Expedition: Earc/Guhra's Tower-Part II-29 July 2021

[Zhym]

This is the first time we're close enough to town that taking everything is an option.

But I'll do a treasure tally. I assume there's nothing to be found that we haven't already found?

[Marullus]

Pretty sure. I am not asking for more searching.

[Zhym]

Okay. Here's the list of everything in this thread:

All The Treasures

Already stashed in the stables
- 32 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil
- five southron shortbows
- 37 southron arrows
- 54 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil
- 600lbs of silver (10 sacks)
- four engraved crossbow bolts (created, +3)
- one untarnished two-handed sword with a flamberge blade (created, extraplanar, +1) (Hey, that's two two-handed flamberge blades in this game!)
- a case of still usable magical inks (500gp worth) (does Hagaseth expect this back?)
- a potion (Created)
- 1 scroll (5 spells, 18 spell-levels in length)
- seven human-made shortbows

Stuff from Hagaseth's chambers that we returned to him
- 2,000gp research library
- 1,000gp in magical inks
- (2) heavy dwarven lockboxes with 100 lbs of ep each
- Spellbook (and Earc needs to return his traveling book)

Stirges room -> Moved to Battle Room
- one large sack 2/3 full of platinum pieces and one small sack full of gold pieces
- golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, and cups. (108lbs of gold)

Sudbok shrine
- Chest w/ remains of Tyrell and Carchannoi
- Silk...tablecloth? (earc)

Tower Cellar, west room
- Stacked crates and barrels of fish and trade goods destined for Gaul (minus two barrels of fish)
- "some discarded items too large for goblins to use" (does this have any value?)
- Tyrell's feather-plumed helmet
- Heavy flail
- Elf-made longbow (enchanted to kill dwarves?? But we may not know that...)

Ground Floor
- "Crates of stolen human goods" (unknown contents?)
- rumpled piles of cloth bedding (probably worthless, but I don't think we searched it)

Second Floor (Bizlenik)
- Spellbook "bound in newly-tanned human flesh" (Tyrell's flesh???)
- Carchannoi's elvish spellbook (Already taken by Winnie in the previous expedition?)
- Four empty magical-ink cases
- About one case worth of ink
- Dwarven warhammer that's remarkably untarnished (Funil or Drunil)
- Sturdy metal round-shield emblazoned with a raven in flight, small rubies as its red eyes (Funil or Drunil)
(We only searched for one turn. Does further searching reveal anything else?)

Third Floor (Barracks)
(We didn't search this room. Did the guards have any personal items?)

Top Floor (Guhra)
One chest of copper coins (100lbs)
Six chests of silver coins (600lbs)
One thick gold chain necklace
One delicate platinum chain necklace
One tarnished amulet of silver with a polished bloodstone in its center
One wizard scroll
One set of elf-sized chainmail on a broken armor stand
A rumpled set of elf-sized studded leather armor
One light throwing hammer
Six southron short swords
Ten southron shortbows
15 goblin-made spears (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
17 goblin-made shortswords (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
24 goblin-made throwing knives (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
blue azurite (10 GP)
dull deep blue lapis lazuli (10 GP)
large striated green malachite (25 GP)
white chalcedony (75 GP)
murky golden yellow topaz (75 GP)
green zircon (75 GP)
flawed red garnet (75 GP)
banded black onyx (75 GP)
perfect deep blue azurite (100 GP)
deep green chrysoprase (100 GP)
banded black onyx (100 GP)
flawless pale blue tourmaline (1,000 GP)
(Guhra was also wearing chainmail when Carchannoi met with her the first time. I assume the chainmail on the broken stand was Tyrell's. Is Guhra still wearing hers?)

Reward from Hagaseth:
- Two chests of silver (although the only chests we saw were electrum, or looked like it)
- Eight rubies worth 300 gp each

Things Carchannoi or Tyrell Had that We Didn't Find
Carchannoi's Sword (Given to Tog, who died in battle just before Tyrell and Carcahnnoi did)
Ring of Protection +1 (Taken by a crazed goblin in the dungeons)
(Others?)

Whew. I request permission to amend this as/if I go back to the previous outing of Earc's group to see if we left anything there. But this is...a lot. Plus whatever gets added, if anything, from the rooms we didn't search or crates we didn't examine.

