For the next few days Braka was on edge. He had been waiting for Mikax or any of The Misfit Toy's members to come and silence him. He could barely sleep and was on constant edge. He hadn't spoken a word to anyone about Eura being inside the guild hall, the risk was too great.
Eura would always be polite to Braka when they had to interact and never seemed evil or out to get him. What Braka had never told anyone was that his sister had been one of the first taken by the demons a year ago. He didn't know what happened to her, he didn't blame Eura directly for it happening because it had been a practice that occurred for centuries, even before his time as ruler. That didn't mean he forgave him as the former Demon Lord for not abolishing the practice in time for his sister to be saved.
From the reports that he had heard from the guards all of the abductions across the kingdom had ceased shortly after Mikax had arrived in Redgate. Knowing now that Eura is involved with him, it was safe to assume that Mikax was the one to thank. This created a very difficult moral dilemma for Braka. On one hand, The Misfit Toys were having a positive impact on the town and the ones surrounding it. On the other, they were open to allowing anyone to be a part of their ranks.
As the week came to an end the guild building was nearing completion. Production had to slow to modify the shape of the bricks slightly to accommodate for the roof itself. It was during one of these nights that Braka had drank a little too much and finally mustered the courage to give the group his answer.
Wobbling back and forth slightly Braka bowed his head, "I don't blame you for what's happened but I don't think I can join." Everyone was both expecting this answer and surprised. It was clear Braka wasn't fully ready for the offer but he had still done his job diligently and with respect. No one knew which way he would go before now.
"You will always be welcome here Braka if you change your mind." Mikax was the one to break the silence. The group was disappointed that he didn't join and very curious about what Braka had referred to but Mikax had left the topic untouched so no one was going to pry.
Eura stood up and approached Braka, this time the man didn't back down he had been filled with liquid courage. Extending his hand Eura looked the man in the eyes, "I wish you nothing but the best. I hope we can work together again." Braka took the demon's hand and squeezed as hard as he could, he was going to be strong in his conviction and didn't want to seem weak right now. Once the moment was over Eura returned to his seat.
In what seemed like no time, the month had come to an end and they were all ready for the grand opening of The Misfit Toys guild hall. The former patrons of the Valedge Inn were extremely excited. Since they had demolished the building, none of them had been able to get Lyra or Orion to give them anything to drink, they had been telling everyone to wait until they reopened.
Hesa and Rotnam had been going around town the last few days to advertise. Mikax planned to make a spectacle of the ordeal. It was customary on Earth for grand openings to have a ribbon-cutting ceremony and other pointless things. Mikax wasn't going to do this but he intended to introduce every single founding member. This alone would create enough 'excitement' for the guild's grand opening.
When designing the guild hall, Mikax had them install a balcony from the second floor to overhang the main entrance, this way the guild would be able to make more public announcements in the future. It was here he stood proudly as the majority of the town and the workers who had come from others gathered.
"Welcome everyone! I am Mikax and I am very excited to have you join us here today. As I'm sure you have all heard we are an independent organization that recently formed known as The Misfit Toys." A light clap could be heard but no one was overly enthusiastic. Most people had come because they wanted to know what this group planned to do.
Mikax continued, "We will be taking requests for many things such as protection, retrieval of materials for crafters, building, farming, food and drink, and healing. If you need help we will be here to provide it. Now some of those things are still beyond our scope as we only have 9 members including myself but we plan to begin recruitment soon and hope some of you will join us."
The crowd had begun to stir some. Any organization that could use metal to construct such a massive building was certainly not going to be ordinary. Everyone already knew Mikax wasn't so it stood to reason.
Mikax smiled as he realized there was interest in his guild. He was curious how long they would have positive reactions once he dropped the bomb that was Eura.
"Without further ado, I would like to introduce our members!" Mikax stepped to the side to allow them to come out as he made the announcement. "First we have the former princess, she's an amazing healer so if you need assistance we will be happy to help with minimal fees, Hesa!"
The young woman came out and waved to everyone and bowed. The crowd understood she was labeled as 'the former princess' but they weren't stupid enough not to clap and cheer as if she was still the real deal.
Mikax had gone thru each member one by one like an announcer at a professional basketball game. He had given their brief overview and roles within the guild. There was only 1 member not announced. So far everyone had known the members that they had seen. They were around town daily going to and from the tasks they needed to accomplish. Yet, no one could think of the last member.
"Finally, last but certainly not least, you all probably have heard his name and if you haven't you are about to. He is a former leader of an entire kingdom! He is a great general who has led multiple crusades against his enemies! He strikes fear into the hearts of all those who oppose him!" Mikax now jumped up onto the railing and made a very dramatic arm motion to reveal the last members, "I give you the former demon lord himself, Eura!"
The dignified demon stepped through the doorway waving his hand as if the crowd loved him. Mikax had informed him to do this mostly because he knew that he would be standing there awkwardly either way so why not get a laugh out of it? The other members of The Misfit Toys all clapped loudly and had smiles on their faces even though they knew only one other person in the crowd wasn't internally freaking out. That one person was quite relieved, he was no longer afraid the guild was going to kill him.
Once the members of the guild had finished clapping silence hung over the road in front of the guild hall. No one wanted to move in fear of being singled out.
"We appreciate all of your heartfelt support as we begin to help the town of Redgate grow and prosper in ways that it never has before!" Mikax jumped down to the road as he said this. Everyone took a few steps back involuntarily. This didn't bother Mikax one bit. The fact that no one had drawn weapons or screamed or began a riot was already better than he could have hoped.
Pushing open the doors to the guild hall Mikax made his final announcement, "The Misfit Toys are officially opened for business!" He then walked into the guild on the ground floor as the rest of the members did the same upstairs. Not a single person made a move towards the building.
Shortly after the last member disappeared everyone scattered in opposite directions. Some ran home to lock their doors and pack their things in fear of the town being invaded, others ran to their businesses to do the same, the majority of the people had immediately sprinted to the guard stations to alert everyone that Eura was in the guild hall.
This created a huge headache for the guards. Everyone was well aware that Eura was no weakling, if he was a part of the guild then they had to consider Rotnam and Hesa as enemies as well. Those two alone would be almost impossible to deal with, this was ignoring the fact that they knew Mikax was supposedly much stronger. The 4 of them combined could easily wipe out the town.
Days had gone by with no response from the guards, they had sent an emergency letter to Mythden for help. In the meantime, very few people had entered the guild hall. Half of the blacksmiths promptly left town without waiting for their final payment while most of the others used Braka as an intermediary. Those bold enough to enter had done so mostly because they had wanted to eat and drink Lyra and Orion's amazing cuisine.
It was on the 5th day that something happened that finally broke the tension of the town into an absolute frenzy.
A contingency of 100 demons had appeared at the northern gate. They didn't attempt to break in or siege the town, the demons simply waited. It was clear that they were not here to make friends. Most of the town blamed Eura and The Misfit Toys for bringing them here. After an almost hour-long standoff, an arrow flew from the demon's side and embedded itself into the gate.
Once the guards of Redgate had retrieved the letter they were shocked to see its contents.
"Bring us the head of the traitor Eura or perish."
No one knew what to do. If it was that simple they would have had the demon's head on display days ago.