The New Founders

Mikax stared at the remaining three people at the table. He wasn't surprised by their lack of willingness to jump at the offer he had made. One was a literal Princess, the other a Knight Captain, and he had no clue who the third person was still. It didn't matter to him though, if she joined then he would find a place for her to excel.

Rotnam was the first to break the silence. "If I join you what does that mean for my position in the Azran Kingdom?"

Mikax had prepared for this question and he wasn't sure that Rotnam would like the answer. The others at the table were surprised that the man was even considering it. He had been a part of the army since he was old enough to fight and had climbed the ranks lightning fast. Everyone but Arlyne wondered what Mikax had shown him the night before.

"You will give up your position. The first rule of being a Misfit is that you will prioritize the Misfits around you. We are a team, from the strongest to the weakest, we live and die with the person next to us. If you are a part of the Kingdom's armies a day might come when you are expected to stand against us and I will not let you make that choice then. This is a commitment of unity for all who seek a real home." Mikax was sure that one day the King's armies would be a foe so having someone who was on both sides would not do.

The female that Mikax didn't know finally spoke up, "What are the requirements to join the misfits? I don't have any fighting skills. If I join you, I can't promise that my family will, which means I bring no wealth or manpower."

"Not everyone's worth is measured that way. Like I said we are a team from the strongest to the weakest. That means if your job within The Misfit Toys is to man a desk you have the same value as Arlyne who might be gathering information behind enemy lines. We grow strong as a unit not only as individuals." Mikax had heard this plenty of times back in E2, he was stealing his brother's words almost verbatim right now. Just because they didn't come from him doesn't mean he hadn't lived and breathed them day in and day out for 25 years.

"Can I have some time to consider it?" Kydorzia was torn. In her family all she was viewed as was a tool. Yet, she was at least guaranteed some comforts and privilege with her status.

"Yes, but only until the end of the day. After that point if you haven't decided you will be asked to leave the Inn and not return." Was all Mikax replied.

Turning towards the last member who still hadn't spoken up, "Lastly Princess Hesa, you arguably have the most to lose. What's on your mind?" All eyes were now on her. She was listening to treason in her father's kingdom and was even invited to join in, no one could guess what she was thinking.

Hesa and Mikax locked eyes, what she didn't know was that he had activated his Legend's Glare and had already seen from the very beginning her answer. Her alignment had changed to 'The Misfit Toys' from the moment he had asked the question. The real reason he asked was because he was curious if she would give her reason.

Unfortunately, he didn't get his answers. "I'll join." Was all she replied. Everyone's surprise and shock was written on their faces. They then looked at Mikax who had a devious looking grin on his face. No one knew why he wasn't shocked but they all gained some respect for his 'poker face'.

"Well then I will be bringing in another of our founding members. Maybe when our two fence sitters see the scope and power that is The Misfit Toys they will join us as well." As he finished his sentence he began channeling his mana and a teleportation spell began to appear next to him. When the light faded a demon who looked like the devil himself had appeared beside him.

Every person except for Arlyne and Rotnam jumped up and backed all the way to the wall. The former Princess had even summoned a very ornate staff.

Hesa was the first one to speak. "Are you possessed Mikax that's a demon! You cant be serious!"

"Correction, he is a founding member of The Misfit Toys and an equal member of this guild." Mikax reached out and shook his hand. Both nodded to each other in respect.

Eura turned towards the table "Rotnam, Arlyne, good to see you have recovered from last night."

"We wouldn't have if it weren't for Mikax. What was in that alcohol Eura? I have never been that drunk." Arlyne stood up and extended her hand as well to shake the demons hand.

The members against the wall were now sure that Mikax had killed them and this was hell. Arlyne had casually said that she had gotten drunk the night before with The Demon Lord Eura. Rotnam stood up shortly after and shook his hand as well. After that they could no longer understand the world they knew. Rotnam had fought demons on multiple occasions and had defended their kingdom from

Invasion for years, now he was greeting one as an equal.

"Our good friend Rotnam here hasn't yet agreed to join us." Mikax pointed out to Eura.

The demon raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why not? He wants peace for all does he not?" Eura looked the man up and down as if he could see the answer in his soul.

"Fine. I will join." Rotnam shook his head. He knew that the two of them were goading him into the answer but it was true, he wanted peace, if joining The Misfit Toys would get him there he would join. Including himself, the room was stacked with influential people and powerhouses.

