We woke early enough in the morning to take care of our shopping needs, fortunately (neither Haley nor I were willing to wear those clothes that had been through so much time in the swamps and the sewers ever again, although the rest of the group doesn't seem to mind, which I find somewhat puzzling; I may never understand these people!). And of course, as soon as we got this vital task taken care of, it was time to catch our ship out of that little dump that passes for a town. So down we went to the docks, to board the grandiosely named Sunset Empires, our transportation, such as it was.

The captain (Stewart by name) greeted us at the foot of the pier, and after telling us that he would be fair but that while we were on his ship, his word was law, he sent us off to board. While we were coming up, we met a man named Alamon, who's apparently some kind of priest. He says that his goddess, She who Helps, had told him to join us, and since we'd recently been deprived of Merf's services, we decided to let him accompany us for a time. He seems nice enough, but he sure is quiet!

We got aboard, met briefly with the first mate (a one eyed half-elf named Monterey), and then stowed our gear. Of course, we didn't have cabins to ourselves or anything like that, so since I don't trust the crew, I decided not to stow anything valuable; I hope the others were similarly sensible! Having done this much, I decided to help the crew (and also to get the best view) by working up near the top of the mast (the captain had told us that we might be expected to help the crew if need be, and I thought it best to learn the ropes ahead of time, as it were). Imagine my indignation when, after a long shift, I, a passenger, came down to relax for a while, and Stewart (who was already well on his way through what looked suspiciously like a bottle of rum) insulted me and made me go back up to the top! As if I hadn't just been helping out of the goodness of my heart! This was my first indication that our captain was a bit of a jerk...

My second indication wasn't long after the first. A fat man named Singe rang the dinner bell, so I went down to the deck to stand in the line with the rest of the people, passengers and crew alike. And while I was standing there, some incredibly ugly human crew member named Dirk decided to push me out of line and step in front of me. I didn't happen to care too much (he'd get his later, I decided), but Prihelm was rather upset and confronted the bastard. Heated words ensued, and eventually, Dirk decided to push the two of us, knocking me onto the deck (I hadn't quite gotten my sea legs yet, you see; otherwise, he never would have been able to do such a thing, of course).

Well, a girl can only take so much, ya know? So I sprang back to my feet and planted my foot squarely in his crotch, and now it was Dirk's turn to collapse to the deck. Sadly, Captain Stewart saw this, and came up asking what was going on. I truthfully explained that one of his crew members had attacked me and I felt perfectly justified in defending myself, and this ass of a captain decided I was full of it! He told me that us lazy passengers weren't to eat until after the hardworking crew, despite the fact that I had been one of the hard working crew all day long! And of course, after our wonderful crew finished their meals, there wasn't much left for me...

This was probably actually a good thing, because later, the weather turned a bit, and Haley got seasick at the same time as that nasty shipboard food was doing bad things to my digestive system (the others probably thought I was seasick too, but do you really believe that I, a Raventhorn, would get seasick?!? Puh!). Fortunately, Al was able to whip up something to calm my stomach, though it didn't really work on Haley. Poor girl! I wish I knew why all the bad stuff happens to her, so that I could make it stop; she deserves so much better!

Anyway, Leighla and I were nursing Haley through her seasickness when this nasty thick mist came up; very irritating, and it reminded me a bit of the mists that brought me here to begin with, which isn't really something I wanted to remember. But soon enough, we found it was different; Prihelm starting swinging his sword at something, swearing that it was Alisanda (and here I'd thought I'd killed the little bitch!). Of course, this being Prihelm, his battling was totally ineffective, so Leighla and I had to go to his rescue. If I were him, I'd be very embarassed by now; both he and Dogboy weigh as much as Leighla and I combined, and the two of us always seem to be saving the two of them! I find this rather amusing, and I think Leighla does too, but I suspect the men find this rather embarassing...

We'd driven the beastie off, and Leighla and I were back with Haley again, when it reappeared, this time looking like Marcel Tarascon. Somewhat irritated at this point, Leighla and I went back to save the men again, and this time I think we killed it, since it hasn't reappeared again. I wonder what it was?

Now Haley is sitting up with me as I write this, and Leighla and I are still helping her through her seasickness. I've already had to empty her bucket once (and I seem to have "accidentally" splattered Dirk with it; how clumsy of me!), and it looks like it's Leighla's turn soon. But you probably don't really want to know about this, so...