After another hour or so of research and much less paranoia I turned the item in and got the grocery list. Everything works fine. This might help explain some things : "The wording for Farios can be taken as a bit confusing (IMO - particularly sentence formation & the use of the word "respond"). Misleading many to believe that he will "respond" to a Hail when you have achieved the appropriate faction level for the hand in - which is not the case. The ONLY "response" you need from him is for him to take your pot and give you back your list -- no dialogue on your part is necessary. " Druid Epic on ZAM
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=758