"Me too! And I am Kydorzia, since you never asked Mikax." The young woman spoke from the back of the group against the wall. She couldn't be the only one to run away.

"Will you all come over here and greet your new guild mate. I hate to repeat myself but everyone in this guild is an equal. We do not discriminate against any race or beast that has intelligence." Mikax motioned for everyone to come towards him.

Reluctantly, the group made their way towards the demon. One by one shaking his hand and introducing themselves. Mikax pulled Lyra to the side and whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head and disappeared into the back for a minute before returning with 2 bottles of wine and 9 mugs. She distributed and poured everyone a mug before returning next to her husband.

Mikax raised his mug and cleared his throat.

"This is a toast to The Misfit Toys. We believe that all members are equals inside this guild. As the founding members we 9 will without fail lead by example. We will devote our lives to providing a place for all people who seek peace and a place that they can belong. We will stand against any who oppose us and crush them without mercy."

As Mikax finished his speech the members around the table all raised their mugs.

"To The Misfit Toys." Mikax stated before downing his mug.

Each member of the group paused for a moment before also repeating the words Mikax had said before downing their mugs. They hadn't hesitated because they didn't want to join. All of them had stopped to steel their nerves and reinforce their commitment. They had already agreed but they knew that from this moment on they were past the point of no return.

Mikax sat down first and the rest followed. "The first thing we will discuss are the roles of the current members." Most people had already assumed their roles but it would be good to clarify.

"Let's start with the obvious ones. Mr. Akkar, you will be the guilds treasurer. All finances will currently go thru you. We will need to start by acquiring the buildings around us. The Misfit Toys will need to expand our guild residence." Mikax then removed one of his pouches from his waist and dumped hundreds of gold coins onto the table in front of the man. "This will get us started I believe." Although everyone knew he had wealth it was always a surprise to see him give it away.

"Lyra and Orion, you will be in charge of food and drink for all in the Guild Residence. I will get with you later to see if we can't enhance these drinks even further to not only taste delicious but offer some benefits." Both Lyra and Orion nodded their heads. They were very okay with this since they had already been doing it. Continuing Mikax went on, "you will be the Guilds mother and father. As the keepers of the home you will offer your support the best you can. I have faith you won't let us down."

"Hesa it is my understanding that you are a healer. For now you will train with Rotnam and Eura to raise your level and skills. In my world healers we're not someone who waited on the back line for the injured to be brought to them. They learned how to defend themselves while taking care of those who fought near the front in real time." Mikax could see the determination in Hesa's eyes but he could tell she was afraid of the demon he had paired her with. This training was to help break down the years of segregation that had been ingrained in her.

If Mikax could get her full support for the demon the rest would follow. Healers we're natural leaders on the battlefield. They held the lives of all around them in the balance between victory and defeat. He needed to break her walls down immediately.

"Arlyne, you will be with me for the time being. You have potential but your skills are amateur at best right now. We will discuss it more later." She nodded her head in response to Mikax. She was glad this was her task because she recognized her flaws but had no way to remedy them currently.

"Eura and Rotnam, you know you will be training with Hesa but I will be sending you 3 to retrieve some items for me when I deem you ready. I'm not sure they exist in this world yet so we will convene later to work out the details." Mikax had chosen these 3 for a reason, Rotnam was primarily a tank as a Guardian Knight, Eura was a damage dealer as a Magical-Swordsmen, and Hesa was a healer. The 3 had the makings to be the core of The Misfits Toys battle power if they learned true coordination.

"And last but not least Kydorzia, what is it that you would like to do? What are your interests?" Mikax had decided to leave it up to her. He wasn't interested in forcing anyone to do something they would hate later.

All eyes were on the young lady, she could feel them boring into her trying to expose her soul. She began to panic and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. In response Kydorzia did the one thing she knew that she was good at.

She began to sing.

Mikax immediately recognized that although her voice was shaky and she struggled to focus, there was mana in her words. Without even realizing it she was activating the Bard class without any training. Once she finished everyone was standing their awkwardly, they hadn't picked up on the subtle traces of mana. Looking at Mikax they were confused on why he was smiling from ear to ear.

Mikax walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Kydorzia, The Misfit Toys welcomes you as our first bard."