Getting his, Tulata, and their escorts' stuff moved down to the keep, was quick and without issues. Once that was complete Arwin went to talk to Throtson. This is why he found himself standing outside the door to the alchemist's laboratory on the lower decks of the Atamar's Spear. He was bracing himself for what was within as the sounds of panic, and Throtson's manic laughter emanating from within indicated that one of his experiments had succeeded, or failed with positive results. Arwin took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  After just long enough for him to think no one had heard him knocking the door was opened slightly and a vermkin apprentice alchemist pokes their head out of it. They looked exhausted with bags visible under their eyes despite their fur.

"My lord we apologize for the noise. how can we be of assistance."

"I need to speak with Throtson. I'm not sure if you have been informed but, we have made contact with the first nation across the mountains and he is one of the envoys upon this ship."

  The apprentice nods and opens the door for Arwin to enter. The room is in chaos as a large fluffy creature of some kind is currently running around the room. Various alchemists and their apprentices try to catch the poor thing or stop anything it bumped into from falling over or stop the contents of the shelves from falling and breaking upon the floor. Throtson was laughing in jubilation at his apparent success at creating whatever or at the chaos it was causing, Arwin wasn't sure which and figured it was some combination of the two.

"Throtson What the hell is going on in here!" Arwin bellowed causing everyone to stop and look at him. The large fluffy thing yelped and cowered behind a nearby desk at the sudden outburst of noise. It sounded like a strange mix of a rabbit's cry and a wolf's yelp. Arwin took a second to get a good look at the thing now that it was sitting still. The thing stood on four paws its head came up to his shoulders it was covered in a fluffy patchwork of brown and white fur, and large round brown eyes stared back at him. it had the head of a wolf but the ears of a rabbit with the large fangs and tail of a rat.

" Ah, Arwin perfect yes yes, I was just about to send someone for you you show the Dire Wolfratbit yes yes my greatest best creature yet yet." Throtson proudly proclaimed while motioning to the thing with one of his hands.

"Yes, it is very interesting, erm what is it designed for exactly."

Stolen story; please report.

" to provide excellent protection while being soft soft cuddly YESS!"

  Arwin just stared at him for a few moments as his thoughts were thrown into a storm of disbelief and confusion. Deciding this is a topic better left for later he switched to the reason he came down here, to begin with.

"Right, I am here to inform you that we have made contact with the first nation south of the mountains and have been invited to stay in the city of Elmsdale. Being the representative of the Imperial Colleges of Alchemy and the Vermkin you will be joining us in the city, you may bring a small entourage of up to 5 other people. Once you have decided who will be joining you we will meet in the Gryphon stables to begin moving the things you will need to bring down with you. Also, you are not to create anything not used for healing or a potion until we know it won't cause any issues."

"Yes Yes, of course, will will get started right now now."

  Arwin turned and headed back to the stables hoping that if nothing else Tulata's presence would keep the worst of the mad genius's habits at bay. As he headed to the stables he was met by a crewman looking for him, to relay a request for his presence from captain Durwin in the city below. Arwin finds Durwin waiting for him at the entrance to the keep as he flies down.

"Hello, captain you requested to speak with me?"

"Yes we have heard back from Lord Edward, he is happy to host you within our city and will be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon. He also gave his permission for the dragons traveling with you to hunt within our lands for food."

"that is excellent to hear, and while we have enough food to feed everyone in our crew for a month and a half permission to hunt is greatly appreciated. Is there anything else you wish to discuss I don't mean to sound rude but we still have one more group to move from the ship."

  Durwin pauses a moment in thought and frowns. "Well, I would like to know what kind of alchemical equipment this Throtson is bringing with him. Since I would like a more accurate idea of what I am allowing you to bring into our walls."

"I am not sure about the names or the exact appearance but I made sure he understood to bring only what he needs to create healing treatments and simple potions." Arwin was pretty sure so far that anything else would result in them being thrown out and possibly barred from ever having anything to do with any of them again.

"What do you mean by healing treatments?" Durwin asks in genuine confusion.

" I am not sure of the specifics as I have almost no knowledge of healing or alchemy. When I asked that myself I was told that different injuries require different supplies to be healed properly not just potions or bandages."

  This to Arwin's relief is enough to satisfy the captain at least for the moment. He already knew they were putting a lot of trust in his word alone and he was on thin ice because of it. Fortunately, they managed to move Throtson and 4 of his apprentices into the keep and finish the day without any incidents.