... search the Tavern for the spell Shrapmetal. It needs some character development, but there's a particular way to use it which makes it one of the most brutally effective combat spells you've ever come across.

And yes, with two exceptions, to travel by ship or coach to virtually any of the areas other than Ironfist or the Misty Islands, you have to get there on foot first. One exception is that you can get to Bootleg Bay by ship from the Misty Islands. The other is that you get to Eel-Infested Waters by ship - in fact, in my game, there is only one ship from one dock per week that allows you to get to Eel-Infested Waters at all. (I am told that some other games are a little more co-operative.)