Chapter 4: Sehn is Better than Everyone Else

Two whole weeks they had kept him at that accursed infirmary. Him, the Great Sehn!

Sehn walked down the smooth Dwarven paved roads in the foreign trade district of Elvar. It was here that he usually came to get away. This was the one place in Elvar unlike any other: a melting pot of cultures.

There were the typical tree-complexes and netted treetop crossings, but also there were buildings and Dwarven-made workshops. Being that the trade district made this place a constant source of activity, people from every nation gathered here to exchange goods with the Elves.

On first glance, due to its melting pot nature, the trade district was a ridiculous place. No other place in the world would you find a Human’s cottage on top of an Elven tree, or even an Elven tree on top of a noble’s castle. In one such extremity, one Dwarf had an Elven tree leading into a Human castle and up into a Dwarven workshop. Why? If you asked Sehn, it was because regardless of race, gender, or color, people were incredibly stupid.

Sehn loved coming to the trade district. For one, Elves around here made no attempt at Elven formality, offering to speak in plain, blunt sentences. Secondly, he could find many great deals on items of interest.

He walked aimlessly through the throngs of people. Along the Dwarven paved roads, people had booths, kiosks and shops, while criers stood on street corners crying their wares. People lined both sides of the road examining goods and haggling prices. There was so much here that Sehn desired, and yet he could afford almost none of it, but all that would change. Tonight he would meet with his Human friends, and they would discuss some new treasure.

Off to his right, Sehn eyed rubies from mountains so far away that many maps didn’t contain locations of them. To his left, his eyes watered at weapons of the finest caliber. Sehn approached the booth of one such shop.

“Greetings, my most prestigious of Elves, welcome, welcome, welcome! Do you see something you like?”

The shopkeeper was a stocky Elf, as most merchants were. Stereotypically, the Elven people were thin, muscular, and taut. But much like any civilization, only those in battle professions were much in the way of bulk.

Sehn eyed the assortment of weapons. The three fools who'd carried him out of the Death Woods hadn’t bothered to retrieve the bow he'd dropped, something they would pay for with their lives.

“How much do you charge for that one?” Sehn asked, pointing to a sturdy-looking bow.

“Oh, you have excellent eyes, my young Elf.”

Sehn nodded. Of course he did.

“This,” the shopkeeper said as he held up the weapon, “is the newest model from the Naris clan. It is an Elven longbow like no other.”

Sehn examined it and was forced to agree. It was remarkable. The longbow was dark brown, sturdy, and the drawstring was made from the silk of Rezza-Spiders, which was among the rarest and most difficult silk to obtain. Running his hand along the length of the grip, it felt nothing short of flawless.

“Currently, the going price is one thousand four hundred Elvens.”

Sehn would have this weapon, even if it bankrupted him in the process. But what a price. It only cost a mere thousand Elvens each moon cycle for his rent, making this one extravagant purchase.

“All right then, I’m buying this. I shall have you return the money to me in full when I have conquered the world and made you my slave.”

Sehn reached into his grey tunic for his money pouch.

“Hold on a minute,” the shopkeeper said. “You’re Sehn the Elf, yes? I heard what you did for the Nero boy. He lives in my district. I’ll tell ya what. I’ll give you the bow half off as thanks for your service to this community.”

Sehn flared in outrage. “You dare offer charity to the Great Sehn! I demand you charge me double price this instant, or so help me Gods, I shall slit your throat where you stand!”

As Sehn walked away with his new weapon, which had cost him three moon-cycles of rent, he realized he’d once again screwed himself. People turned to look as he shouted expletives in the middle of the street.

“Fuck my life!”

He turned and stormed away. This was nowhere near the first time this had happened to him, and he couldn’t understand why every time he went to the market he returned home with empty pockets. Life wasn’t fair.

*****

Nero skipped along Southern Elvar, pausing every so often to hop playfully over the small stones that paved the shallow stream on which he traveled. He sung old tunes as he skipped, looking for something fun to do.

“I can’t wait till I get bigger. I’m gonna fight monsters like Sehn!”

Nero wanted so badly to be more like Sehn, because he was awesome and unstoppable. He’d even let that big green monster hurt him just to give it a fair chance.

