Expedition Log 3 (Day 7)

(I'll try to do another log on the 8th, otherwise the next log may not come until as late as the 14th)


 Day 7: We're just about ready to set out on our expedition. I've packed everything I think I'll need, including things I don't need but may need so I figured I'd bring anyway. Looking over everything, I think I've over packed. While I doubt I need to bring my entire wardrobe, 3 sets of navigation gear, my own food and water (I have an overwhelming paranoia of us running out), just about all of my money, a very large collection of books, candles, first aid kits, blanks, 2 sets of flint and steel, 3 of my favorite paintings to spruce up with I imagine to be an ugly ship interior and multiple other assorted junk, this expedition is going to be very dangerous and theres a very real possibility I may not be coming back. 


Once I was introduced to the crew, I had an even stronger fear I may not be coming back. The expedition guys seem fairly normal. Perhaps a little anti-social but what can you expect from people who spend their days alone starting at rock formations and examining plant matter? They're all fairly young, in their early twenties, so they're inexperienced but at least they're healthy and able bodied. The ship crew on the other hand, seem to be the exact opposite. They smell as if they've been bathing in whiskey but once you see them, you know they don't bathe at all. They're all older men, likely in their forties or older and most of them have trouble standing up straight. Whether that's because they're all drunk or because of their health, I don't know. How they're expected be capable of bringing this expedition to it's destination is a mystery. Finally the mages, specifically the healers, are people I hope I never have to turn to. You can tell right away they have been over exposed to too much magic. They look as if they've been electrocuted, their hair stands up straight and looks to be partly singed, their eyes seem to be permanently crossed and they can't stop shaking. When they talk, they sound as if they're freezing to death, "He-ll-l-lll-o-o-o". Over my dead body is one of them casting a spell over me...

Oh, I nearly forgot the civilian we grabbed off the street. I didn't get a chance to meet him but from what I understand, he's some drunk that will only hamper our progress. I overheard one of the crew saying they found him asleep with a goat behind one of the bars they frequent and they had a difficult time convincing him to go with them without bringing the goat. What on earth was he doing back there with a goat?


I also made sure to get a copy of the list of supplies, since I certainly don't expect anyone else to make sure we have everything we need. Of course, I don't have the slightest clue as to what's needed for a ship to run, so most of the list didn't mean much to me. I took the liberty of putting the idea into E.L.'s head that we should make good use of our discount and got us the following extra: 

80 replacement blankets and pillows
6 replacement sails
1 incredibly long piece of rope (I estimated it to be at around 450ft)
2 extra life boats (can't have enough of these)
6 cattle (no worry of something living going bad)
3 large crates of dried fish
8 barrels of rice
4 sets of distillation gear (a fairly new invention said to distill salt water to clean drinkable water)
24 crates of dried fruit (we didn't have any, they though they could survive on meat alone)
12 horses (We'll sell these at the first trade hub we hit, since we got them for under half of what they're worth)
6 magical tomes (Like we could trust the mages to remember the spells)
Various expedition supplies (shovels, knives, medical supplies, vials, flasks, maps, etc)

Once we get all this loaded onto the ship, we'll do a few more checks to make sure we have everything, move everyone onto the ship, sign all the required forms and then we'll be ready to go. It'll be busy these next few days but hopefully once we're sailing things will calm down and I'll find the time to write more.