Saddaj knew he wouldn't be waiting long for an attack, and here it came. Wait. Now she had two knives? Magic seemed the most likely answer, but he had been caught unprepared, and paid for it. He heard her coming, and began to parry. He struck her right elbow with the blunt end of the spear-stave, sending the attack wide. However, the action left the outer side of his left forearm open, and he suffered a long, though shallow, cut along it from the woman's other knife. Thankfully no arteries had been opened, but the pain was certainly distracting. She would be expecting him to retreat, and whether that was a wise decision, it was certainly unwise to be predictable. So, instead of breaking under her assault, he pressed forwards when she tried to move out of his vision, lunging forcefully in a long-hand stance, hoping to catch her off-guard by his sudden, risky, movement.