It was a beautiful night in Elvar. All the constellations were visible, running wildly across the sky. The breeze was soothing, and Nero smiled as it washed over his wobbly ears. Nero looked up as he came to the old, beaten tree.

He climbed the ladder to the second tier of homes in the old town of Serpent-Wood. With his hands on the ladder, he was unable to pinch his nose shut—the place was a dump and it stunk like one. It didn’t matter, though. One day, he and Sehn would get rich and famous together. Sehn had even promised Nero that when he destroyed the world, he’d make sure not to call fire down on Nero’s home. As his greatest disciple, Nero expected nothing less than to be spared from what Sehn referred to as ‘the day of judgment’.

Arriving at Sehn’s home, Nero peeked through the window. Sehn wasn’t alone. There were Humans in there with him.

Hmm, Sehn’s got friends over. He doesn’t like me around when he’s talking business. Oh boy, now I wanna know what they’re talking about. After all, I, the great Nero, am his best disciple. I've gotta know everything he does if I wanna be the best disciple I can be.

Nero stifled a giggle with his arm and then leaped quietly onto the side of the house overlooking the city. He grabbed onto the ledge and hung from the bottom of a window frame, his legs dangling in the air. Pulling himself just high enough to see and hear, but to not have the same done in return, Nero glanced inside.

Sehn was sitting on his ragged cotton couch, which was torn and looked to be on the verge of collapse. The three Humans from earlier were seated at a table behind him. They were in the middle of a conversation.

“No disrespect was intended,” one of the Humans said.

“You dare tell Sehn not to drink! I expect a four-hundred word or more apology this instant, or I shall kill you before you can utter a four-hundred-and-oneth!”

“Sehn,” Rillith began, “every time we drink with you, no business gets done, lad. This treasure I’m talking about, it’s…it’s not like the others. Aye, Patrick and I have been discussing this every day for the two weeks you've been in the infirmary. If we grab this treasure, you can have that back-scratching servant you’ve always wanted.”

Sehn put down the bottle of Human Whiskey moments before a stream of the dark liquid entered his mouth. Cautiously, he glanced at Patrick, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny.

“And the grape-feeders?” he asked.

Patrick laughed. “Sehn, you can own every grape in the world if you want. After we get this treasure, that is.”

Sehn stood up from his chair and placed the alcohol back in his wine-cabinet. The entire home was only one room, with a table, couch, a few storage compartments, a chest, and a sleeping pallet. Sehn should’ve been able to afford a better place. Nero knew for a fact that Sehn made quite a bit of money, but he didn’t understand what Sehn kept spending all of it on. As his disciple, perhaps Nero would have to look into managing Sehn’s finances better, so he didn’t have to live in such dirt.

Part of it, Nero knew, was Sehn’s clumsiness. The heroic Elf always seemed to trip and fall when walking past the poor district, spilling money all over the place. He would never heed Nero’s suggestions of buying a tighter fitting tunic. Nero had seen him lose several coin purses this way, and once the starving Elven children got their fingers on the money, there was no way of getting it back.

“All right, Patrick, tell me about it.”

Nero didn’t know much about the Humans, but he did know that Patrick seemed to be the leader of the three. Whenever they hung out with Sehn, the two always obeyed everything Patrick said. It was kind of weird, but Nero didn’t give it too much thought.

Patrick stood from the table and walked over to Sehn. Of the three Humans, he wore the finest clothing. Perhaps even the finest clothes Nero had seen any Human wear. He was clearly a man that could hold onto money. Poor Sehn; if only he didn’t waste it all.

On this warm night, Patrick wore a red Rezza-Spider silk vest with matching trousers. On each hand, he wore ornate, golden jewelry from different parts of the world. Nero’s eyes watered at the diamond bracelet on his left wrist, which gleamed in the light of the small lanterns.

Patrick handed him a map, and Sehn ripped it out of the man’s fingers. His two companions winced at the gesture, and Patrick shot them a cautionary look.

That was odd, Nero thought.

Sehn only took a single glance at the map and then growled at the three men. “Are you lot nuts? This treasure is located on the other end of the world. It’s even past Shinsar!”

There was definitely something off-putting about Patrick’s two companions. A look of worry crossed their faces, and Patrick shot them yet another glance. Nero didn’t understand why they were taking this treasure so seriously.

Oh, I know! I’m such a smart Elf. They’re worried because they know if Sehn the Almighty doesn’t go, they don’t have any chance of retrieving it without him.

