"Overkill? I don't think I've run across that word before," she mused.

"Yes, inflicting too much damage. Beyond a certain point, you're just wasting your energy."

"That makes sense," she said, "but how do I learn to control it? I've been taught, throughout my training, to use full power whenever possible."

"I learned to control my inner spark," he said, "it's what gives Fire Mages their power. I don't know if the same is true of Water Mages, but perhaps some of the techniques Artoch taught me might work for you?"

"It's worth a try," she said. "I have to admit I graduated the Volstrum with a sense of superiority as far as magic is concerned, but having just fought those rygaurs I can see your reasoning. Where shall we start?"

"You mean WHEN," he corrected.

"No, I mean where. I see no reason not to start immediately."

"Are you always this intense?" he asked. "We've only just finished fighting these creatures."

"There's no better time to learn than right away," she declared, "it's what made me a top student at the Volstrum."

"But what about the boat?" he asked. "We still have to make repairs and get it moving. Can’t your magic do something?”

"I can’t move a grounded boat,” she said. “That's a job for the sailors, and besides, if we're practising magic, we're already prepared should those creatures return."

Repairing the ship had proven easier than expected, but getting it off the riverbed was something else. They had to lighten the load, and that meant unloading a portion of its cargo. After hours of labour, the boat finally floated free, and they hauled it to mid-river using the anchor, a process called kedging, which involved using the boat's skiff to take the heavy weight across the river, then dropping it. Pulling on the anchor rope would then move the boat towards the anchor, which was caught on the underlying riverbed.

Athgar breathed a sigh of relief as the Marianne floated free, but then there was more back-breaking labour as the cargo was loaded back up. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that they could only load it in small quantities at a time thanks to the limited capacity of the boat's skiff.

It took two days before they were underway again, two days of constant surveillance of the sky, lest the rygaurs return. Natalia had pleaded with him to begin her lessons, but he insisted on helping the crew complete repairs. It was with some relief that he finally sat down on deck exhausted, his muscles sore from his efforts.

Natalia, who had been standing guard the entire time was less so, a fact that was made all the more evident by her line of questioning.

"Shall we begin?" she asked.

He looked up at her with a defeated look to his face. "You can't possibly mean right now?" he said.