Anca very quickly has Fang subdued. He is a fiercely strong dog.
If you want to reject my interpretation of the spell you are welcome to, but the duration the way I play it is only for those the Druid casts it on, not the Druid himself.
You don’t need it for the Prot. v Fire spell, you cannot get anything like flame blade on the scimitar for that little. Actually 690gp will by little more than minor potions.
Fine. But Ghân is still leader of the little pack, right?
I’m happy if you (the DM 
) want to play that Ghân can cast ‘Protection from Fire’ on himself and it lasts until he takes more than 60hp of fire damage. (I assume that exactly the same ruling applies to ‘Protection from Lightning’?)
Ghân will duly cast the spell on himself.
OK, can Ghân save the chits / gold and carry them easily?
Ghân is of course the Alpha. Yes on both spells & that is also in the PM.
As to the chits, they are very easy to carry, but not usable outside of Minas Tirith. You can convert to gold at a 5% loss or gems at 8%.
Sir Thoroncir wishes to begin accruing funds so that he can eventually have his longsword enchanted as Curunauth suggests. He will write a letter to the First Sea-Knight, the head of his Order, asking for permission to accumulate money found or earned in the course of his knight-errantry, so long as it is primarily used for the furtherance of his service to the Crown and not for his personal benefit.
He will ensure that copies of the letter are sent to the Queen and to Prince Eldarion, as well, in case they want to weigh in. 
No, there’s no sense in risking it; I’ll wait. Might even run into a situation where I’d need to cast it from the scroll if we get in a bad situation, but I won’t do that unless strictly necessary.
Is the party agreed, then, that we’ll go north as an escort? If so, we should post fliers looking for more travelers?
In the evening, Gilraen, "Honestly I would be very happy to visit Rivendell again. I have only been there once before and I was only 7. It was the home of both my parents and it is a very special place.
I understand that they are looking for adventures in Rivendell for some still hidden purpose. This should not be mentioned outside of this room.
I’m not sure who we could escort to Rivendell. It is still hidden from most. Perhaps we could escort people as far as Tharbad on the Greyflood and then take a large raft or boat upstream to the Ford.
Thoroncir, it would please me to loan you the money you need. I have some money of my own and the 2000 I just earned. I have no immediate plans for my money."
Merry adds in, “When you get to Tharbad, look for either Captain Straw or Captain Gatten, elf friend. They are both trustworthy folk.”
Sir Thoroncir is touched by Gilraen’s offer. He bows and says to her, “Thank you, my lady, most sincerely. Your generosity truly knows no bounds, and I assure you that your champion is grateful beyond words!” He tells her of the diamond and chalcedony which Curunauth says will be necessary for the enchantment, and asks, “Could you suggest a reputable merchant here in the White City who would sell such things?”
Ghân is very happy with his Golden Scarab and Anca, his new Animal Friend. 
He introduces Anca to the party, strongly advising them not to say “Who’s a pretty doggy, then?!”
He offers to lend Thoroncir (or any other member of the party) almost all his gold / chits. (He is certain both that he will be repaid and that it will benefit him and his animals if the party has extra magic.)
I am sure that he is fair enough to another of his breed. It is generally the way with mortal creatures.
::drops to one knee, holds hand out but not too close, remains calm and still::
Here, strong one. This is my scent, that you shall know it again. No doubt we will do very well together.
Anca lets loose a particularly loud bark. What does Gil-Gandel do?
If it sounds nervous, like he’s feeling crowded and unsure of himself, I’ll back off gently and make soothing noises. If it sounds more like he’s trying to intimidate me, I’ll stand my ground, ready to dodge if he tries to bite. Play beta to his alpha now and we’ll be stuck with it for good.
I’m trading here on this “elvish way with all good beasts” thing…
You correctly surmise Anca is trying to intimidate you. He does sniff your hand briefly as you stand him off and then gives you the biggest sloppiest kiss of your long life.
Gilraen to Thoroncir, “This will be easily accomplished. In fact I already have the chalcedony.” She gives expert direction to a shop on the second ring.