[Zhym]

And here's what we explicitly left behind in the first trip to the tower:

- A Southron steel longsword with sturdy crossbar (4 lbs, 5 gp resale value)
- A Southron steel longsword notched from frequent use (4 lbs, 5 gp resale value)
- Five sets of well-made Southron chainmail (30 lbs each, 35 gp resale value each)
- Four Southron longbows (3 lbs each, 20 gp resale value each)
- Four quivers with 15 goose-feathered Southron arrows, each. (3 lbs each, 2.5 gp resale value each)
- 7 cp
- A worn wooden staff (4 lbs, 1 gp resale value)

That's 276 gp, 7 cp worth of stuff. Probably worth bringing that back, too, since we're not weight-limited.

That turned out to be a handy wish Drunil made.

There was also the following lab equipment that we couldn't drag back without damaging it:
- One large bronze brazier / furnace (floor-standing) (servicable)
- One large bronze brazier / furnace (floor-standing) (burned and destroyed)
- An glass alembic
- Three mortar and pestles
- A table-sized still with array of distillation tubes
- A dozen medium sized, hermetically-sealed jars
- Eight large sized, hermetically-sealed jars

Hagaseth may claim that lab equipment as his, however. We should probably ask before taking it.

[Alethan]

Wow. That's a metric shite tonne of loot, Zhym! Thanks for tallying that up!

As far as Earc knows, all of the crates of magical inks are goblin plunder from caravans and do not belong to Hagaseth. So that doesn't need to be returned to him.

But Earc will certainly be happy to take that. He's going to have some scroll transcribing into a spellbook to do and maybe copy a spell or two out of Hagaseth's spellbook before he returns it.

[Marullus]

Excellent - thanks Zhym.

Go roleplay your final scene with Hagaseth, get your payday and work out what you're not trying to take because it belongs to him, and then I'll give you a summary when you exit the stables.

When you return downstairs, you find Hagaseth picking mournfully through the wreckage of his study. His desk is chopped to kindling, his shelves half collapsed, his papers and books rummaged and partially stolen. Through the adjacent doorway you can see into his laboratory - glassware smashed all over the floor, one of his brass furnaces completely destroyed by a raging fire, bodies rotted on the table. You are carrying your loot from upstairs and would need to go into and through his laboratory to get the loot you abandoned last time. The old wizard seems in a sour mood as he sorts the wreckage that was his life's work.

Date: 2:00pm, 02 August 2021
Effects: Continual light, Invisible (Earc)
Injuries: Drunil (severely wounded), Steve (severely wounded), Earc (moderately wounded), Funil (moderately wounded), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Florian (minorly wounded), Hereward (minorly wound)

[Zhym]

"Guhra be dead," Olaf says, holding up Guhra's head. "All gobbos be dead or fled. Tower be clear. Funil and Drunil, they be staying to help clean up, aye? And they be bringing their kin?" He glances at the two dwarves to confirm that this is their intent.

He looks expectantly at the wizard, not wanting to be so impolite as to ask for the promised reward.

Hagaseth's stuff:

• All the stuff in this room, what's left of it, is obviously Hagaseth's. So we leave the braziers, still, lab equipment, etc.
• As for the inks, where do you suppose the goblins got them? Some of them are already in the stables, so we don't need to explain bringing them past Hagaseth. But if we bring Bizlenik's inks through, Hagaseth might claim them and accuse of of trying to steal them. Unless one of the previous adventurers brought ink with them? That seems unlikely. Alethan, I'll leave it to you to decide what to do about the ink.
• He might lay claim to any given potion or scroll, but two of them are already in the stables, so we don't need to declare that with Hagaseth customs. I think we can probably get away with not giving scrolls or potions to him.
• Do we know what happened to his journals? Carchannoi had some of them, right? Did Earc find any? He might appreciate their return.
• Anything else?

[onlyme]

Halfpint offers to assist in cleaning out the bodies. (by putting them on a sheet or tarp and dragging them out)
She figures they have seen enough blood today to make it no worse, and it should help him the most at this particular time.

[Alethan]

As they pass through and see Hagaseth mourning his lost laboratory, Earc is suddenly reminded of something! He rummages through his pack and retrieves a battered journal.

