Eric: Obviously arcus will have some thoughts... Speaking of which, tison would be very interested in talking to arcus' uncle. He doesn't really like his status of enemy of the state and would be interested in his advise. Cutting a deal with 5eyes visa vi the sun domers would be as impressive as Mr C bringing the rain!
John: Yes, Arcus does... You can arrange a meeting w/Haloric thru Arcus. Haloric has never liked you too much (doesn't hide his suspicion of you) but you have done some good work for him, so his relationship with you is simply a strained, awkward, professional one.
Eric:Pachala wants to know if any of those zola fel breath water frog masks will be available for river voice cave cleaning? It would help him a lot...
John: Talk to Caernak. If asked, Che'en would say that the Zola Fel cult will lend one of the enchanted Frog Masks to the River Voices, yes. These are priceless holy cult items and must be carefully protected, though.
Eric: Maybe we can act as eyes of the dragon? Does 5 eyes value reports on what happens along the river and in pavis and such? Presumably the sun domers could produce more gold than the river....
John: Yes, Che'en says, "that is a good point. Information is valuable and the dragon has few ties. That would be a great bargaining chip. I am constantly reminded of your usefulness, Tison River Voice. As for gold, of course the Sun Dome has plenty more than us, and surely the dragon craves some. How we can work that into an arrangement may be difficult. As the Sun Dome emissary, perhaps Arcus River Voice can make a deal."
Eric: Does he want anything hunted down underground or in the river? Anything from the fort? What about anything from 1st dreamer or gnashing teeth? We could brain storm with wind wistler (he'll just say gold).
John: Worth asking the dragon. The One always seems to have had some vague interest in the fort. As for Windwhistler, he is both draconic and an honored guest of the Sun Dome Temple at times. It is a good idea to talk with him, perhaps.
Eric: Tison would want talk about having done what 1st dreamer has already told us to do anyway...
So I guess Arcus will go, though I probably should role a reckless to verify this. He will pray to Yelmalio and Zola Fel for guidance, meditate, and then decide on the following below:
In his mind, Arcus thinks that the dragon will cause great distruction, he hopes either to negotiate with 5eyes so that it passes over Sun County, or else try to kill it. He won't tell anyone about the latter option, he feels that they won't understand.
Arcus also thinks that he won't survive this adventure (especially if he tries to kill 5 eyes, he thinks his chances of that are less than zero). He will be moody and sort of depressed, and until the voyage is made, will spend the extra 5 hrs a week with his wife, Taenia. He probably tells her most of his thoughts about the upcoming adventure, though he leaves out the dying part; he asks her to tell noone about it.
Arcus will write two letters to be opened in the advent of his death. The first is to Taenia, written in Trade, describing his love for her and his sorrow that their time together would have been so short, if he dies.
The second is to Haloric, written in Fire Speech, which describes first Tarranyr's visions about the dragon, Arcus' feeling of certainty that 5 eyes will cause much destruction soon, and that because he believes that visions are true depictions of future events, there will be no way to prevent this from happening, the dragon can't be killed until after the disaster occurs. The best that can be hoped for is a negotiation with 5 eyes to spare Sun County. Arcus states that he knows he should have asked permission to go on this adventure, but thought his fears would not be listened to and would be prevented from going, the effect of which would be disaster for the homeland. He states that he thinks he has little chance of success, and as a last resort he must try to kill 5 eyes, even though he believes it is futile. Finally, he begs Haloric to look after his wife Taenia, and see that she makes it back to her family in Corflu if he dies.
Arcus gives the Haloric letter to Taenia, telling her that though he thinks it is unlikely he will suffer any harm, in the unlikely event of his death she must give the letter to Haloric.
Arcus then goes to Haloric, and being as vague as possible, tells his cousin that he is going down river for some river cult duties, and on the way back the group will try to go through Dyskund Caverns again, to destroy it more thoroughly. He tells Haloric that he has had omenous feelings that he may not make it back from this one, though he can't really say why (these are probably his exact words). In the event of his death, he asks that Haloric give the Taenia letter to his wife, and to see that she is looked after and reunited with her family in Corflu.
John: Haloric is troubled and you can tell that he knows something big is up, but doesn't ask. Probably figures it's another deadly chaos mission. He agrees to deliver the letter if it comes to that, and says: "I would be distraught if you were to come to an ill end, cousin. May the light of the Sun shine on you wherever you go, and protect you from evil. If you hoist your spear in offense, may it pierce the heart of the enemy with purity and righteousness. If I can be of service to you, merely ask and I will do my utmost."
As a last step, if any Yelmalian histories exist of the Dragon Kill War, he will try to research 1) how to negotiate with a dragon and 2) how to kill a dragon. If necessary, he will use his 15 hrs of cult lore for this task. He will ask Tison for knowledge of how to negotiate with a dragon, but won't say anything of trying to kill one.
Also, he will look around for something to give the dragon in exchange for a boon, he is thinking of sacrificing his helm and breast plate, and so will buy spare parts if he can afford it.