Radeon waved the crowd goodbye and caught sight of Todd, mouth agape. He went up to the captain and clapped him on the shoulders.
"Easy now. No need to open wide like that," Radeon joked.
"I never knew you had that trick in you. Did some bastard swap you out while I wasn't looking?"
"You just never asked, is all," Radeon said, trying to brush him off.
With a swift motion, Radeon took the captain's badge from his hands.
He was relieved to see the tent already replaced or at the very least patched up.
Radeon ducked inside and took stock. The array he had created was long gone, burned away after he used it.
He sat in silence and sank into meditation, delving into Giovanni's memories.
Defensive installations, killing traps and illusion arrays rose up one after another.
He needed something he could use. He still wanted to keep the identity of the old man Sail Knife for later.
Radeon was too deep in it when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He jolted awake then saw it was only the Captain Todd.
"You'll be needed at that job in an hour. Better fill your belly than your meridians," the captain reminded.
"Got it, captain." Radeon rose.
"Don't die." The captain caught him by the shoulder.
He did not sit down for a meal. He took the bread and steak to where the ship waited.
Radeon set to the array at once, to make sure they could not shortchange him on the scouting run.
'Looks like everything's in place. Let me add one more detail.'
Radeon looked around. Spotting a mortal errand youth, he beckoned the boy closer and pressed a spirit stone into his palm.
"See that grass over there. Rub it on the wood till it looks ugly and grimy. Just the grass. Can you do that?"
The errand boy sprinted away and called the other errand boys. The dark green tint was finished in less than a quarter.
Radeon knew it was a petty trick to earn more. He did not care.
He gave the three other boys a stone each, and watched them leave with a grin.
Radeon kicked, tugged, and hammered the Karvi one last time.
Satisfied, he looked back to find the six scouts already waiting.
He inspected their gear. Five had swords at their hips, and one held a bow in hand.
The man assigned as their temporary leader stepped forward.
His beard was grey, yet his straight back said he had his share of experience.
The rest looked to be little more than twenty or thirty.
From what Radeon could see, all of them were itinerant cultivators, either at the peak or close to it on the cornerstone stages of cultivation.
"You lot. I'll give each of you a number. Learn it by heart," Radeon said, pointing to them one by one.
He kept it simple. Odds for the skinny ones, evens for those with thicker muscle.
A lighter boat meant their weight might decide his fate after all.
Radeon boarded first and channeled his qi into the control array.
The ship came to life beneath them, wood and wings humming as the array lit.
From his galleon, Captain Todd watched his first mate leave the safety of the backlines, praying for his return.
High above, Radeon kept to a cautious pace, neither fast nor slow.
Behind them the camp blurred and vanished inside its own rolling fog as the defensive array took hold.
Below, the land lay quiet and empty, yet Radeon could trace every killing ground the cultists had carved into it.
The men shifted and muttered as the ship drifted off what they thought was a straight path.
Radeon led them through slow, deliberate curves, then a sudden, jagged zigzag.
Yet there was no obstacle in the air, not even a bird or a bat.
That was enough to sour the six scouts. None of them had ever flown a spirit boat.
But their eyes were not so blind that they could not see Radeon was dodging nothing but air.
"Why aren't we flying straight, ser. No slight to your skill, but at this pace we won't get far," the grey-bearded man asked.
Radeon did not answer. He snapped the rudder and drove the ship into a bank of cloud.
The world turned white. Then he dropped hard. The deck slid under their boots and a few curses spilled out.
Only when he leveled the ship again did he look back at the man who had spoken.
"Any of you lot got a stone. Toss it there, to your left," Radeon demanded.
The archer had a pocket full of pebbles. He plucked one out and flicked it where Radeon pointed.
It never finished the arc. For a heartbeat it seemed to soften in the air, then it unraveled to fine dust that vanished without a sound.
The men, who had only been curious, stared down with pale faces now that they knew why he refused a straight line.
"You thought the pay was fat because the job was easy. Ah, lads, you're sadly mistaken," Radeon said, shaking his head.
Radeon drew out the map. On paper the task was simple, to sketch in the blank piece no one else had come back to fill.
"We're only twenty miles in. Our mark's not even halfway. I've counted at least seven scouting parties below. Not even one from our camp," Radeon said flatly.
Radeon searched for a place to tuck the ship. He settled the ship into a pocket of air above a tall spruce.
If any of them lost their nerve, he did not want them close enough to call for help.
"You can step off here if you like. No tongues will wag about it. This run's not for the faint of heart," Radeon said, his tone sympathetic.
The scouts traded uneasy looks. The old man at the helm, with faded white hair and calm, flat eyes, did not look like someone who would spend mercy on a lie.
"I'll stay. I need the spirit stones," the grey-bearded man said.
"If it pays for a couple years of drink, I'm in," the archer said.
Radeon woke the array and eased the ship back into motion. He did not trust their brave words. He trusted only himself.
At the first hint that his life truly slid toward real danger he would cut them loose to save it.
An hour dragged by as they neared their destination. Introductions were even made, though there was nothing to introduce.
Serious Grey. Arrow Eye. Whack Head. Jolly Lad. Blabby Stick. Milk Whiskers.
They had no given names. That was common enough, since names were for people with status.
As for a surname, that was for those with true power.
Radeon reminded them, again and again, to use the numbers.
The men were still chewing on their choices when the ship sped up.
Radeon felt the surge underfoot drive it even faster.
He wrenched the rudder into a hard left that almost pitched them over the railing.
Radeon snatched up a coil of rope and flung one end toward the men.
"Alright. Three breaths. Decide who can swing in midair." Radeon demanded.
A crimson qi arrow rose from the clouds. Its path ran straight for their bright white sails.
Serious Grey moved fast. He grabbed the rope and, without a word, hurled himself overboard into open air.
Radeon looked at the incoming arrow below and swung the ship hard right. Serious Grey drew his blade.