[center][b]Eve and Rory[/b]
The captain seems to be significantly less introspective when it came to his own purpose. After a long sip of his drink, he begins to speak. "I am a simple man with a simple purpose, Ms. Rutherford. I am being paid excellently to ferry you and your misfit companions to Kebek, and so the oars move northward. When you are safely back on land, I will fill my holds with cargo instead of donkeys and be paid even more excellently for it.

"You must know, however, that your journey is doomed. No man has traveled to the west and back, no matter what some fool merchant trying to curry favor with a king may claim. The roads are rife with bandits, and the forests are full of predators -- and not all on four legs. And you will forgive me when I say that the company you keep on this mission will not serve for such a grueling journey. Quite frankly, I must say that I will be surprised if you make it a week out of Kebek."

The captain returns to his usual demeanor after a few moments, remarking in a gruff tone on less serious matters until the last of the food has been cleared. As you leave the cabin, he offers a few more choice words. "You'd best know when your friends will bring you more harm than your enemies, Ms. Rutherford."

[b]Amos and Cormack[/b]
The captain is, as you might expect, entirely opposed to the idea that "some drunken soldier knows my own ship better than I do." He seems to take the claim that the mast is near to collapse as a personal affront against his ability to maintain the cog that he captains. Nonetheless, as the conversation progresses, he moves from anger to brooding silence to a begrudging desire to see this so-called issue for himself. 

Within a short time a crowd has gathered around the mast, with Cormack and the captain at the center. It takes nearly an hour and the lowering of the main sail to determine the exact magnitude of the issue -- a number of hairline fractures, only noticeable with the captain's spyglass and a keen eye, littering the mast from top to bottom. While it does not seem that the mast is likely to collapse any second, the captain refuses the mere notion of ignoring it for even a moment longer. "There are pirates on the seas," he explains, "even this far north. If we get caught in a storm and that behemoth of a sail topples, we might as well ring the dinner bell for them."

[hr]

A few days later, you find yourselves pulling into the modest harbor city of Falmouth. The town itself is nothing remarkable, consisting primarily of long rows of stone-and-timber buildings surrounding the occasional crumbling concrete facade. The harbor, however, is somewhat renowned for its shipwrights, who the captain predicts will be able to repair the mast enough to ensure that it remains solidly attached for the remainder of the journey. Regardless, it will be a number of days at the least until the ship is ready to set off once more.

In the meantime, the city sits tantalizingly on the shore, eager to be investigated. Just next to the harbor are a number of brightly-painted merchant stands, advertising all sorts of wares -- well-worn weapons, hauberks of chain mail, rations of food, trinkets of all shapes and sizes. One merchant is selling solely boots, but quite well-made boots nonetheless. 

Perhaps even more interesting than the plethora of goods for sale are the two individuals who approach the party a short time after the ship arrives. As they explain it, they are two adventurers who would like to enlist themselves on the journey to find great treasure in the West. One, a certain Jorrick, is an artificer -- the other, Viktor, is a bit more secretive but carries a noble air about him. The news of expedition brought itself to their ears too late, it seems, but as luck would chance it they have both found themselves in Falmouth at the same time as the party.