061 Voting

Creed, Holly, and James all turned to look at Talon.

Talon put on an apologetic look, "Creed, Holly I will first apologize for Blaise's appearance. He doesn't mean to look so devious."

James looked offended, "What is wrong with my appearance?"

Talon laughed and explained, "Well, from what I have seen in the past you seem to not realize that the look you give people you are trying to be nice to isn't what you are expecting. I can tell you mean for it to be a welcoming look but often it looks like you are up to no good."

James was surprised. He looked towards the group and only saw everyone shrugging their shoulders. James wondered to himself, 'No wonder people seem worried every now and then when I speak.'

He then looked back at the brother and sister pair, "Talon is right. I didn't mean to appear as I did. I genuinely wanted to have a peaceful talk."

Creed and Holly relaxed some but did not fully drop their guard.

"Let's establish some trust between our groups. Obviously you fought your way through the Devil's Ivy and then waited here. You obviously wanted to meet the group for some reason." said James.

Creed tried to get a read on James, his facial expression was much better than before so he started to explain, "We did kill the Ivy and you are also right about us wanting to meet you. We have a request."

James lifted an eyebrow and waited for Creed to continue.

Seeing that James was willing to listen, Creed continued, "We want to join your group."

"You join our group? Are you serious?!" Mercury accidentally let her internal monologue slip out.

Both James and Creed were caught off guard. "Reaper?" James called out to her.

Seeing James's worried expression she knew she needed to apologize and clean up her blunder. "Sorry my thoughts slipped out. I just don't understand why you would think we would be willing to let you join our group without knowing a single thing about you or your sister."

James agreed, "She isn't wrong, why do you want to join us."

Holly got worried about the situation. She was worried about Creed's temper. While it was true he focused on leveling but he was not afraid to fight other players.

Creed took a deep breath and his sister thought she felt some tension build between the two groups. "Your group has done some amazing things in the game. Not even the top guilds can compare. I have also come to realize that being a solo player will grow to be harder and harder as the game progression continues. Even how I needed to call my sister to help. The game was designed in a way that forces solo players to change. Class utility skills are far and few. I have yet to find self-sustaining skills. Without them my solo progress is slowly coming to a halt."

After listening to Creed he looked back at his group. He knew that Creed was not wrong. While his friends are able to survive tough battles he knew it was only due to their cooperation, teamwork, and sheer damage output. The battle with the Corrupted Devil's Ivy was proof that they are approaching the limit of their group. Without a healer among their group he didn't know how much longer the group could progress.

James also noticed some reaction from Holly when Creed was explaining his side of the story. "Holly, either you have never played a video game in the past or your brother never let you tag along. Am I wrong?"

Creed frowned and Holly teared up. It was all James needed to know. "Which is it?"

Holly was about to explain but Creed cut her off. "What does that have to do with anything?"

James saw that Creed was practically demanding an answer. Following a sigh James answered the question. "Well, if she has never played a video game in the past there is a high probability that she will have a lackluster performance and need training to get up to speed. However, if she has played a game in the past she will have connections with other players and possible guilds. If that is the case then we will have trouble trusting you two. We can't afford to have our location or activities leaked to the guilds.

Holly pushed Creed's arm back down to his side, she knew that she needed to explain. "Our father never allowed me to play a video game until now. I turned 18 shortly before the game was released. I threatened my father that I would move out since I am now considered an adult in the eyes of the law, he no longer could leverage the fact that I was a minor to keep me from moving out. Only then did he fold and let me play. The only string attached was that I had to be at my brother's side at all times. I am the main reason he hasn't leveled up like he used to."

By the time she was nearly done explaining her past she was practically crying. "You are right, I am a burden on my brother. She said as her voice got quieter and quieter.

James looked at the two, what he saw was a caring brother who was trying to comfort his sister telling her that what she said wasn't true. Then a sister who desperately wanted to be of use to her older brother. "Blue Moon Auction House, 30 minutes from now."

James decided he would at least talk it over with the two but first he needed to talk to his friends. He waved them to follow as he walked to the Waystone and directly teleported to the Auction House.

They went directly to the master office. On the way he notified Cat and Ryan to expect two people seeking an audience with him. They were to lead them to his office.

The group sat down and compilation was on everyone's faces. "Well?" James asked a simple question but it had an unquestionable seriousness to it.

Mercury was the first to give her thoughts. "I don't trust them as of yet. How did they find the cave? Is Holly's story even real? What can they bring to the table other than a healer?"