"Here. I found this earlier. I'd forgotten about it until now." He gives Hagaseth the journal.

"Like I said earlier, I have your spell book in my tower and will return it at soon as I can. Now that the goblin presence has been eliminated from this tower, it is likely you will be able to replace missing and broken lab equipment from the Southron lands without much problem."

He adds in passing, as he observes the lab, "Could be worse, though, you know. You could still be stuck in a painting..."

[Marullus]

Olaf provides the business-like approach, informing Hagaseth that your side of the bargain is honored. "Yes, yes, of course," he replies distractedly. He then waves his hand, opening a door in mid-air, unattached to anything in the center of the room. He reaches in and pulls out two heavy chests, then closes the door which again disappears. He opens the lid and shows they do, in fact, contain a full amount of silver coins. (200lbs of silver coins, total, as promised)

Halfpint offers to help remove the bodies from the laboratory. There are crates available to hold the remains of Dorath the human and Gaeron the elf (packing their parts separately, of course). Funil and Drunil help you carry them reverently out to the stables. Hagaseth thanks you, slightly mollified.

Earc, still a young wizard, tries to lighten the air with an off-handed comment about the ancient warlock's captivity.
Earc CHA check [3d6] = 13
Rather than reminding the crotchety old man of his reasons for gratitude, it sours his mood. Hagaseth snatches the journal from Earc's hand and frowns. "Two days. I expect my spellbook returned two days hence," he tells Earc snappishly.

Hagaseth is unaware of what you already took through to the stables. He does look warily at what else you carry through. The inks from Bizlenik's chamber are stolen from the southern caravans and he doesn't claim them. He does stop you to inspect the wizard scroll found in Guhra's belongings. "I'll keep that, if you don't mind," he says. As you help remove the bodies but don't take any of the lab equipment, he doesn't bother you about anything moved there.

Earc can contest the taking of the scroll with a convincing argument and a 4d6 check.

...

As you move goods out through the stables of I'didmi'dum, the dwarven overseers take a personal interest. They've been talking with Hagaseth and now have keen views on what was in the tower and their hereditary rights.
- Dwarven warhammer that's remarkably untarnished
- Sturdy metal round-shield emblazoned with a raven in flight, small rubies as its red eyes
- golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, and cups. (108lbs of gold)
"Without meaning offense, of course, but these bear the maker seals of our kin and, well, already belong to our clan..." he proffers.

Having heard them out, they agree to let you sort things in the stables before providing your answer.

You can discuss how to handle the dwarves as part of your apportionment.
...

You get everything to the stables, you rest until morning, then Earc examines the loot for magical energies.

Okay. Here's the list of everything in this thread:

All The Treasures

Already stashed in the stables
- 32 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil
- five southron shortbows
- 37 southron arrows
- 54 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil
- 600lbs of silver (10 sacks)
**MAGIC**- four engraved crossbow bolts (created, +3)
**MAGIC**- one untarnished two-handed sword with a flamberge blade (created, extraplanar, +1) (Hey, that's two two-handed flamberge blades in this game!)
- a case of still usable magical inks (500gp worth) (does Hagaseth expect this back?)
**MAGIC**- a potion (Created)
**MAGIC**- 1 scroll (5 spells, 18 spell-levels in length)
- seven human-made shortbows

Stirges room -> Moved to Battle Room
- one large sack 2/3 full of platinum pieces and one small sack full of gold pieces
- golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, and cups. (108lbs of gold)

Sudbok shrine
- Chest w/ remains of Tyrell and Carchannoi
**MAGIC**- Silk...tablecloth? (earc)

Tower Cellar, west room
- Stacked crates and barrels of fish and trade goods destined for Gaul (minus two barrels of fish) (500gp in trade goods)

- "some discarded items too large for goblins to use" (does this have any value?)
**MAGIC** - A pair of stylish human-sized leather boots
(Other soiled human clothing of little to no value)

**MAGIC**- Tyrell's feather-plumed helmet
- Heavy flail
**MAGIC**- Elf-made longbow (enchanted to kill dwarves?? But we may not know that...)




