The low-hanging clouds billowed against their faces. Through the gaps in the spirit boat's skeletal frame, blood arrows clawed at their sails.

The grey-bearded volunteer panted hard as Radeon swung him wherever his weight would be convenient.

"Hold fast, old fellow. I've not dropped a man yet."

The man wanted to curse him for flying the boat so recklessly, but seeing the tight jaw and cold focus on Radeon's face, he swallowed it.

The archer at the back lacked proper bow technique. His qi-infused arrows hit their marks, yet their power was not even half that of the blood arrows that howled toward them.

Radeon spotted a man in the distance, his vision tightening on the figure. The weapon in the man's hands was different.

"All of you, lean left! If you got no seat, then grab a rail and pray. Move on my shout."

Small bolts began to rain down in rapid succession as a crossbow was fired at them. A weaker choice compared to the blood arrows, but far smarter against simple linen cloth.

As everyone scrambled for their seats, Radeon first steered to the right, drawing momentum. He tugged the rope that held the bearded man, dragging the heavy body where he needed it to swing the boat.

"Easy now, lads. Let her swing."

Radeon's eyes stayed locked on the angle of the incoming bolts. He counted the rhythm of the shots in his head.

"Now! Hard left!"

The men leaned left and the ship lurched hard. Radeon did not let it spin. He trimmed the sail and let the wind catch harder, using both the rush of air and the push of the spirit array to claw more distance.

"Number Two, to me. Throw a barrier at my back."

The command was barely out when the qi crossbows fired in full. The qi barrier did not shatter, but the sheer number of bolts made the air thrum.

Radeon did all he could to slip through the worst of it. The barrier behind him flickered thin, the man he had called number two already pale from the strain.

"Number Three, your turn. The rest of you, back in place. We lean right this pass."

Number three pressed in at Radeon's back. He was the most frightened of the bunch, his mouth unable to stop yapping while qi bolts streaked past them.

"The wood by the array hit! It's hit! Ah never mind."

"Five shots incoming. Left. No! Right. No! Left."

"Arrow coming! Do I block with my sword or throw a barrier? What do I do?"

Radeon did not bother answering the man's babble. He listened only for something useful. A threat that mattered.

This run would be a neat way to show his skill to the higher-ups when he asked for parts later. Parts that would not be easy to pry from stingy hands.

As if Giovanni's memory sat behind his eyes, he finally saw what he wanted. A patch of darkness too deep for this hour. A place where cages slid in and out of a hidden opening.

These were unmapped grounds. That much Radeon knew. All the more reason to charge fast. The words he would use to present this discovery to his peers already stirred in his mind.

"Still breathing, grey beard?" Radeon asked as he hauled the bearded man in beside him, using the man's body as cover from stray arrows.

"Aye. Seems we'll see another dawn yet, helmsman."

As they pulled farther away, the qi bolts lost force and dropped short. Their range was limited and the danger faded to a prickle at his neck.

"You lot see that? Look dead ahead."

The men turned quickly, eyes burning with qi. Their visions better than any mortal sight.

"I see it! Clear as day. Looks like a forest."

"Get that map we're meant to be scratching. Tell me if anything like this's marked near here."

The men scrambled toward the map board, too excited to remember the swaying deck. The boat lurched from side to side, Radeon's hands fighting the pull. He fed more power into the spirit stones and forced the boat higher.

"You lot got a death wish? One at a time, you bastards. Whose eyes are sharpest?"

He knew it was the archer, but the man stood at the far end of the boat. Radeon let the closest sailor grab the board and pass it along.

As the men inched away from him, Radeon's gut tightened. The enemy below would be on full alert by now. He needed to snatch what they came for and retreat fast.

"Since when could you lot read and scratch letters, eh?"

"I can read a bit. Shapes are easy, I can do shapes."

"All that matters now is what you see. There, the men. There, the cages. That slit in the rock. You're seeing it, aye?"

Radeon pointed out each detail while they nodded, heads bobbing like headless flies. He burned every angle into them, making sure they remembered the lay of the land before he stepped in.

After a few minutes, his eyes began to ache from the strain of his divine sight. Lines of pain crawled from his temples. He finally asked, voice tight,

"Got anything down yet, lads? My arms are near dropping with all this flying."

"Helmsman... truth is, we've no notion how to set the shape to paper."

"Bloody hells take me. What am I meant to do with you sorry lot?"

Radeon pretended to be furious and pulled his hand away from the visible array controls.

The boat glided in a tilted line through the air while he snatched the brush and began to draw. His qi was still hooked into the core of the boat, but none of them knew it.

Then he felt it. A warning in the prickle of his skin. His hand sped up over the board. With a hard tilt, the back of the ship took the hit. The rear plating blew apart. Splinters and shards of wood exploded between the men in midair.

"Archer, keep the volley steady. The rest of you, shields up!" Radeon barked the orders. He could not afford to look too relaxed. That would only invite suspicion later.

He rushed back to the helm and dragged the boat higher, above the reach of most arrows and weaker qi techniques.

"We're not going in deeper?" the boisterous man asked.

"We're near dry on stone. You planning to feed your own stones to the array now?"

The man hunched his shoulders and shut his mouth. With one more tight rotation in the air, Radeon let the ship skim close enough to feel an arrow cut the wind near their hollowed hull.

"That's it then. Were out."

The men wore easy smiles, already certain the mission was a success. Radeon watched them, their trust a warm weight on his back.

Now he only needed one final touch. A small nudge that took no qi and no divine ability.

"So then, how many cages did you count?"

They started counting on their fingers, lips moving. Radeon did not have to wait long before the squad leader spoke.

"From what I saw, there were about fifty."

"Squad leader's right. I… I counted fifty too."

Radeon pressed them for every detail. The number of men. The rough count of arrows fired at them. The rhythm of each volley.

He took their scattered impressions and steered their answers until they lined up clean.

By the time he was done, every detail matched. The story felt solid even to the ones who had barely looked. A quiet suggestion, buried in shared memory.

Radeon was already training their tongues to speak of their heroics with precision.

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