{PP-F5-NK} The First to Burn -Arc and Myself-

[Domarus 0]

Domarus stood on the planes of the fifth floor, staring out into the distance.  He was here for a quest and nothing more.  He should probably do the survival quest as well to get that bonus skill.  It would certainly make things easier for regenerating health outside combat, and keeping him from getting too damaged from the battlefield itself.  But that wasn't the quest he'd accepted this time around.  He was going to be killing some sort of shark that burrowed underneath the sand.  And he had the perfect weapon to do so.  Domarus stood in Hopebreaker, his black armor that pulsed a dark red glow, covered him head to toe, and was intimidating to most players.  Vindicem, his black battle ax, rested on his back, and Rhozarth, his familiar, a red scaled dragon with a black iron skeleton-like armor and was constantly ablaze, kept his fierce and calculative eyes out for anything that could be mob or player.  Keres was by his side of course, wearing an altered maid's outfit that kept her a little more cool, as well as looking less modest as usual.  Her own familiar, a familiar that had the same appearance as the dragon except that it was a snake instead, that didn't have enhancements, had curled around Keres' shoulder, torso and neck in a rather sexy fashion.  As Domarus checked his stats one last time he nodded to her.  

"Alright then, lets head out."  He said, his voice sounding deeper and metallic through the helmet.  Keres bowed.

"Yes master."

@Arc

[Ashrah 0]

"Well, it looks like you've made some serious strides in the fashion department," Arc commented from his perch on a rock not far from Domarus. The man asked him to come along for a quest, and the fifth floor was already where the Spearman called home- his Tailoring shop was in Armadillo, some several minutes from where they were. His own attire was a bit more Spartan- not detailed and metallic, rather cloth and stitches that allowed unencumbered movement and quickened response time. Domarus traded that agility for defense, and while that was a great strategy in its own right, it was a matter of preference.

Repeat Offender rested along his shoulder and thigh, its blunt end half buried in the sands. His blue hair was tossed by the dry wind as he smiled over at Keres, amused by her choice of outfit. Apparently the Maid look was very "in" right now. "Good to see you're doing well, Miss Keres," he greeted kindly. "And you too, Dom. It's been a while since we went out questing together. I can see you've gained a great deal of confidence and figured out which way you want to go with your skills. That's great."

He had been a much more closed off man, then. Drinking his laments at that table with Domarus, the two shared a deep and thoughtful conversation that left Arc with a few questions about this man's intentions. Whatever answers were to be found, he didn't mind so much anymore. Arc wasn't nearly as paranoid as he once was. He didn't mind helping Dom out when the man asked for it.

His thoughts drifted for a moment to Corvo and Ishmael, both of whom had taken off for the first floor in an effort to drum up some new blood. Even if it wasn't the same, their little crew was back in action.

"Field boss, right?" he asked, fingers sliding deftly through the air to access the menu. "Any idea where to start looking?"

[Domarus 0]

When Domarus heard a voice, familiar voice as well, he turned around and mentally grinned.  It had been some time since he had seen Arc and he wondered if he was still a suitable general.  He noticed Arc's hair and attire and gestured to it.  

"Same could be said for you my friend.  You had quite a different look the last time I met you."  Arc gave a rather humorous look to Keres and her outfit, and when he called her miss she refused to smirk.  She didn't like being talked to in a manner of respect.  Teasing, joking, or just speaking to her was fine, but she didn't want to be treated like royalty.  That's why she was with Domarus in the first place.  She bowed slightly.

"Master Arc," she said simply.  When Arc commented on Domarus' confidence and skills he gave a metallic chuckle through his helmet.  

"Confidence was never an issue.  However it would have been stupid to go questing without proper gear or skills.  My weapon skill is nearly mastered and I'll be training Rhozarth here to deal even more damage."  He gestured to the blaming dragon on his armored shoulder.  The dragon did not bow but rather stared at him with some respect in it's eyes.  Under the helmet Domarus cocked an eyebrow.  He had come to learn that Rhozarth reacted to new players in three different ways:  He would either glare down at them, meaning they weren't worth Domarus' time, glare at them, which meant they had potential, or bow to them, which meant there was something about them that made them greater than others.  Perhaps Arc was in between the second and last stages.  Either way he needed to consider this fact.  When Arc asked if Domarus knew where it was he pointed in the general direction.