Ground Floor
- "Crates of stolen human goods" (unknown contents?) 400gp in trade goods


Second Floor (Bizlenik)
**MAGIC**- Spellbook "bound in newly-tanned human flesh" (Tyrell's flesh???)
- Carchannoi's elvish spellbook (Already taken by Winnie in the previous expedition?)
- Four empty magical-ink cases
- About one case worth of ink
**MAGIC**- Dwarven warhammer that's remarkably untarnished (Funil or Drunil)
**MAGIC**- Sturdy metal round-shield emblazoned with a raven in flight, small rubies as its red eyes (Funil or Drunil)

Top Floor (Guhra)
One chest of copper coins (100lbs)
Six chests of silver coins (600lbs)
One thick gold chain necklace
One delicate platinum chain necklace
**MAGIC**One tarnished amulet of silver with a polished bloodstone in its center
**MAGIC**One wizard scroll
One set of elf-sized chainmail on a broken armor stand
A rumpled set of elf-sized studded leather armor
One light throwing hammer
Six southron short swords
Ten southron shortbows
15 goblin-made spears (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
17 goblin-made shortswords (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
24 goblin-made throwing knives (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
blue azurite (10 GP)
dull deep blue lapis lazuli (10 GP)
large striated green malachite (25 GP)
white chalcedony (75 GP)
murky golden yellow topaz (75 GP)
green zircon (75 GP)
flawed red garnet (75 GP)
banded black onyx (75 GP)
perfect deep blue azurite (100 GP)
deep green chrysoprase (100 GP)
banded black onyx (100 GP)
flawless pale blue tourmaline (1,000 GP)
Guhra's Chainmail Armor (worn - small size)

Reward from Hagaseth:
- Two chests of silver (although the only chests we saw were electrum, or looked like it)
- Eight rubies worth 300 gp each

Go ahead with loot division. I'll calculate and post a summary based on all this (even if you then give some to the dwarves.)

Date: 8:00am, 03 August 2021
Effects: Continual light, Invisible (Earc)
Injuries: Drunil (severely wounded), Steve (severely wounded), Earc (moderately wounded), Funil (moderately wounded), Halfpint (moderately wounded), Florian (minorly wounded), Hereward (minorly wound)

[Alethan]

Earc doesn't let go of the scroll so easily.

"No offense meant, Master Hagaseth, but this scroll was found along with the personal belongings of citizens of Gaul as part of the treasure hoard of Guhra's tribe, not in your library, among your books and journals. This is rightfully ours, as per the agreement you made with us before we agreed to clear the tower of goblins."

[Marullus]

Updated... added gold values.

All The Treasures

Already stashed in the stables
- 32 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil (16 gp)
- five southron shortbows (62.5 gp)
- 37 southron arrows (4.63 gp)
- 54 electrum pieces with a closed fist sigil (27 gp)
- 600lbs of silver (10 sacks) (600 gp)
**MAGIC**- four engraved crossbow bolts (created, +3)
**MAGIC**- one untarnished two-handed sword with a flamberge blade
- a case of still usable magical inks (500gp worth)
**MAGIC**- a potion (Created)
**MAGIC**- 1 scroll (5 spells, 18 spell-levels in length)
- seven human-made shortbows (87.5 gp)

Stirges room -> Moved to Battle Room
- one large sack 2/3 full of platinum pieces (400pp, 4,000 gp)
- one small sack full of gold pieces (200 gp)
- golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, and cups. (108lbs of gold) (1,080 gp)

Sudbok shrine
- Chest w/ remains of Tyrell and Carchannoi (500 gp reward from Church of Baudh)
**MAGIC**- Silk...tablecloth? (earc)

Tower Cellar, west room
- Eight SIX barrels of salted fish (60 lbs/40 gp each) (240 gp)
- Five crates of trade goods (100 lbs/ 200gp each) (1000 gp)

- "some discarded items too large for goblins to use" (does this have any value?)
**MAGIC**- A pair of stylish human-sized leather boots
(Other soiled human clothing of little to no value)

**MAGIC**- Tyrell's feather-plumed helmet
- Heavy flail (4 gp)
**MAGIC**- Elf-made longbow

Ground Floor
- "Crates of stolen human goods" (unknown contents?) 400gp in trade goods


