Chapter 12: Sehn vs. the Overseer

The sound of metal against leather reverberated in the air as Sehn unsheathed the Elven blade he’d stolen from Calen. Light reflected off the tip of the sharp weapon, and Sehn could see the reflection of the massive Human on the surface of the glimmering blade.

This was the second time in Sehn’s life he found himself on the verge of a fight for life and death. The first was in the Death Woods, and now it would be against this fool. Sehn was not just angry—he was furious. Never had someone insulted him the way this man had. The fool had threatened to rip off his skin and make him beg for mercy. And the way he had mistreated Sehn’s disciple…Sehn was ready to cut him in half.

By the time I get done with him, he’ll chew on every last disrespectful word!

The small slave girl, barely older than Nero, cried as the two prepared themselves for the coming violence. The Drashian glanced her way and frowned.

“This be your fault, Rina, and you’re gonna pay for what yas done. Did you give that Elven boy some puppy-eyed look? I’ll be making sure that you don’t eat for a week for this. Get back in your cage. I’ll be dealing with you when I’ve killed this Elf.”

Rina began to cry. Tears streaked down her bruised, unwashed face.

Sehn didn’t think it possible for him to become any angrier than he already was, yet he surprised even himself as he watched the exchange between the girl and her master. The trembling child picked up a small key off the floor, backed away into her cage, and then closed the door, locking herself inside the small space that looked as if it were made to store animals. Sehn forced himself to let out a slow, rueful laugh, and he glared at the overseer.

“I underestimated you,” he said. “I thought you were a weakling, but clearly that’s not the case. After all, it takes a big and powerful man to beat up on little girls. You must have spent many years training to have acquired such strength.”

The overseer bit his lip and narrowed his eyes on Sehn. “You’re going to pay for every word, Elf. I be about to cut you open real good.” A small pool of blood oozed from his lower lip.

“Hah! I think not. The Great Sehn is going to cut out your heart and wear it as a necklace! In fact, when I get through with you, I think I will mount your head on my wall back at home.”

“I’ve heard enough from you, Elf. Prepare to beg for your life.”

Sehn circled the man, keeping outside the reach of the Drashian’s longer blade. They both made halfhearted swings as they circled one another, attacks not meant to cause damage but to feel out their opponent. Caution was imperative at the beginning of any duel as, once an opening was found, the outcome of the fight was usually decided within seconds.

The Drashian Overseer jabbed out his blade, sending small thrusts Sehn’s way. Sehn dodged the attacks easily enough, and with each jab, he approached closer and closer to the Drashian. A second later, the brutish overseer made the first move.

A twitch in his right eye was the only warning Sehn received—but it was enough. The man charged at him. With tremendous might he brought his blade down on top of Sehn. Acting fast, Sehn dove at the ground and landed into a roll, bringing himself out of harm’s way. The overseer’s blade smashed into the pavement, and with near superhuman strength it broke through, causing chunks of stone to scatter on impact.

The man bent down and, wrapping his tremendous fists around the base of his weapon, he tugged to pull it out of the ground. Before he could raise the tip of the blade from the broken pavement, Sehn stood up from his roll and charged at him. The Drashian was able to raise his blade to parry just in time as Sehn’s Elven blade, which was aimed for his chest, collided with his long sword, resulting in a massive clang and a shower of sparks.

Sehn struggled against the massive overseer as their two blades remained crossed. Sehn pushed with all his strength, but the man overpowered him with ease, pushing Sehn’s blade farther and farther back.

Sehn abruptly retreated a step, and the quick, unexpected movement caused the Drashian to overcompensate and stumble forward. Sehn, now behind the man, brought his blade down in an attempt to slice the man’s back. Once again the overseer was quick to recover. In one fluid motion, he spun around and parried just in time, resulting in another shower of sparks.

Sehn took a deep breath and eyed the man. He realized they were now toe-to-toe. Sehn knew that this was where things became bloody; it was time to clash.

