"Okay. So how sharp it is isn't magically interesting."

"Probably not, no. What I'd really like is to take it apart and see if there's some kind of internal mechanism, but of course we daren't do that until we're sure we've learned all we can with what we've got, and ideally found a few more artifacts so this isn't the only one. And brought it back to Pinehedge so other researchers can look at it intact."

"How long a trip is it?"

"A couple weeks on a boat."

"Well, I guess that's not too bad."

"It's not! The sea is pretty, and you can fish off the side when you're not doing some maneuver that needs all three people pulling on ropes."

"I'll come with you. I could fly it but it would be lonely."

"Sounds good! Ever fished before? I recommend it."

"Yes but not with a fishing stick! I sometimes swim around and catch fish if I feel like it."

"That sounds fun! I bet you could do that off the boat if you wanted, since if you fell behind you could catch up by flying."

"Or swimming. I can go very fast."

"Now that sounds like something to watch. Are you just super strong, or do you sprout fins like you do wings?"

"Both. I'm not super strong all the time, just when it seems useful."

"That sounds way cooler than having to exercise for it."

"Yes it is!"

"Hey, exercise is fun! But it really is a pity we can't swap magics. I think we've gotten all we're going to get out of this thing for the moment, let's go explore the city some more."

"Okay!"

Explore explore explore.

They head along the south side of the river, checking out any ruin that looks at least vaguely recognizable. Most of them don't have anything interesting.

This one has a pack of angry snakes in it! They coil up on their tails and launch themselves at the explorers like springs.

Cayra, suddenly very scaly, steps in front. They can break their teeth on her if she wants.

Derron alsp steps to the front. One or two of them get far enough to break their teeth on Cayra, but the rest fall out of the air as though punched in the head by invisible fists. 

"- whoa!" she says. "What was that?"

"You mean me, or the angry bedsprings?" Says Derron, finishing off the last couple snakes. "I must have forgotten to mention--I'm the security for this expedition."

"You. They seem to be snakes. I just want to know how you do it."

"Magic! One of the things it can do is apply bursts of force to things, including snake heads. I've never seen a snake go boing like that, though, they don't do that back home."

"Yeah, I think that might have been magic. I'd need to see it happen again and not as a nasty surprise before I could be sure, though."