Second Floor (Bizlenik)
**MAGIC**- Spellbook "bound in newly-tanned human flesh" (Tyrell's flesh???)
- Four empty magical-ink cases
- About one case worth of ink (500 gp)
**MAGIC**- Dwarven warhammer that's remarkably untarnished
**MAGIC**- Sturdy metal round-shield emblazoned with a raven in flight, small rubies as its red eyes (Funil or Drunil) (+2 shield)


Top Floor (Guhra)
One chest of copper coins (100lbs) (10 gp)
Six chests of silver coins (600lbs) (600 gp)
One thick gold chain necklace (40 gp)
One delicate platinum chain necklace (50 gp)
**MAGIC**One tarnished amulet of silver with a polished bloodstone in its center
**MAGIC**One wizard scroll (Claimed by Hagaseth)
One set of elf-sized chainmail on a broken armor stand (35 gp)
A rumpled set of elf-sized studded leather armor (15 gp)
One light throwing hammer (1/2 gp)
Six southron short swords (21 gp)
Ten southron shortbows (125 gp)
15 goblin-made spears (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
17 goblin-made shortswords (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
24 goblin-made throwing knives (Listed for completeness; I don't think we want any)
blue azurite (10 GP)
dull deep blue lapis lazuli (10 GP)
large striated green malachite (25 GP)
white chalcedony (75 GP)
murky golden yellow topaz (75 GP)
green zircon (75 GP)
flawed red garnet (75 GP)
banded black onyx (75 GP)
perfect deep blue azurite (100 GP)
deep green chrysoprase (100 GP)
banded black onyx (100 GP)
flawless pale blue tourmaline (1,000 GP)
Guhra's Chainmail Armor (worn - small size) (35 gp)

Reward from Hagaseth:
- Two chests of silver (200lbs) (200 gp)
- Eight rubies worth 300 gp each (2,400 gp)

[Marullus]

Earc bargains with Hagaseth:
Earc CHA [4d6-4] = 18-4 = 14

He looks amongst you, then at the gathering dwarves who help carry things away. "Bah," he says dismissively, relenting on the scroll, but you can't help but think he'll remember this in the future...
Earc's relations with Hagaseth drop from Indifferent to Suspicious for future apprenticeship discussions.

[Zhym]

Olaf provides the business-like approach, informing Hagaseth that your side of the bargain is honored. "Yes, yes, of course," he replies distractedly. He then waves his hand, opening a door in mid-air, unattached to anything in the center of the room. He reaches in and pulls out two heavy chests, then closes the door which again disappears. He opens the lid and shows they do, in fact, contain a full amount of silver coins. (200lbs of silver coins, total, as promised)

Just checking—did he also give us the eight rubies? They're in the updated loot summary but not the action post.

[Alethan]

What is the value for the following items?

600lbs of silver (10 sacks)
one large sack 2/3 full of platinum pieces
one small sack full of gold pieces
golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, and cups. (108lbs of gold)
One chest of copper coins (100lbs)
Six chests of silver coins (600lbs)
One thick gold chain necklace
One delicate platinum chain necklaces (600lbs)
Two chests of silver from Hagaseth Never mind; cross posted.

Would the dwarfs be satisfied if Funil and Drunil were to take the dwarven magical items as part of their loot division?

[Marullus]

Expedition Summary:
Encounter: Warg Riders Patrolling the Night
Event: The Gnoll Body Vomitorium
Encounter: Goblins in the Study
Encounter: Giant Rats Nest
Encounter: Shadows in the Closet
Encounter: Goblin battle in the Battle Room
Location: Discovered Hagaseth's Inner Sanctum
Encounter: The Invisible Stalker's Final Duty
Event: Releasing Hagaseth!
Encounter: The Ettercap's Ritual Room
Event: Finding the remains of Tyrrell and Carchannoi
Encounter: The Giant Rats in the Tanner's Room
Encounter: Basement - Goblins Guarding the Trap Door
Encounter: First Floor - Warg-rider Ambush
Encounter: Second Floor - Bizilnik's chamber
Encounter: Third Floor - Barrack Front Line
Encounter: Fourth Floor - Guhra's Throne Room
Event: Clearing the Tower of Guhra

Sub-total: 10,537 xp

Treasure total: 14,473.13gp

Total XP: 25,010 character xp / 5,268 item xp

PCs (Halfpint, Olaf, Earc, Hereward): 4,168 character xp / 878 item xp
NPCs (Funil, Drunil, Florian, Steve): 2,084 character xp / 439 item xp

[Marullus]

Just checking—did he also give us the eight rubies? They're in the updated loot summary but not the action post.

