Entry 1 - The Tethys Surge Sundered

In which the crew of the noble ship Starchaser locates the wreck of the Tethys Surge and retrieves its keystone shard from Malthracion attackers, but almost loses their captain in the process.
 
I may have joined the crew of the Starchaser to save members of my church, but I stayed because of Captain Brougha. His faith in me made me believe that I could do more good out in the world than cloistered in a monastery.
 
I wish now that I had known what was going to happen when he summoned us from our shore leave. Perhaps I would have said something more, but than, he has never been an orc who speaks his feelings freely. Our orders were to search outside the walls for a missing ship. The Admiralty last heard from the Tethys Surge a day north of Amaranth - the crew of the Tethys believed they were being followed, and then all communication ceased.
 
We set out across the forest to the north and first encountered a strange pit surrounded by broken trees, 300ft across and 30-40ft deep. Glimmers of gold traced the edges of some structure buried at the bottom, but we had no time to stop and investigate. The Captain urged us onwards, unsettled and ready for a fight, though he hid it well from all but myself and Korall. After some time, a scar in the canopy came into view, the impact of an airship ploughing into the ground. Pieces of the Tethys Surge’s hull and sails were scattered through the forest, though no sign of the twenty five souls who travelled with it. Perdun deduced the grim fate of the Tethys: it had been hurtling south towards Amaranth at a great pace, likely pursued, though we could not tell what had brought it down.
 
We set the Starchaser down in the forest as the cloud cover and encroaching night made it difficult to see under the heavy tree canopy. Luna was only the palest crescent in the sky, but we made do by the light of Motir and Nihr.
 
Pan sensed the Tethys’ keystone shard further along the scar, moving away. Captain Brougha was grim-faced, and we could tell that he was making his peace. He was resigned to his fate, and nothing we could say might dissuade him. I still think that perhaps I would have tried, but Pan, Teleos, Korall and Perdun were determined that the keystone was the most vital target. They were right, but it still took a great deal to walk away from our Captain. We made our way into the forest as the Captain strode towards the wreckage. Attackers wearing the hateful red and gold of Malthracion stalked out of the shadows. Watching over it all was a strange shadow thing in the trees, most resembling a bundle of rags with a pale face. According to Korall, it looked directly at us and then returned its attention to the fight, becoming nearly invisible in the dark.
 
The Captain took a crossbow bolt to the shoulder but still had the strength to dispatch the Malthracion with a blow from the mighty falchion that has become a part of his legend. It was clear, however, that even a champion like Captain Brougha could not stand against such a force. He was willing to give his life to buy us time, for the good of Amaranth.
 
Reluctantly, we turned away from our Captain's heroic stand and looped round the wreckage towards the keystone, Pan guiding our steps through the shadowy forest with her sense for magic. The rain made things harder going. We caught the Malthracions by surprise as they rolled the keystone in its metal sphere. To our great surprise, settled low amongst the trees was a Malthracion airship. Impossible, surely! It had been hidden by an illusion of invisibility, but as the gnomes rolled the keystone closer, the illusion fell away. Time was running out - we had to ensure they never reached their ship.
 
Teleos and I plunged into the fight, taking on the pale orc barking orders. He was, to say the least, surprised. Meanwhile, Korall summoned a wall of freezing mists to obscure the line of sight of the githyanki archers who stood aboard the airship and took on her habitual form of that very strange primal creature that I find it hard to look upon. Pan and Perdun engaged in a battle of magic and stealth with the kenku spellcaster who leaned upon a staff at the prow of the airship. We dispatched the commanding orc and the gnomes quickly, securing the keystone, but the githyanki’s cunning teleportation tricks and the kenku’s power over life-draining shadows made for a hard fight. I was myself sapped of a significant amount of life force, only for the kenku to disappear into magical shadows just after I got a good hit in. Undoubtedly I would not have survived if Teleos had not called upon the runes of his faith to protect and heal me. We saw nothing more of the kenku until it made the mistake of trying to steal Pan’s life force. Between Pan and Korall, its attempts to flee were confounded. Perdun and Teleos made short work of the archers, and made sure to douse the ship with acid as a fine distraction for the remaining Malthracion crew.
 
We retraced our steps with the best haste we could muster, considering the large metal sphere we had to manage through the mud. As we came into sight of the place we had last seen our Captain, we saw with heavy hearts that his prone form was being dragged towards the Malthracion ship by one of the pale orcs. Once again, that strange shadowy figure turned a pale face towards us and then walked off into the night. It seems today was not our day to confront them.
 
I was loathe to leave our Captain's body in the hands of the Malthracions, and even less to let them get away with such a crime, but it was not until Teleos noticed that the Captain was still alive that we found our true, united purpose. Perdun’s stealthy ways helped us secure the keystone, and then we ran headfirst into the fight.
 
I. I ran headfirst into the fight. Perhaps unwisely. I could not stand to see the heroic Captain Brougha dying before my very eyes. It was this that fuelled my charge into the human and kenku scavenger searching through the wreckage, and my challenge to the orc dragging the Captain’s bleeding form. Teleos bellowed a shielding barrier of runes that protected me against the blows from all sides as the two orcs and the human captains converged on me, and then he charged into the fight with that minotaur strength for which he is renowned. Teleos and I were dazzled and blinded by its light for a moment, but then a manifestation of my aasimar heritage seemed to react in some way and my own radiance fought the sun’s glow back. Did I imagine the golden wings surrounding me, or was it an aftereffect of the dazzling sunlight? Thankfully, Amaranth’s finest had our backs: Perdun dashed from shadow to shadow with eladrin grace, taking advantage of the distraction Teleos and I provided to dispatch enemies with efficiency, while Pan sent lethal chaotic spheres of energy in every direction and Korall’s eerie Primordial form put a certain fright into our enemies even as she lashed out at them with the power of nature itself.
 
The last remnants of the Malthracion forces ran into the forest, but we had no time to pursue them as our Captain was dying before our eyes. Teleos stemmed the flow of blood while I lay my hand upon Captain Brougha’s chest. I could hear his breath rattling and sense that his heart was barely beating. I thank Valeria for the power she lent me in that moment: a glow suffused Captain Brougha’s skin and he breathed easier, a champion alive to fight another day.
 
Commendations from the Admiralty: 0