Thoroncir grins. “Again you outdo yourself, my lady. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the shop?”
Just a brief note from Mulligan.
She stills want the bullseye lantern with oil supplies.
She will asking Ghan about any suitable paralysis or sleep potions that can be used in the injection dagger and she will, of course, pay for them.
After that, if there are any sets of gloves giving bonuses to Dex or which can improve thiefly abilities, she would be interested in looking in Minas Tirith for them.
As for future trips, North sounds like the best option.
The Lanterns of Aglarond are clever little devices that are very efficient with oil & very sturdy. Burns for 6 hrs on 1 flask of good oil & has a built in sparker. They work as normal or bullseye x2. They cost 100gp per. The good oil is only 1gp and 1sp per or a 8 GP per gallon (8 flasks worth).
Ghân & Deor could make either for you and Ghân’s are fairly cheap to him. They cost him only a little. He has to set that price. Deor could cobble up some sleep doses for a cost of 10gp for a dose or 200gp for 50 doses. He would again need to set a price for you.
You just need to tell me how much oil.
There is a small variety of thieving helpers available.
You track down:
Magic thief kit for 2000gp that give a +5% to all thieving abilities.
Magic Lock picks for 2500gp that give a +25% OL, +15% Find & Remove Traps
Magic climbing gloves for 1500gp that give a +15% to climb walls.
Boots of stealth for 2000gp gives thieves a +50% to move silently and a chance to pass without trace. The chance is ½ Move silently for Thieves and a base 30% + 5% per level for Rangers. For elves it gives a +5% to move silently (base 90% under ideal circumstances).
Ghân thanks Gil-Gandel for being so welcoming and offers him a cloth to wipe his face. (Perhaps Anca does have a softie side!)
Ghân will also arrange both that all the other members of the party get to meet Anca and that Anca understands that he is there to help protect them.
Ghân will go shopping / searching with Mulligan for herbs. He can offer Plant Growth either to a herbalist or on seeds he finds.
Ghân will make potions for party members at cost price - it’s all future benefit to him!
Ah yes- I believe Miron still has two herbs he scavenged during the last outing, so he might as well prepare two potions and offer them to the tanks for emergencies.
Miron can prepare your curative, but it is not a magic potion to be drunk. It still needs to be applied by a skilled herbalist/healer. Yourself, Ghân or Gilraen would work. **Please remind me of the herbs found. **
I am still waiting on the Hobbits. I think everyone else is done.
Are there any more thoughts about the trip north? There were some suggestions of escorting others along the way.
Minas Tirith to Tharbad has good roads the entire way. At Pony speed (and laden draft horse) the journey of 825* miles to Tharbad should take 20 days. It is then another 300 miles upriver taking 5-10 days to the Ford and a final 35 miles to the valley. That is 1160 miles in all. So 26-31 days.
As the eagles flies it would be but 700.
Another route is to take the Anduin north to the Old Ford (at the Old Forest Road) and take the pass over the Misty Mountains to Rivendell. That would be 25 miles to Osgiliath (1day) and 150 from Old Ford Town to Rivendell (5-8 days). The trip on the River includes a portage day but is otherwise 900 miles on the Anduin. This would take 23-46 days as the Anduin flows swiftly. So the trip would be 29-54 days. It is also still much more dangerous.
Another option is to take the small paths through the lands between Tharbad and the Last Bridge. This would be 250 to 300 miles and then 120 miles from the Last Bridge to the Valley. So 20 days to Tharbad, 10 to 20 days to the bridge and 3 days to the valley. So 33-43 days.
I am willing to hear dissension as we’re just at the planning stage, but I would vote for the route by way of the Anduin and the Pass… and if it is a more dangerous route, we could perhaps see if it is a less dangerous one by the time we have passed.
::barely discomfited by being covered in dog slobber. There are worse ways to be marked::
Ghân, what do you have available? I’m willing to pay for some ingredients.
Well said, O Elf-captain, and Sir Thoroncir’s views exactly.
:: thoughtfully hefts his Numenorean longsword ::