Yes.

Would the dwarfs be satisfied if Funil and Drunil were to take the dwarven magical items as part of their loot division?

That's one method of resolution. They also would want the gold plates and utensils (decorated with family crests, of course) to come in their share.

Please use the remainder of this thread for loot division.

When you've finished your accounting and addressed the dwarves, they happily provide you wagons to get everything back to town. You arrive in Gaul on August 4, 2021. Celebrating your hard work and converting all the trade goods into liquid cash takes several weeks, bringing you to 04 September 2021.

Please post one month's expenditures in an appropriate tavern thread (not here). You also can roleplay seeking your reward from the Archduke in the Wooden Keep thread during that time.

[Zhym]

FYI, this is going to be a busy week, so I may not have time to do my usual anal-retentive treasure split suggestion. OTOH, I might make some time for it. If folks would post what they're interested in, that will help.

Olaf is most interested (in no particular order) in the crossbow bolts, gems, and maybe the amulet. If he has any reason to know what Carchannoi claimed to be the longbow's enchantment, he'd want that to verify that and destroy it.

The potion of Giant Strength Olaf used is worth 1000 gp in AD&D 1e (not that that applies to this game of course). If the group wants to bump Olaf's treasure share some to allow for him using up that potion to the group's benefit, that'd be most welcome, but obviously it's up to you all.

I'll make a post in the Wooden Keep thread, then we can include any reward we get in the loot split.

[Alethan]

Let's start by breaking everything down into groups? Does this look accurate?

Coin:
Copper – 1000
Silver – 6000, 6000, 2000
Gold – 4000, 200
Electrum – 32, 54
Platinum – 400
9782gp Total Coin Value

Gems and Jewelry:
Gold Chain Necklace (40gp)
Delicate Platinum Chain Necklace (50gp)
blue azurite (10 GP)
dull deep blue lapis lazuli (10 GP)
large striated green malachite (25 GP)
white chalcedony (75 GP)
murky golden yellow topaz (75 GP)
green zircon (75 GP)
flawed red garnet (75 GP)
banded black onyx (75 GP)
perfect deep blue azurite (100 GP)
deep green chrysoprase (100 GP)
banded black onyx (100 GP)
flawless pale blue tourmaline (1,000 GP)
(8) rubies (2400gp)
4,135gp Total Gem/Jewelry Value

Trade Goods:
Weapons and Armour – 62.5gp, 4.63gp, 87.5gp, 35gp, 15gp, .5gp, 21gp, 125gp, 35gp, 4gp
Golden plates, forks, knives, spoons, cups – 1,080gp
Barrels of salted fish (6) – 240gp
Crates of trade goods (5) – 1000gp
Crates of stolen human goods – 400gp
3,110.13gp Total Trade Goods Value
 
Magic Items:
(4) Engraved Crossbow Bolts
Untarnished two-handed sword with flamberge blade
(1) Case Magical Inks
Potion
Scroll (5 spells, 18 spell levels total)
Black Silk Cloth
Pair of Stylish Human-Sized Leather Boots
Tyrell’s Feather-Plumed Helm
Elf-Made Longbow
Spellbook bound in human flesh
(1) Crate of Magical Inks
Dwarven Warhammer
Sturdy Round Metal Shield w/Raven
Tarnished Amulet of Silver with Bloodstone
Wizard Scroll

Earc can TRY to ID things, but that could take a while. He can at the very least memorize several Read Magic spells and ID all of the spells in the scrolls and spell book. Marullus, can we get the XP value on any of the Imbued magical items?

[Alethan]

The potion of Giant Strength Olaf used is worth 1000 gp in AD&D 1e (not that that applies to this game of course). If the group wants to bump Olaf's treasure share some to allow for him using up that potion to the group's benefit, that'd be most welcome, but obviously it's up to you all.

Doesn't this end up double-dinging? Or... double-benefiting the owner of items used in adventures? You get the potion as a portion of treasure in one adventure, then you get reimbursed for using it in another adventure?