And so it began. Sehn lashed out at the overseer with all his might, the sound of blade hitting blade echoing through the now silent merchant area. For what seemed like an eternity, Sehn stood his ground against the brute force of the Drashian, refusing to yield even an inch and returning every blow received. Each time one of them attacked, the other parried. Sweat poured down Sehn’s face as he danced to the melody of death and steel.

As his breathing rate increased, Sehn realized he was quickly tiring. It killed him to admit it, but his opponent had too much going for him in the way of brute force; there was no way that Sehn could win by attempting to overpower the bastard. So he waited for the right moment to change the tide of the battle while he continued to stand his ground and clash steel.

Finally, Sehn saw it. The overseer changed his grip on his blade and swung horizontally, an attack that would tear open Sehn’s stomach. With all the strength Sehn possessed, he leapt high into the air, the blade passing harmlessly under his feet and at such a close proximity that Sehn could actually feel the air displaced under him from the rapid movement.

The overseer looked surprised, and Sehn knew why—very few could jump as high as Sehn just had. His feet were in the air where his chest had been.

Sehn raised his blade over his head, two hands gripping the hilt as he swung downward while he fell, putting every drop of strength into the attack. Surely, no matter how much of a beast this man was, he couldn’t withstand that much force.

The overseer raised his blade as if accepting the challenge. A thunderous, high-pitched clang rang out as Sehn’s Elven blade collided with the Drashian’s long sword. The man grunted. It was the most exertion Sehn had seen from him thus far, but he still somehow managed to parry and withstand the attack.

This isn’t good.

Sehn dashed backwards without looking behind him. The Drashian rushed forward and pursued. Sehn crashed, back first, into a wooden merchant’s booth, and then slid to his knees. The overseer gave him no time to regain his footing. Sehn barely had time to leap out of the way as the blade, powered by the overseer’s inhuman strength, cleaved the wooden booth into two large pieces, smashing right through the thing and sending chips and splinters in a disorganized spray around them.

Sehn cursed under his breath.

Despite the effort required to cause such ridiculous destruction, the overseer showed no signs of slowing down, and Sehn desperately needed a moment to regain himself. He was still slightly off balance, and he needed a moment to think. There had to be a way for him to stall for time. He removed his right hand from his weapon as an idea came to him. Holding the Elven blade with only his left hand, Sehn extended his other palm in the Drashian’s direction.

“Remmos Salas!”

“Remmos Salas!”

Sehn chanted the words again and again as one fireball after the other slammed into the larger man. Each time they hit their mark, they caused the overseer to grunt in pain, yet as far as Sehn could discern, they failed to cause any substantial damage. To Sehn’s disappointment, they even failed to set the man’s clothing on fire. But, at the very least, the attacks did stop the overseer in his tracks. While Sehn hammered the man with his fire projectiles, the Drashian had stopped moving entirely.

But Sehn couldn’t keep this up forever. He needed a plan. He needed to find some way of winning. If he could just get his blade to make contact, he would tear through the Human, regardless of his size. The problem was that even with his ungodly strength, the overseer still possessed a fair amount of speed.

Sehn ceased his magic. The overseer looked miserable. Smoke rose from his chest, and Sehn could see that he had in fact inflicted some small amount of damage as burn marks covered him from face to chest. The damage done wasn’t critical, but it did appear painful.

The man shrieked. His voice was a torrent of rage and misery. “I’m going to rip your damn heart out, Elf!”

He charged. Sehn hadn’t seen him move this fast before, not even when he’d been pushing Sehn into a corner. The Drashian seemed to be running at a speed that was too fast for his body, which gave Sehn an idea.

He grinned and shouted, “Ralos MAHR!”

The ground just in front of Sehn crumbled, and as the man ran over it he lost his balance and tripped, but rather than fall, he continued to move forward in a bent over run while he fought to remain upright.

Now! Sehn thought.

He dashed at the tumbling man. With all his strength, Sehn slashed his blade diagonally, tearing the overseer from shoulder to hip in a deep, bloody cut.