Talon wanted to shed some light on Holly, "What Holly said was pretty much the truth from my knowledge. Their father is a multi-billionaire with a strong influence in the government. Someone once picked on his daughter and the family of the individual who caused his daughter to cry lost everything. Their jobs, their homes, their bank accounts were frozen, you name it it happened. The only place the family could find to work was in the sanitation industry. Low pay and negative health effects galore."

Everyone shivered. "I remember some of the news stories that followed." Karma got worried. "Wouldn't denying them entrance to the group cause disaster to our real lives?" Destiny grabbed her brother's hand. They have been through so much in their lives; they finally started to get out of their awful living conditions.

James shook his head, "If I remember correctly based on the stories I also read, their father is Maximum Audavious. My father left me 23% of Maximum's company's shares; if I need to I will pressure him back."

Everyone was shocked, 23% of Maximum's company's shares? Wouldn't that be several billions in of itself? Blaise was a rich boy?

Only Karma knew the story behind James and knew it was an absolute truth. James's father was a trillionaire. They had nothing to worry about with James's support. He asked James if he could leak a little information that he previously told him at the respawn point. James shook his head no, he was going to tell them.

"I will not go into too much detail about my personal life. It is not that I don't trust you guys, it is only because it is too painful for me to talk about right now. My father's primary company helped develop the gaming pods that everyone who plays this game uses. That is the only hint I will give about my family's wealth. I hope it helps you understand that we don't need to fear Maximum's retaliation if we don't let his children in our group." said James.

The group sat in silence. Due to the seriousness of James' voice and facial expressions they could tell he was speaking the truth. No matter what happens they will be safe from a tyrant like Maximum.

Talon voiced his opinions. "I think we should let them join. I once found the two hunting in a level 30 zone. While their progress was slow it didn't slow down. She showed promise, given time and training she could grow into a proper healer position."

Dregg had a different concern, "What about the secret of Magicks?"

"If they join they will not be privy to that information. They will have to build rapport and trust before they would be allowed to learn of it." replied James.

Thinking some more he continued, "If need be they have a severe weakness, each other. Creed, while on the outside, is fierce and has a domineering personality deep down he is a doting brother who will do anything to protect his sister. As for Holly, she desperately wants to become useful to her big brother. We can exploit that weakness if need be…"

James put it to a vote, should the brother-sister pair be allowed to join the group. It was a quick vote. Karma instantly followed James's opinion and voted yes while his sister followed her brother's answer.

So far 2 in favor. Talon was interested in Holly's potential growth. He knew if there was anyone who could draw the hidden potential out was James. He voted yes; it was now 3 votes in favor. All that was left was Mercury, Dregg, and Totem. If the other three voted no James would be the deciding vote.

Mercury knew she couldn't go against James so she voted yes. Worst case scenario she would hunt down Holly and kill her unconditionally. It no longer mattered what Dregg and Totem's vote was but the group waited until they voted to call out the winning vote.

Dregg voted yes, he figured that James could handle the two. Totem was hesitant to let them in. In the end he voted yes so that the vote was completely one sided, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Alright, 6 votes in favor for the two to join. Once they arrive I will take care of the rest. Totem, I would like you to go back to the guild building and craft up more Anti-Venom potions for when we finally head back to the Temple of Ivok. Dregg, you can go back to the auction house for a while. Twins, I would love it if you can scout the city and see what the Harbingers have been up to, I would like to keep them in check.

He then looked at Talon and Mercury. He knew Mercury wouldn't leave his side but he didn't know what to do with Talon. "I currently can't think of anything that I would need you to do. Do you have anything in mind?"

"Actually I am happy that you don't have anything for me to do. I have been sitting on a quest that I need to do. Give me a ring if anything comes up." Talon was excited, he believes that he now has the strength to complete this part of the quest.

Talon left the building leaving only James and Mercury.

On his way out of the city Talon looked at his quest, 'In search of Riven'. He was brimming with excitement.

James and Mercury were about to talk about the brother and sister pair but was interrupted by a knocking sound.

"Sir, Creed and Holly have arrived. Should I send them up?" asked Cat.

"Please do." James became serious. Mercury had already crawled onto his lap the moment they were alone. Before she got to enjoy herself James picked her up and placed her gently on the chair next to him. He looked at her sad face, "Later."

Two people walked into the room and James waved them to the chairs on the other side of his desk, "Please. Sit."