'Perfect' David thought to himself, Bron had fallen for his trap.
"No! I'm sorry." David cried out, he had to ensure that Bron didn't notice anything at that last minute.
A vengeful smile spread across Bron's face, he would show this devil. He would take revenge for his love.
"NOOOOOOO!"
David raised his hands, as if he was terrified, but his face showed nothing but a cold, uncaring detachment.
Crack
The ground underneath Bron crumbled, sending him falling down into a pool of boiling magma.
At the very last moment, David had thrown himself to the side, letting Bron run blindly onto one of the sections of unstable ground that he had come across when scouting the area.
Standing at the edge of the hole that had opened up in the lava plain, stood David.
"PLEASE!"
Bron begged from below, his aura was fading, the last of his mana was running out, and he would soon be defenseless against the flaming lava.
There wasn't even the slightest hint of pity on David's face, he just turned away, Bron's dying screams echoing behind him.
Amidst the burning lava plains, that looked like a corner of hell, with flames and burning hot lava everywhere, there stood a a long figure.
The burning heat made the air shimmer, and the light shone on the wet blood that soaked his body.
What had once been an innocent young teen from Coppervein, had been replaced by a cold and fierce young man.
Before, his basic instinct had been to show friendliness and trust to everyone he met, but he now knew that it was a luxury.
------
The sun was setting over Lightharbor by the time David made it back to the Dancing Pig.
He had removed the whip from his arm, it had been painful but it was nothing compared to burning his leg off with lava.
On one shoulder, he carried Dean's wooden staff, using it to hold a bundle of materials from the Fire Geckos, the remainder of his cloak and Dean's cloak were what held them.
Had Lightharbor been a smaller city, he would have worried about someone recognizing the mutants' belongings.
But from what he had experienced so far, nobody here would seek revenge for someone else if there wasn't something in it for them.
"Can't even have one peaceful day kid?" Nina's warm voice called out to David as he walked into the inn.
David looked around, hoping to see Mathan, but there was no sign of him. Mathan was one of the few people he had met here that he had liked.
"If you're looking for Mathan, you won't be seeing him around here for a long time."
Nina crossed her arms, and squinted at the bundle that hung over David's shoulder.
"Tsk. Don't be dripping blood all over my floors. What's in the bundle?" Shaking her head, she picked up a mop and bucket, marching over to David.
"Fire Gecko materials." David's reply was short.
"Right. Don't worry, I won't ask too many questions. Head out of here, to the north end of this road. Go to the building on the corner, you can't miss it. You'll hear the hammers."
Mopping up the blood behind him, Nina herded David out into the street, complaining all the while about the blood.
"Next time you bring back some stuff like this, you head straight there. You make my floors dirty again, I'll charge you."
David almost laughed as he walked out, here he was, having barely escaped with his life from a group of mutants, and Nina was worried about her floors.
Just as Nina had said, there was no missing the building on the corner.
The sound of hammers clanging against metal sounded out into the street, and a pair of tall doors, around three meters high, were wide open.
The building was held up by thick wooden beams, and the high ceiling and tall windows made it feel as though he were still outdoors.
Inside, David could see that the every kind of weapon hung from the walls on his right right and left.
The floor was packed dirt, and around David countless people walked in and out, browsing the weapon and armor on display.
There were swords where every inch was dense with magical formations, spears that fizzled with electricity, daggers as black as the night.
Ahead of him, were countless mannequins displaying armor. Some of the armor was made of the scales and horns of Magical Beasts, some were made from their hides, and some from exotic metals.
Far behind the rows and rows of mannequins was an enormous forge, the white hot forge heating the entire space.
At the many anvils scattered around were blacksmiths of every race, scarred mutants, dwarves and even a tall elf.
David was making his way towards the rear of the building, on his way to speak with one of the smiths, but he couldn't help but stop in front of one of the mannequins.
A suit of armor had caught his eye, the armor was made of a silvery gray metal, that sparkled with as if there were stars deep inside the metal.
The armor had an elegant feel to, its scale like plates encased every inch of the mannequin, not allowing even the smallest gap.
But it was a weapon in itself, the fingers and boots ended in a razor sharp tip, that looked like they could slice through the air itself.
The elbows of the armor had crescent shaped blades attached, they looked as if the moon itself had been plucked from the sky.
Mesmerized, David reached a finger towards one of the elbow blades, the armor was truly a work of art.
"Keep going and you'll lose a finger kid."
David spun around, looking for where the voice. There was a moment of confusion until he noticed it had come from below.
Standing there, arms crossed, was a dwarf. He had long reddish hair that was in thick braids tied behind his head, matched by a braided beard that had been tucked behind a thick leather apron.
Gloves of the same material covered his hands, and a short hammer made made of a dull black metal hung loosely in one hand.
A pair of warm brown eyes peered out at David from above a reddish nose.
The dwarf sniffed for a moment, and then his face cracked into a grin showing a set of bright teeth.
"You'll need to hunt Fire Geckos for the rest of your life to even imagine buying this suit of armor."
"I'm not here for the armor, Nina sent me. I want to sell -"
"Nina sent you. Of course she did." The dwarf raised one busy eyebrow and walked off to the right side of the building.
"Always finding strays and wanderers, at least this kid's brought some materials." The dwarf grumbled to himself, as he led David through the maze of mannequins.
David struggled to follow the dwarf, ducking and weaving under the outstretched arms of mannequins, while the dwarf continued on, his short height making it far easier.
"Right, here we are." The dwarf stopped in front of a long table, that already had bits and pieces of Magical Beasts scattered around it.
"The name's Rosr."
Behind the table, was a desk, the walls around which were covered in diagrams and maps.
David froze for a moment, as one of the maps caught his eye.
"Coppervein." He murmured out loud, and there was immediately a glint in the dwarf's eye.