The Sixth Knot crossed the broken hills with enough height to avoid the worst of the sinking air.
Tessa kept both hands on the controls while Kesh compared the terrain below with their maps. The ruined complex appeared near midday, its pale walls divided by a dark line where the stream entered the northern foundation.
The downward pull began before they reached it.
Min adjusted the engines as the airship lost lift. Belda reduced the forward sails, and Orin moved along the hull to watch the anchor fittings. Tessa followed the approach she had plotted in Sanctuary, turning over the higher western ridge before descending toward a shelf of bare stone.
The air steadied once the ruins fell behind them.
The Sixth Knot settled onto the shelf without striking its lower hull. Belda secured the first anchor while Orin fixed two more into cracks he had inspected from above. Min removed the two engine components selected before departure and locked them in a reinforced compartment.
