From somewhere down the hallway, someone shouts, "Herschel?! What in the name of the Eight Arcane Mysteries are you burning in there, Mephit dung? CLOSE YOUR BLOODY DOOR!!!"
Professor Frogbottom scarcely even looks up from his pouring, mixing, and heating, when he says, "Whoever is closest to the door, please pull it to, would you. I have the grouchiest neighbors here!" AHEM!! Anyway.... he says, wiping his hands on an orange square of cloth, and retrieving a sheaf of parchment from somewhere (you're afraid to specualte as to where, exactly) Professor Frogbottom hands the sheaf to Tylara and says, "Take one of these, each of you. This is the list of the ingredients that I need today. I presume that you know where Mugworts Meadow is?" Indeed, you have all heard about Mugworts Meadow, but only have the vaguest notion of where it is. You believe that it is some distance to the southeast. Seeing the confusion written on your faces, Professor Frogbottom continues, "From the stables, just head to the southeast for about six miles. When you notice that you're up to your noses in a sea of wildflowers, you're there! Ahhh, up to your waists? heh heh... Well, you know what I mean. Now....Any questions?" And looking thoughtful for a moment, he says, "Yes, indeed, Durgeon, is it? Yes, quite... Well, anyway, you can leave whenever you wish, today might be better than tomorrow, or you could get an early start tomorrow, I suppose. No matter! Just don't make it any later than tomorrow, please, our supplies are quite low now. You know, Alexandra that I am very hopeful that you can someday build us a construct to do this chore for us!" Here, Professor Frogbottom gives an indulgent wink to Alex, "I knew your father when he was a lad. Oh, and Dalomock, do look out for these folk! You have humans who belong in cities, an elf who belongs in the forest, a dwarf who belongs in the mountains, and you, why, you and Mikanna are almost civilized," Professor Frogbottom says with a broad grin for everone so that you know he is joking, "So I"m counting on you, Dalomock, and you, Mikanna to get everyone back safely!" And, with that, he produces an ivory wand from a fold of his robe, which he hands to Dalomock. As Dalomock inspects the wand, he sees that the word "Quirrel" is carved into the lower portion of the wand. "Now, understand, this is not for you to keep, it's just a loan. Please rememeber how many times you use it, and tell me when you bring it back, so that I know how much to recharge it." Here, he cups his hand to Dalomock's ear and whispers something to Dalomock. [sblock=Dalomock Zalim]Professor Frogbottom tells you that it is a wand of magic missile cast at 5th level, and it is fully charged. The command word is, indeed "Quirrel"[/sblock]"Very well! Off with you now! I have wizardly things to attend to!"
And with that Professor Frogbottom shoos you out of his office. But immediately he calls you all back, "Wait a moment! Where's my head? I have more things that you'll need," whereupon he reaches into his pocket and pulls out four rather large tomes, which he hands to Kerlan, Capizzio, Mikkana, and Alexandra. "These are so that you can identify the herbs that you've found," and, indeed, you see that they are copies of "The Junior Wizard's Book of Flowers, Trees, Herbs, and Weeds." Next, he pulls from his pocket four large baskets that he hands to Gregory, Dalomock, Tylara, and Durgeon. "These are for collecting the herbs that you find." And, finally, he reaches deep into the same pocket and pulls forth two large butterfly nets, which he hands to Mikkana and Durgeon with a grin. "Just in case!" he says with a wink. With that, Professor Frogbottom bids you farewell, and returns to his mixing and brewing. As you proceed to the stairs, you notice quite a large number of scented candles burning in various places where there were none on your first trip down the corridor.