The overseer howled in pain and clutched his body, then fell to one knee. His forearm was still bleeding from Cah’lia’s dagger, but that looked like nothing more than a scratch compared to what Sehn had just inflicted.

Sehn couldn’t help what he did next. He tried to stop himself—he really did—but his emotions took control of his body.

He began to dance like Nero, spinning and twirling, raising his sword in victory. “Oh yeah! Who cut ya? Sehn cut ya! I said who cut ya? Sehn did, that’s right. Oh, yeah! This motherfucker was all like, ‘Hey everybody, look at me, I’m an overseer and I’m better than Sehn.’ And then I was all like, ‘Eat fireball and sword, bitch.’ Suck a Cockalith!”

The overseer, who only moments ago spoke with a deep and powerful voice, squealed like a small girl. “I’ll kill you! I’ll rip your head off!”

It was funny to Sehn how unmanly he sounded. Sehn danced even more, shaking his ass in the man’s face.

He almost lost his head as the overseer sprang off his knee and charged again at Sehn, his blood turning the white pavement dark red with each lumbering step.

Wow, that was stupid of me, Sehn thought as the blade passed a mere inch from his face. The man was beginning to slow down, losing blood from the wound. Sehn could now easily dodge his attacks.

At the rate things were going, the overseer would end up killing himself. He no longer had any chance of winning the fight. Then again, he never really did, Sehn reminded himself.

This idiot needs to give up now or he’ll die. Not that the Great Sehn cares or anything! But if he dies here, who will spread the tale of the God that defeated him?

“Hey, peasant,” Sehn called to the overseer, who was now wobbling on his feet, barely able to remain standing as more blood poured from his grievous wound. “Are you a fool? Throw down your weapon at once! Can you not see you’re dying?”

The Drashian Overseer paused a moment before looking down at his wound. His eyes lit up in surprise. Sehn couldn’t believe the man’s reaction. He actually looked as if he had no idea he’d been injured.

The overseer spat on the ground then dropped his weapon. “Make it quick, Elf. You have beaten me in honorable combat, it seems. I fought you with honor, and you have done the same.”

Sehn had no idea what this idiot was talking about. “Make what quick?”

“Do you always tease your victims, Elf?” he asked. “Very well, I have been shamed. If you wish to taunt me before executing me then that is your choice.”

Sehn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Did Humans normally slay each other after surrendering from a fight? Was that their custom? Either way, Sehn knew what course he wanted to take. He theatrically cleared his throat.

“I have decided to spare your life, mortal. Now, you shall release that slave girl to my custody, and you shall then write four poems, no less than six paragraphs each, about how cool I am.”

The Drashian’s lips spread wider. “I don’t know if I heard you properly, Elf, maybe it be the blood loss. But I’ll do as you have asked.”

“Also, make sure it rhymes,” Sehn demanded. “The great Sehn shall not have any poetry created about him that does not rhyme.”

The sound of approaching horses caused Sehn to look over his shoulder; Patrick, Daniel, and Rillith approached with at least thirty other armored riders trailing behind.

“Sehn!” Daniel called.

“Are you all right?” Patrick asked, ordering his mount to a halt. He glanced around at the chaos Sehn had caused. Things were beginning to calm down.

Cah’lia was getting back to her feet, and Nero ran in to hug Sehn. This time, Sehn was prepared. He easily dodged the little Elf.

Rillith walked over to the bleeding man, with five soldiers lined up behind him. “Shall I end him here, or would you like a public execution at the gallows, Patrick?”

Patrick frowned at the dying man. “This man was practicing slavery uninhibited in one of my cities. For too long has the Kingdom’s presence been absent in Koringrath. He shall be hung along with the mayor tomorrow at noon. Hold it in the city’s square, for I want every citizen to witness it.”

Sehn had no idea what Patrick was talking about. Did Patrick just call this place his city? It seems he’s trying to betray me.

