Murdering this young man would be really bad for us. Killing him here and now would only inspire other religious zealots to come trying to kill my sons. I did not want my children in a constant mortal danger. That really was not something that I was interested in having to break up. I stepped closer and said "How about we not do that right now!? Let's calm down and think about it. I think that we can figure a solution if we talk it out." Both of them glared at me with murderous looks. I took an instinctive step back. This was pretty rare for me actually. Leonardo and Lenard had their sadistic streaks. I knew all that. They had times when they were very pissed off with me. Never before had either of them sent such potent killing intent my way. "Let me do this, Father. I am a knight and a champion in my own right. This human says I smell sickly sweet, but the only thing I smell from him is bitter medicine. I want him gone. Right now." Leonardo said harshly. The other paladin just scoffed out loud. "See!? Even he admits he's not a human. Why should I waste time on him. I will slay him right away!"
Now that it had come to this, I had to step up. I was a man and a father. "If you guys are going to fight here, it's going to be to first blood only! This is the episcopal palace of Greene, not some whorehouse! Have some respect. I know that I raised you much better than this, Leonardo." I said firmly. They glared at each other, but agreed to the condition. Both of them really wanted to fight. I was not expecting the contest to be so immediate. The young man already was armed. Leonardo went back inside to his belongings in order to get his spear before returning. I was going to be the witness to the duel apparently. They circled each other about 3 times before Leonardo got bored and moved in to engage. I was surprised that the young man was able to keep up with him. Leonardo was a paladin of the forest, blessed with "holy" magic. There was also the fact that my sons were all dryad-human hybrids. This gave them more strength and stamina than an average human. This young man had an axe. It was extremely clear that he was a master of his fighting style. He and the axe were one.
One should never underestimate their opponents. It was unsportsmanlike and you sometimes were left humiliated by an oversight expertly exploited. I made sure to drill that into all 6 of my children. Whether they were in a sadistic or masochistic mood during the fight, it could lead to them losing more than just a bit of pride. Leonardo was not letting up. He was trying to go for the kill. So was the other paladin, to be fair to him. This match lasted 7 long minutes before Leonardo extended his reach with the spear towards the face of his nemesis. The young man grinned and stepped into the strike. He was sliced across the cheek, but he managed to us the momentum to slam Leonardo on the ground. My son did not lose his hold of the spear. He just rolled back to regroup. His enemy did not give him the chance. He lunged forward and brought the pole of the axe down on Leonardo's throat. He also kicked the spear out of my son's hand from his position straddling Leonardo. Leonardo was still unable to dislodge the enemy paladin. I walked around the 2 to get a better look at their faces.
