Zaer, I don't quite follow your actions.  It seems the only action you're taking is to attack, which won't take an action point.  Also, Tempest Breath doesn't prevent enemies from making opportunity attacks, instead it prevents anyone hit by it from gaining combat advantage against anyone.<br/><br/>As an aside, your talks with the merchant did have him mention that any damage to his cargo during a fight would be reimbursed by the city, as compensation for basically being bait.  So while it's preferred that you don't damage things if it can be avoided, protecting the cargo isn't a major point of the quest, either.<br/><br/>Hyena: You get Lay on Hands a number of times per day equal to your Cha mod, with a minimum of 1 if your Cha is 11 or less.  Unless I missed a feat or something, you've only got a +1 mod, so 1/day.  However, you can target yourself with it just fine.