Time to go

The next week was quiet in the town of Redgate. The guild members had all continued their tasks and were happy to see small commissions start to come in. These were mostly for manual labor and healing-related work but it allowed the guild to grow more reputable among the people.

The new member and Blacksmith, Dokka, had gotten much closer to the other members since he needed a number of their help to accomplish his task. Dokka was relieved when he learned they planned to help him instead of expecting him to do everything alone.

Mikax had sat down with Hesa and Rotnam to discuss the world outside of the Azran Kingdom. He had found out that there was a similar-sized nation to the west called Lucithal. He was most curious about this nation currently because it was home to Elves. These elves were similar in looks to what he was used to, however, they were a very isolated nation that rarely allowed anyone inside. This was because instead of being scholarly and noble like his expectations, they were cruel and violent, treating outsiders like a scourge. He didn't give up hope that they had forbidden knowledge.

He had found out that dragons had at one point existed in the land of Bedel but it had been over 500 years since the last reported sighting. They had only been seen in the southern part of the continent and never in the Azran Kingdom. He had made a note of this and fully planned to make his way south at some point in the future.

Lastly, he was relieved to hear that there were 4 major Gods worshipped in this world. Balor was worshipped as the God of Death. Selene the Goddess of the Moons. Varuna the God of Law and Order. Lastly, was Kannon the Goddess of compassion and mercy. What was even more surprising was that he had heard of all 4 of these Gods and Goddesses on Earth and in E2. This only raised more questions as he wondered how these two worlds were now linked together.

This was another thing he would look into more after he left this country. So far the Azran Kingdom didn't offer many similarities, maybe it was different elsewhere.

The one thing he was happy with, was Kydorzia's progress in imbuing her mana into her songs. Randomly throughout the day, she would practice singing and everyone would fall under different effects. There had been increased mana and health regeneration, increased agility, decreased agility, and the best one was when she caused everyone listening to start seeing illusions of an empty field. Kydorzia's downfall was she had no current ability to differentiate between friend and foe.

The only foe they could test anything on was Zed and he received all of the buffs and debuffs as well. Mikax would monitor his stats from outside the box once he figured out what buff was being applied. Kydorzia was learning that the song itself didn't matter so much as how she felt in her heart while singing it. It had become such a routine that townsfolk would show up just to listen to her beautiful voice and hopefully receive a buff. They started to refer to it as the 'angel's hour' whenever she would practice because that's how long most buffs would last.

At the end of the week, Mikax sat his guild mates down at a table to tell them the news. He was going to be leaving Redgate for a short period to head west and meet with the elves. They didn't know it yet but Mikax would be raiding their race's secrets even if they didn't like it. The entire group was silent as he made his announcement.

None of them were sure what to think. What would happen if Mikax wasn't here and someone attacked? What if another army arrived or an opponent as strong and as sneaky as Zed? They didn't worry about money since Mr. Akkar still hadn't even gone through half of what Mikax had originally given him but the rest freaked them out.

"In my absence, Eura, Rotnam, and Hesa will all be in charge as a group. If there is any disagreement among the 3 then the majority rules. If they are split 3 ways then all 8 of the founders will vote. If there is still no consensus then I'll leave the decision up to Phup. So I recommend choosing before then or you might all die." Mikax made sure they all had nodded their heads in agreement before moving on. He took note of the confusion and terror on Phup's face and laughed to himself.

Mikax removed a glass orb from his pocket and placed it on the table. "This is a tool that when crushed will alert me that you are in danger. Only crush it if you are in over your heads. You should place it somewhere safe but easily accessible because if I rush back here and there is no genuine emergency, you will all join that dog above us for an entire week." Instinctively everyone present looked up at the suspended cube.

"Why don't we dangle it below the cube? That way if something happens it's nearby for whoever needs it." The blacksmith Dokka was the one to suggest this idea, nobody complained so they had tasked him with the 'honor' to handle it. In reality, they were all happy to not have to handle it and risk Mikax's punishment.

After all of that was decided Mikax made his way to his bedroom, he wasn't interested in an emotional goodbye and planned to leave before the sun rose in the morning.

"Are we going to be okay without him?" Orion was the first to speak after Mikax had left the room.

Arlyne stood and spoke next, "One thing is for sure we definitely can't afford to fail him."

One after another everyone present had agreed with that statement. No one was in the mood to relax and party so they all simply went their ways for the night.

Zed was hanging above them able to hear their entire conversation. He was probably the only person present happy to have a break from Mikax. He had been questioned 2 more times this week and it always ended the same way. He had decided he would not be willing to denounce his mother's heritage even if Mikax would kill him.

Sleep took longer to settle upon The Misfit Toys on this particular night. They all had plenty on their minds. When Mikax woke up early and made his way downstairs he smiled. Every member of the guild was there waiting for him.

Lyra approached him with a bundle of food and a bottle of her finest mead. "Don't forget us and come back as soon as you're done. Good luck."

Mikax graciously took the breakfast and snack for later. "I know you all will be fine without me, don't worry so much."

"We're more worried for the elves right now honestly." Rotnam was the one to crack a joke this time. Breaking the tension everyone laughed along with Mikax.

Doing his usual shrug Mikax simply turned around and headed out the door. Casually walking towards the western gate of the town. As he made his way he was happy to see that Redgate was much more lively than it was when he first arrived. There were many more stands open and people on the street, this could be attributed to the fact that Redgate was probably the safest and healthiest town in the Azran Kingdom since the foundation of the guild.

Arlyne's training was simply to play the role of a masked vigilante of the night. She had successfully cleaned up most of the major crime in town which scared any petty criminals into submission. Hesa was also offering the cheapest healing anywhere in the kingdom. The Misfit Toys were laying a strong foundation for the future.

What Mikax was extremely happy about was the male-to-female ratio had increased exponentially. When he got back he swore to himself he would make sure a few beautiful women that fit his tastes would join the guild. Maybe if he was lucky he would find an elven beauty that would be interested.

Mikax passed thru the gate and finally turned around to look at the guild he had built. To his surprise something he had not put into place was flying from the peak of the building. Standing tall from the roof was Arlyne and Eura and above them was a massive flag with The Misfit Toys guild symbol on it flying proudly.

Lyra had been working on it in her spare time and with Phup's help she was able to finish it. She had planned to show Mikax at another time but this was better than waiting in her opinion.

For the first time since arriving in Bedel, Mikax genuinely felt like he was a part of a family again. Not because they feared him, although it was true that they did, it was because they respected what he had done for all of them as well as the town of Redgate.

"You can't stand in the gateway, keep it moving." One of the guards was fully unaware of who Mikax was or what heartfelt moment he had just ruined.

Mikax's eye was twitching in anger right now. He began to approach the guard, sensing Mikax's hostility the guard put his hand on the hilt of his sword. Before he knew what happened there was a loud cracking sound followed by a scream of intense pain. The guard collapsed to the ground as his knee was bent at a fully unnatural angle.

All the other guards took a defensive position. Mikax didn't care he simply stood there staring at the man on the ground.

"Take him to The Misfit Toys, tell them Mikax told them to fix his leg." With that Mikax turned and left town.

All of the guards present sucked in a breath. They were well aware of who Mikax was and that there were not to mess with him. The guard who had a broken leg was lucky to get off so lightly for angering the man.