Blackheart, Chapter 5, Part 2 of 2
The knight nodded. “Okay, okay...maybe I was wrong about you...but Senci! It’s time. Let’s see what you’re made of.” Senci smiled, appearing anxious.
“Err, alright. I suppose it couldn’t hurt…”
The two quickly grabbed the dull swords from Greenbranch and moved back from each other, the rest of the denizens of the Citadel backing away to form a large circle around the two. Alexander noted the previously snoozing Tourthun was watching with rapped interest.
Senci looked visibly nervous as he got into a fighting stance. “Sir Alexander, I don’t think I’ll be able to offer you an even fight.”
Alexander shrugged. “I never said I wanted one. This is only a test. Just do your best, and everything will be fine.”
The knight pointed his sword at Senci, lips curling into a knowing smile. “Now...let’s see if this paladin is any good at teaching. Show me what you’ve got, Senci!”
Alexander quickly charged the kobold, who threw himself to the side just as the knight slammed his sword into the ground. He quickly raised his weapon and parried a swing Senci made with his sword.
Backing up, Alexander waited for an attack, not wanting to overwhelm the poor lizard so quickly. Senci seemed hesitant, wanting to stay on the defensive.
The knight smirked and beckoned Senci over. “Can’t let your enemies control the momentum, Senci! Come on!”
The kobold took a deep breath and charged, closing the distance shockingly quickly. Alexander just barely had enough time to raise his sword and block his attack. Senci, apparently taking the knight’s words to heart, proceeded to relentlessly strike at Alexander, the knight struggling to block each attack.
Alexander was hard pressed to defend against such a rapid, unending assault. Senci eventually swung lower than Alexander had anticipated, slicing the knight’s foot and earning a sharp intake of breath from his opponent.
Alexander lowered his guard in response to the pain. Senci suddenly stopped attacking, looking concerned. Alexander shook his head. “Not yet, keep fighting!” Senci’s eyes widened as Alexander stabbed at the kobold, grazing his arm.
“Yow! Hey, how was I supposed to know we were still fighting?!”
Alexander’s voice rang out as he continued attacking, Senci dodging and parrying furiously. “We stop fighting when I say so! Don’t let your guard down!”’
The two continued their swordfight, occasionally landing grazes and minor cuts on each other. The rest of the Citadel watched quietly, the silence broken only by the clanging of steel. No cheering, yelling, not even a single taunt or encouragement, from the crowd or the fighters.
It slowly became apparent that Alexander was gaining the advantage. While the knight was quite reserved and purposeful in his attacks, Senci was putting his all into the fight. It allowed him to overwhelm Alexander’s defense and hit him a few times, but he was also starting to pant from exhaustion. It would be easy for Alexander to force his way through his opponent’s defenses soon enough.
After a few minutes of deflecting Senci’s attacks, Alexander parried yet another sloppy swing. This time however, he decided it was time to end it. Instead of staying on the defensive, Alexander threw himself at the kobold with an onslaught of wild sword swings.
Senci hurriedly moved to block as many attacks as he could, but he couldn’t keep up anymore. Alexander sliced across his stomach, sending the kobold collapsing to the ground, hand grasping the wound.
The knight spun his sword before sliding it back into its sheath. “And that...is the end of it.”
Senci looked up at Alexander, pain and shame both apparent in his eyes. “Aah...I failed…” Alexander sighed and shook his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Failed? Senci...that was fantastic!”
Senci tilted his head. “W-What…?”
“What did I tell you, Senci? I said I wanted to test you. You held out against me for a very long time, much longer then I had anticipated. You even gave me some cuts and bruises!”
“That really was a spirited show, little one. You show much promise.”
Senci smiled. “Tourthun…”
“The dragon is correct!” Greenbranch interjected, “You are an excellent warrior!”
Alexander nodded. “You’re not bad at all, Senci. You don’t have to be the best. There will always be someone stronger than you. Don’t let that fact take away from your prowess.”
Senci laughed nervously. “Wow...thank you all. I suppose...I suppose I undersold myself...I guess.”
Alexander shrugged, the knight appearing quite happy. “You’re good. You weren’t lying about your mentor...that paladin knows his stuff!”
The kobold nodded excitedly. “He sure does! Master is wise and skilled indeed!” His praises were cut short as he attempted to climb back to his feet.
“A-Aaaah! Oh goodness!”
Alexander grabbed Senci’s arm and pulled the warrior to his feet. “Easy, Senci. Just take it easy.” Alexander waved to the humans in the crowd. “Hey, Leianna! Lexius!” The two quickly hurried over.
“You two know any healing?”
Lexius nodded.
“Yup!” Leianna said, smiling.
The cleric moved her hand over the kobold’s bloodied stomach as Lexius put his hand on Senci’s shoulder. Leianna began murmuring some sort of prayer to herself, a common occurrence when someone was channeling holy magic.
Suddenly, a bright flash erupted from Leianna’s hand. Senci’s wounds began closing seemingly on their own. The young warrior’s eyes widened as he clenched his fists.
“W-Whoooa!”
“Everything alright?” Lexius appeared puzzled.
Senci nodded at the priest. “Better than alright! I feel...amazing!”
“Well,” Leianna stopped her chant and stood back up. “That oughta do it.”
“Thank you, madam! I feel great!”
Leianna laughed. “Not a problem, lizard. Healing tends to make you feel good. Energetic, too.
Alexander crossed his arms. “Now a paladin raised you, correct? You of all people should be used to healing magic.” Senci shrugged.
“Master taught me the value of willpower. I didn’t get hurt much, but when I did he said holy magic is too important to waste on little things like cuts and stubbed toes. He said I needed to be able to endure pain if I ever hoped to become a great warrior one day.”
“A fair point,” Alexander replied, “I can see reliance on avoiding pain making you soft...speaking of which…” The knight clasped his hand on the Senci’s shoulder. “Welcome to the crew. You’ve proven yourself capable.” The kobold’s eyes lit up as he broke into a jubilant smile.
“Oh, thank you, Sir Alexander! I won’t let you down!”
Lexius smiled. “Your mentor may have taught you austerity, but don’t hesitate to come to me or Lady Leianna for help. We need to look out for each other on the streets above.” Senci nodded excitedly.
“Yes, of course! Thank you!”
Alexander sighed and sat down. “Let’s just rest for a moment...it’s never a good idea to go into battle winded. Just for a moment, and then we’ll be off.” Senci nodded and sat down next to the knight.
Tourthun smiled at Alexander. “Perhaps there is hope for Palethorn. Together, I am certain we can strike down those demons once and for all!”
“Here here!” Leianna cried.
Alexander laughed. “It’s great to see everyone in high spirits, despite the situation. Yes indeed, hope never dies…”
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