I was told we'd sail the skies and reclaim the damaged ship but it was unlike anything I could have imagined. When we found it, it looked like the Floor was reaching up to grab her but it was actually the ship drawing the storm to her.— Machinist's Log
The Dove of Distress
During the maiden voyage of the skyship
Kiirn a bird arrived in
Burim calling for aid. The vessel had found a pocket of
dead sky - where no wind blows - and had become trapped. All of the other ships of both
Burim and
Zinato were already on their own missions leaving only a vessel controlled by the
Machine Priests to undertake the mission. As quickly as she could be readied, the
Irenhart was dispatched.
The Storm Calls
When the
Irenhart arrived at the
Kiirn's location, the ship appeared normal itself but the
Floor was acting in an unusual way, four tendril-like protrusions were reaching for the
Kiirn. The ship was still flying the distress flag so the
Irenhart approached cautiously so as to not get so close and become trapped inside the region of
dead sky as well.
A rescue team - comprised of people of
Burim not
Machine Priests - was sent over using long grappling lines. What happened on the other side is unknown because none survived to write any reports. Visibility between the ships became poor as the storm began to envelop the
Kiirn but some of the boarding party did try to make it back across on the lines only to have the lines cut by some strange flying beast.
The captain of the
Irenhart couldn't flee. While the rescue party's goal was to save the crew - and the ship - if possible, the captain was a
Machine Priest and couldn't let anything happen to the
floatdrive aboard the other vessel. Believing it was already compromised, and that was causing the strange actions of the storm, he made a choice.
The Big Guns
The storm surrounded the Kiirn and for a moment it looked like a giant mushroom made of clouds. Then the sky lit up with fire. Why was I the one chosen to accompany the captain into that?— Machinist's Log
According to the captain's plan, the
Kiirn became fully surrounded by the storm. Unexpectedly, lightning burst forth lighting up the sky in uncharacteristic reds and oranges. Observing the lightning while maneuvering the
Irenhart directly above the storm - the winds of which had now nullified the
dead sky and the storm preventing the ship stacking from dropping them out of the sky - the captain deduced the it became active in cycles and that on the next one, he would go in with a single mechnic to fix the
floatdrive.
Suited up in his advanced armor and wielding a steam-powered projectile weapon, the captain and mechanic were lowered onto the deck of the
Kiirn. The reports are heavily redacted from this point onward but it is known that a large amount of ammunition was expended.
Mission Accomplished?
While we were aboard the Kiirn we were attacked by [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. Even through his heavy armor the captain was heavily wounded by the time we reached the floatdrive. It appears that the crew attempted to modify the device after becoming stuck in the dead sky. The captain heroically sacrificed himself to defeat the last [REDACTED] so that I could fix the drive. After it was all done all I can say is "Was it worth it?"— Machinist's Log
The rescue mission had a mixed result. The
Kiirn was towed back to the
skyport in
Burim however, the entire crew of the
Kiirn, the rescue team, and the captain of the
Irenhart were lost. The
Burim Council was not happy that the
Machine Priests would not give them their full mission report but were not in a position to make any demands as a crew of their
skysailors broke the deal on which the
floatdrive is loaned to the nation by the
Machine Priests.
Interesting. Your trusty navigator, here. ;) I'm curious now as to what happened, and why, and what was in that unredacted account!
We'll have to put together an elite team of spunky individuals with specific talents to pull of this record heist at the Machine Priest headquarters, the Bronze Fortress. Maybe I should start streaming again. I do find that it often helps the creative flow.