The nights' festivities had ended and everyone went home. Mikax sat by himself at the bar wondering if he could be doing more to figure out his way home. He hadn't done much to try and find a way on his own. He slowly sipped his drink staring at the contracts hanging on the wall, today they had added a 10th member, even if he wasn't all for it.
'Should I leave the guild alone for a while and gather intel on the other parts of this world?'
Mikax didn't have the answer to his question. There were multiple races in E2 he hadn't seen or heard anything about that were common or at least seen fairly often such as dragons and elves. If there was a way to transport him back, these two races would be the most likely to have information.
The other being or beings that might be able to help him would be Gods. The other thing that made him fearful was that he had heard nothing about any religions here in Bedel. Did that mean this world was godless? The thought of this made him shudder.
Although The Misfit Toys had hunted and killed a few, there were still over 100 Gods that they would never stand a chance to find or kill. To not have heard of a single one in this world gave him a dark feeling.
Once Mikax had finished his drink he headed up to bed not to be woken up again till late that morning by the smell of food.
~~~~In a forest west of town~~~~
The man who had left the guild hall earlier was meeting with two others whose features were entirely covered by their cloaks and a mask. The man nervously repeated everything he had seen earlier in the day. He hadn't arrived until after they had interacted with Zed so the man hadn't seen Mikax do anything but give an awkward speech.
The name Mikax had spread across the country and even out of it in certain circles. To see the very ordinary-looking man who appeared to play a hands-off role in most affairs made them wonder if any of the rumors were true or if they had been spread to deter any interference. They were sure of the strength of the 3 people who seemed to do all of the fighting for the guild and although they were formidable, they were far from unbeatable.
"Are we done? Can I see my family again?" The man was frantic as he watched the two men turn away from him.
"We killed them as soon as we captured them." One of the men spoke before turning back around and walking away.
The man fell to the ground on his knees. His wife and son had been taken and used as blackmail to gather information against The Misfit Toys members. To find out that everything was taken from him and he did their dirty work for nothing made him fall into despair. Suddenly he heard a whistling sound, as he glanced up his throat was pierced with an arrow.
The man grabbed at his neck while gargling his blood in an attempt to breathe. Moments later he lay dead on the ground never to speak secrets again.
~~~~0.0~~~~
The next morning everyone in the guild was slow to wake up. They had been up much later than usual and drank far more than normal. The few people who were staying with the guild and hadn't drunk their weight in booze were sitting in the guild hall awkwardly together. They were none other than Phup and the blacksmith who had arrived with his family.
"Miss, you're a member of the guild now so you must know what he is like. Can you tell me so I can prepare?" The man was visibly worried about his meeting with Mikax.
Phup didn't know what to tell the man, she was not going to be able to put his mind at ease with what she had seen. "Honestly, I'd rather not tell you my experiences with him."
This only further made the tension in the room rise. A short while later Orion had appeared and offered to make them some food.
"I'm sorry but I don't have any money to pay for it." The blacksmith had a solemn look on his face. He had given the last of his coins to his wife and children so they could go find some food in town since nothing was being made when they came down earlier. They doubted they could afford the food anyway with how amazing everything looked as they went to their room the night before.
"Nonsense, guild members don't pay." Orion didn't wait for an answer and went straight to the back. The man had opened his mouth to tell him he wasn't a member of the guild and that he had the wrong idea but Orion had disappeared too quickly. He looked to Phup for help but she just shrugged her shoulders.
A few minutes later Rotnam had come downstairs and joined the other two. Slowly but surely the members of the guild began to wake up as if the smell of food coming from the kitchen was summoning them. Once everyone in the guild but Mikax had made an appearance Orion had appeared with food. He had gotten used to the members just showing up at mealtime so he had preemptively prepared enough for everyone.
No one had questioned the man sitting with them and Orion had served him as if there was nothing to it. Lyra had gotten everyone mugs with water in them to help recover from the night before. They all dug in, except for the man who wasn't actually a part of the guild.
As Lyra came to sit down he stopped her, "ma'am I'm not part of the guild and I can't afford to pay for this." He was becoming flustered because no one seemed to act like normal around here.
"You were told to stay the night to meet with Mikax today right?" Lyra questioned the man just to make sure.
"Yes, that was me."
"Welcome to the guild then." Was all Lyra said before sitting down and eating with everyone else.
The man was absolutely floored right now. Was everyone in the guild this unreasonable? If so, he was worried to meet with the man who they all followed. Instead of arguing on the matter further he decided to worry about it later. His stomach was grumbling and the food smelled delicious.
As the members meals were being finished up, everyone heard Mikax's door open and close from upstairs. Lyra and Orion halted temporarily to get another plate and drink for their leader. By the time he made his way down the stairs his seat was ready and he began to dig in.
Everyone waited for Mikax to finish even though they were already well past being done. They either were waiting to train with him or get instructions on their next task. The only two people who left the table were Orion and Lyra to do the necessary stuff needed to open the guilds doors for the day.
Once finished Mikax spoke, "so blacksmith what's your name?"
"Dokka, sir."
"Don't call me sir, I'm no knight or noble. Welcome to the guild." When he finished saying that he produced a guild contract and the tools necessary to sign it.
The man's mouth was hanging open as the paper was laid in front of him. He looked around at the other people at the table to see them all smiling at him. He was now sure they were all unreasonable. That didn't stop him from picking up the pen and placing the blade to his skin.
Before he cut himself he made sure one last time, "I'm only a journeyman, I'm not sure if I'll be able to live up to your standards."
"Skill can be acquired, if you're willing to work you are welcome." Mikax waved his hand and went to use the bathroom.
Dokka finally gave up trying to communicate with the people around him as he sliced open his hand letting the blade absorb his blood. He didn't have the stones to stab himself like the little fox girl had the night before. Once he had signed his name he was amazed to see it encase itself in glass up close. Once it had, every member at the table began to welcome and introduce themselves.
As they said their names he became more aware of why they were all unreasonable. Almost everyone here was known throughout the country and some even further. Basically no one here was normal.
When Mikax returned he was happy to see that the man had agreed to sign without having an entire dramatic episode like the last blacksmith they tried to recruit. Plus, he had a few items that were burning holes in his pouches waiting to be used. This was why he wasn't deterred by the man's ability level.
"Since you have decided to join us so willingly let's start with these." Mikax then produced an anvil and hammer from his pouch. Everyone in the room could feel that these items were not as ordinary as they looked. So far nothing Mikax had shown them was ordinary in the slightest.
"These are both epic ranked where I am from. That means there are far better ones out there however for you they are probably the best you can find around." Mikax explained the significance to the man since he probably didn't realize what he was dealing with at his low ability level. If Braka had joined he might already be a grandmaster craftsman by now.
Continuing on Mikax started to explain his expectations, "Mr. Akkar will work with you to buy another building next door. You will be responsible for demolishing that building and completing an addition to the guild hall which will house your smithy. We will give you the materials needed since we expect the building to match."
'UNREASONABLE!' Was all Dokka could think while he stared at the man talking. He was already impressed by the amazing design of the guild hall and wasn't sure how it could be done at all. He would never admit this but in his mind he was cursing ever signing the contract.