“Patrick!” Sehn shouted. “You dare challenge the Great Sehn to a City-War? Have you forgotten our agreement? Back in Elvar, we all agreed that I am the only one permitted to conquer cities. How dare you conquer this city without first asking my permission? Hah! I shall slap you in front of all your girly friends. When did you even find the time to conquer this place? And I see you have already converted the soldiers to your cause. Why else would they be following you around like you were some kind of prince?”

The fifteen soldiers all spun their horses to face Sehn, outrage on their faces as they removed swords from their scabbards. Patrick held up his hand and gave them a reassuring smile. The soldiers stood down.

“Very well, Sehn. Koringrath is yours. I shall personally sign one of your Sehn-seals transferring it to you on the way home after we find the treasure. Will that be okay?”

Sehn laughed. “Bah! It’s too much effort. Let them have their foolish city. I have too much preparing to do before I’m ready to rule. Release whatever noble you kidnapped and return this city to him. Not because I’m a good guy, or anything. I’d love nothing more than to loot and pillage this city. We just don’t have the time.”

Patrick smiled for some reason. He wondered how Patrick had managed to conquer an entire city singlehandedly. Every soldier, guard, and citizen seemed to obey him and stand aside when he passed.

Hmm, if Patrick can conquer an entire city by himself, then I should be able to conquer an entire city with one arm behind my back.

“Anyway,” Sehn continued. He pointed to the wounded overseer. “I’ve already decided to spare this one’s life. Have him treated for injury then ensure he composes my poems. If they don’t rhyme, execute him.”

“Very well,” Rillith said as he lifted up the man. For some reason, Patrick ran a finger across his neck, and Rillith nodded. Cah’lia seemed to notice this odd behavior too, because she frowned, though it was probably because she was ashamed of losing the battle. Sehn chuckled. Cah’lia would receive zero poems for her pathetic display.

Cah’lia walked over to him. “Sehn, let’s spend the day indoors tomorrow. There are a lot of games of chance here, and from what Nero has told me, you’re quite skilled at gambling.” Again, Patrick nodded for some reason at her suggestion. Ah well, what did it matter?

Sehn flexed. “Of course, Cah’lia. Perhaps you and I can team up and rob some of these lousy Koringrathians of their hard-earned coin.”

“You bet. Hey, Sehn, what are you doing? Oh…”

Sehn walked over to the frightened little girl, still inside the cage.

“Are…Are you my new master now?” she whispered. She was a small girl, with short golden hair and hazel eyes. Her tiny cheekbones and small nose made her look even younger than Nero. She shook as Sehn approached.

“I am everyone’s master!” Sehn announced.

“I am ready for my beating now, master,” she said, her eyes moistening.

Sehn didn’t know why, but for a reason he couldn’t explain, a deep and terrible anger bubbled inside of him. Using more strength than he knew he possessed, he grasped the bars of the small metal cage between his fingers. Then there was a loud screech as he tore the thing off its hinges.

“Get this fucking cage out of here!” he called to Patrick. He reached inside and gently took the girl’s hand, guiding her outside of her confinement.

What the hell am I doing? Sehn wondered. He couldn’t control himself. His emotions were running wildly out of control.

The girl was an inch or two shorter than Nero, and she looked up into Sehn’s eyes with wonder. Her face was bruised and swollen, and where Nero’s eyes always held a bold, adventurous glint, hers looked dead inside.

“Does Master wish Rina to harm herself instead?”

Sehn trembled, gripping his hands into fists and struggling not to grind his teeth. “Patrick!”

“Yes, Sehn?” Patrick answered.

Sehn struggled for a moment to speak. When he was able to form words, they poured out of his mouth in one quick command.

“Forgo my previous orders, Patrick. Have the Drashian hung along with the mayor. The Great Sehn has decided to show no mercy after all.”

Patrick nodded. His voice was soothing, but filled with approval. “As you command, Sehn.”

Cah’lia rushed to Sehn’s side, a look of both amazement and sadness in her eyes. “You did the right thing.”

“Of course I did, Cah’lia.”