the distance at nothing in particular, bored and too stressed about the future to pay much attention, “Oh! Uh. Yes, of course. And we’re hardly going to be alone. We have knights and servants nearby.”

Marabell interjected, “Don’t let Olana convince you to go wandering around the city. She’ll make it sound extra convincing but you still shouldn’t do it anyway. She’s gotten good at manipulating people.”

“Understood,” Wisteria nodded, curtseying before hurrying away to find where Olana had gone. She was happy to not be involved in this excursion, for once. There was just too much on her mind to enjoy it. Handling the cowkin kid would be easier than dealing with Alister and Harriet and the adults.

With a yelp, Alister was picked up by Marabell like he weighed nothing. She rested him on her hip as though he was half his age, and looked down to Blas, “Alright we ready to go?”

His father gave him an apologetic smile, but nodded, “Yes… I’d say we should avoid drawing too much attention, but you stand out more than I do.”

“Hah. As always. Doesn’t bother me any,” Marabell said, stooping to walk back out the door, “The knights should stay behind though.”

“Ah… yes, you’re probably right.”

“Don’t worry, I can protect you three from most things myself,” she brushed off his worried voice, smiling as Alister tried in vain to struggle against her grip, “Plus it’s not like you’re a slouch yourself. And Harriet can scrap decently well. She’s become a little mini-me!”

Harriet grinned wide at the comment, taking it as an absolute complement. Blas sighed and just nodded, motioning for them to get going. Marabell led the way, remembering where this area’s office of her mercenary company should be by heart. She had only been to this one once or twice over the years, but she wanted to make sure she remembered where every bit of her people were.

Alister shoved against her again, garnering only a glance, “I can walk on my own!”

“I know, kid, but we’ll get there faster if I just carry you,” she said, completely unmoved, “Harriet can keep up, and Blas and I are way taller than you. If ya walk I gotta walk at kid speed with your tiny legs. That sounds annoying. I wanna get to the branch faster than that.”

“You could have at least asked!!”

“...Eh? Yeah you’re probably right. Shoulda asked,” Marabell shrugged, “Sorry. I didn’t think about it. You’re just scoopable. One little movement and ‘scoop’, you’re scooped. It’s cute.”

Alister was at a loss for words with this woman. His aunt was insane and absolutely nothing like the other nobles. She had more in common with that Beast King than with the other Severins. He huffed, cheeks red, and folded his arms as he gave up the argument, “Fine. If you want to parade me around, I suppose it’s at least less work for me. Be my guest, then.”

Blas let out a long sigh, exhausted with the lot of them, and smiled a bit as they walked. It wasn’t far, and while his sister-in-law was right that they could move faster than Alister could, it wasn’t like it would take that long. But it made him happy to see the unserious nature of them. She had a knack for loosening tension. Considering that he was sending a message to orcs about information on another nation for a burgeoning war… he wanted that kind of levity with such desperation in his chest. He didn’t want to have to be doing this.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and motioned to the building ahead of them down the road, “Marabell that’s the one, yes?”

The building was a simple wooden structure with an off-white exterior and cottage vibes. A wide golden axehead served as the signage for the company. She nodded with a chaotic grin, “Yup, that’ll be it. Golden Axe Mercenary Company. Best one in the kingdom!”

“Heh. Yeah, yeah it’s definitely one of the best,” Blas teased.

Marabell shoved his shoulder, knocking him off balance and almost sending him to the ground, though she thought it was a light shove, “Jerk. We have a great track record and grew big enough to even challenge the international companies! We just need to keep the momentum going and branch out to allies first and then beyond.”

He was laughing as they reached the door, “I know I know. Your father and you made such a wonderful company together. He’s a terrifying man that even my own father took seriously.”

“Yeahhhh, my pop’s a great guy. He’s gotten so soft after becoming a grandpa though! It’s wild!” she said, setting Alister down finally and smiling, shoving open the door with surprising force, “Heyooo!” Inside were a handful of mercenaries - mostly men - that looked thoroughly startled that the door had just slammed open, tense with hands going to their weapons. The eldest of the four, a gruff-looking bearkin man, huffed and rolled his eyes upon recognizing Marabell.

“Dammit kid! Yeh scared the shit outta us!” he barked, smacking his hand into his face with a groan, “Boss ya gotta give us some warning!”

“It’s more fun if I don’t. Besides, it's like a test of your reflexes!” she laughed heartily, Harriet ducking in past her to look at a wall full of trophies and frames, “I’m not here for an inspection though. I’ve got a job for ya!”