It took a few hours to offload all the cargo and deliver it to the merchants to sell.  By the time he and the crew were finished, Liam was hot, tired and drenched in sweat.  He wanted nothing more than to take a hot bath and get some food.  He made one last trip around the cargo hold to make sure that nothing was left behind before going topside where the crew had assembled.  They were all just either sitting or leaning on the rails talking among themselves.  "Alright men," Liam yelled to get their attention, "Now that the work is done you have until the morning two days hence for shore leave. If you are late then you will be left behind. Dismissed."  As the men cheered and took off, Liam sighed and walked over to the railing.  


"I am going to this little inn I was told about by the cloth vendor.  She said they have the best stew in three counties.  The waitresses are supposed to be easy on the eye as well."  Wilson said as he slapped the captain on the shoulder and laughed.  
"Sounds like a damn fine idea, Wilson.  I could use a good meal and some nice scenery would help in the digestion.  Let me clean up a bit and then we can head off.  In fact if it turns out that this inn is nice enough I will probably get a room there.  I could use a room that doesn't sway under my feet for a few days."  With a laugh, Wilson agreed and Liam went to clean up in his cabin.  


As they approached the inn, Liam felt a shudder go down his spine.  The last time this had happened something had happened to him that changed his life forever.  Hoping that this was just a reaction to the chill in the air and not another premonition, Liam opened the door to the inn. They were shown to a table by the far wall with a good view of the room and quickly had heaping bowls of stew and beer sat in front of them.  With a nod of thanks to the shapely waitress and a wink in return, they tucked into their meal.  The next few minutes were spent in easy silence as they paid homage to the good cooking and drink.  With a last spoonful, Liam pushed the bowl away from him with a contented sigh.  He saw that Wilson was still eating and decided to look around the room.  There were the usual merchants, farmers and such but at one table sat a girl with wet hair that caught his attention.  [i]That looks like the same girl I saw from the ship.  I wonder why her hair and clothes are wet?  Was she swimming out there?  And why is she alone?  [/i]   

He sat there staring for a few minutes until the girl looked up and caught his eyes.  He smiled at her and when she looked away frowned.  He wondered if he should go over and say something to her and let her know he hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable by staring but as he was fixing to get up and go over there, Wilson let out a mighty belch and drew his attention back to his first mate.