Rillith looked at Patrick, who offered a nod. He then stepped forward and approached Sehn. “Look, lad, this is your chance to make all your dreams come true. I don’t understand why you’re so reluctant to go. Don’t you want to be rich? Aye, the thought sounds good, does it not?”

“Of course I do,” Sehn spat. “The Great Sehn deserves nothing less, but…this is really far. I don’t plan to conquer any of these regions for at least another millennia, after I’ve discovered the potion that will grant me immortality.”

“Sehn,” Rillith continued, “you’ve never ventured with us any farther than Koringrath. At this rate, you’ll never conquer anything.”

Sehn balled his hands into fists. “Is that a challenge? You dare to insult your God!”

Patrick walked between the two, easing the tension. Nero watched as he whispered something into Rillith’s ear, causing the man to stand down. What was strange was that Sehn seemed to be noticing none of their oddities. Unless he actually did but was not letting it be known. That was probably the case. Sehn wouldn’t miss anything.

Rillith gave Patrick an apologetic nod before resuming. “Sehn, we’ve known you for a while now. This is the chance for you to finally become richer than you could ever imagine, and we can’t do it without you. In fact, if you don’t accompany us, then all three of us will die. And while I know that someone as great as you would only laugh at the demise of our miserable lives, you would no longer have any people to bring you free wine.”

Sehn’s ears twitched. Nero had come to know Sehn well. When his ears twitched, it meant he was considering something, that he was being persuaded.

“Hmm, I must admit I’ve already come to accept you three as my disciples.” Sehn grinned. “Nobody stand up. You’re excused from showering me with gifts of thanks for the moment.”

“So then you will accompany us?” Patrick asked pleadingly.

Sehn chewed the lower corner of his lip and sighed. “I suppose it wouldn’t do to have you three get yourselves killed before I’ve won all my money back from our games.”

A look of hope spread across the three Human’s faces. The one Nero recognized as Daniel, who had remained silent until then, stood up from the table and joined the other two. He whispered something into Patrick’s ears and received a nod in response. Patrick grinned at whatever Daniel was saying, and Sehn once again appeared to notice none of this, probably because he was too busy flexing his powerful Elven arms and admiring them.

“Sehn,” Daniel said. “I actually agree with you. We shouldn’t go.”

Sehn looked at him without even the slightest hint of surprise. “Of course you do, Daniel. You always were the smartest of the bunch.” Sehn flexed again. “All intelligent beings agree with the Great Sehn. You know what? I have just decided that when I conquer the world, you shall only receive two torture sessions per day, down from the seven that all others shall face.”

Nero almost gave away his position as his mind filled with rage. I’m only down to three torture sessions! I won’t let this Daniel-Human take my place. He is now my gravest enemy.

Daniel bowed his head. “Thank you kindly, Great Sehn. After all, why should we travel halfway across the world? It will take quite a long time, and so what if a few people call us cowards just because we’re unwilling to fight the terrible monsters that live there? We know we aren’t, right? Let them insult us and say that we fled like girly-men from the dangerous—”

“We shall leave at once!” Sehn shouted. Nero watched as he quickly picked up any items of use that might be needed on a long journey. “I shall fuck up everything that breathes from here to the treasure. Let the whole land know that Sehn has arrived.”

“Hold on now, Sehn,” Patrick said. Nero had the sense that the extraordinarily well dressed man was trying to suppress a grin. “We still have to prepare.”

Sehn shot him a dangerous look. “You dare to order—”

“No, you misunderstand me, Sehn. I meant that the three of us need to prepare. We are not as quick to meet danger as one so courageous as yourself.”

Sehn held his glare a moment and then visibly relaxed. “I see. Well then, in that case we shall leave at dawn. You three are to meet me at the gates of Elvar, and we’ll proceed from there. This will be more dangerous than our usual hunting trips, so don’t blame me if you three die along the way. I’m more than happy to take the treasure for myself. In fact, I am still not certain I won’t betray you along the way. You had better offer your prayers that I don’t.”

The three nodded and then left the home. Nero’s mind whirled in thought while he carefully lowered himself down to the base of the home and then allowed himself to drop the last few feet. He didn’t know everything that was going on, but he did know one thing—they weren’t going without him!