"We follow the quest cursor I suppose.  Let's get moving then.  Come Keres."  Keres followed behind, her burning snake glancing at Arc before slithering off of her and staying by her side on the ground.

@Arc

[Ashrah 0]

"Psh," the blue haired man waved off the comment with a laugh, "I needed a change of pace, I guess. Either way," he directed his attention to Keres for a moment as she addressed him as 'Master'. Was this one of those kink things? He didn't take Domarus for the kind of guy who bought into that stuff, though he could have been wrong. The idea of being leader or having dominance seemed like it could become attractive, though it had never appealed to Tobias. "You can just call me Arc," he told her, "Keres." He said her name without the honorific, the same way he preferred to be called. "If not, you're welcome to call me 'Merc.' I don't mind being called by my job title."

He didn't bow to her, since she seemed to prefer the idea of not being treated with any kind of respect. He understood that. He didn't consider himself worthy of respect, so it wasn't a stretch for him to believe someone else felt similarly. He respected everyone else, and treating her this way in itself was a kind of respect, even if it was just respecting her wishes.

After a moment, Arc stood upright and rested his spear across both shoulders, wrists draped over the haft. "I'm not quite to the Grandmaster point with my weapon yet," Arc confessed, "I put some points into my armor skill and picked up the Athletics mob. The boost in damage and HP is pretty significant. I'll be putting the points into the weapon skill from now on until it's maxed out, though."

His eyes moved to the familiar, and he tilted his head. "Nice pet you got," he commented, "I'm not really interested in having one myself, but I can see the allure." The way the Dragon looked at him was intriguing to say the least. It didn't hold him in contempt, but it didn't want to show him deference, either. The man shrugged. "Sounds like a utility thing, the extra damage."

He trudged off slightly behind of the other two after Domarus decided they would follow along with the quest. No reason to continue the arbitrary parts of the conversation. "I remember you asked me one time," he called over to the behemoth man as they walked, "what it is I fight for. I gotta ask- what about you?"

[Domarus 0]

Domarus let out a chuckle at Arc's response and shook his head jokingly.  

"Indeed.  I find it interesting though.  Red and blue.  I find it interesting to say the least."  When Arc seemed to dislike Keres calling him master she thought she had the opportunity to annoy him but she also knew that Rhozarth had just confirmed he could be of some use to them.  Resisting the urge to mess with the man she bowed to him.

"Of course...  Arc."  At least he called her by name as a master would she thought.  Though Domarus was more commanding.  No maid was supposed to be honored or respected, just told.  Domarus nodded to his friend as he had mentioned not grand mastering his weapon yet and instead working on his armor skill.

"Interesting.  Well the reason Rhozarth is of use here is that he can replace the damage my ax does, which fees my ax's slots to be filled with status damaging enhancements such as bleed.  Once I hit tier two I plan on getting my hands on a weapon with two bleed and get it appraised for a unique enhancement.  It had better be worth it too for the cost.  Either way when I get Rhozarth's rank to three I'll get the ferocity mods, then I'll get battle healing, heavy armor, and finally charge, though perhaps charge should be before heavy armor if I wish to truly deal great damage.  One way or another I have much training to do.  Which is what brings me to this quest."  And that's when Aereth asked the question.  It was not yet time to reveal his true intentions yet.  While Rhozarth confirmed that Arc was a suitable ally, he could not read minds.  There was no way to know if Arc was truly ready yet until they've spent more time together.

"Power opens up doors my friend.  I want to become strong enough to help others in their endeavors as well as my own.  I also need to keep Keres safe.  She's pretty much the only real friend I've had in the real world believe it or not.  As for the why?  In the real world I helped remove a few bullies at my school and I was praised by both teachers and students.  I suppose being the good guy has it's rewards does it not?"  

@Arc