All of my sons were aware now. It would not hurt to tell my daughters so that they could also be on the lookout for suspicious characters. Johna had Alane. Molly had her husband too. Rabbie was the son of a mercenary. He did not come with a knighthood, but that was okay. He could fight with a blade. He was now called "Sir" anyway due to the marriage. Betan practically was an uncle figure to all 6 of them. Betan would probably flake if someone in a position of power or authority ordered him to stand down, but I did not think that he would simply look the other way if one of them was being murdered in front of him. I would kill him if he did. That enemy paladin made himself scarce for the next 3 days. That did not mean that there was peace. A trio of brothers came to challenge the hybrids explicitly in duels to the death. We had been out on an errand for Gerald White. I had decided not to tell him. It was already beyond his ability to control. No one respected his authority here anyway. They wanted to seek glory for themselves and their patron god. This was really getting out of control.
Before my children could answer the challenge, I stepped up. "There was a paladin of the wind god that challenged Leonardo a few days ago. Do you know him!?" I had to ask. "Artur is a companion of ours. We heard the dirty deed your abomination tried to humiliate him with." one of the brothers said before spitting on the ground in disgust. He had introduced himself as Allen Triston. The second brother, Barat spoke next. "We had an agreement that we would challenge if he were to fail as he is our senior." he explained. The third brother was called Conan. He said "Even if we fall today, that heretical act will never happen. Artur will return to finish the job we start today." That was pretty bold for someone to say to someone that already bested their senior. I said "Well, your request is denied. Lennox was just married. Leonardo was still attacked even after winning his fight. I see no reason to grant you a request to duel to the death. First blood would be my preference if I allowed a fight." Leonardo stepped forward anyway. "I will accept all their challenges now, Father." he said firmly.
I had to pull rank on him. This was not something that I liked to do. I especially did not like to do it in public. I walked up to him and slapped him in the face. That got the attention of everyone. "Leonardo Rhombus, you are my son. You will listen to and obey me as your father and the head of the household! You do not accept duels to the death unless I am made aware of it and give you my full blessing. Do you understand me!?" I demanded. He just looked at me in confusion. "Father, I-" was all he got out of his mouth before I slapped him again. His eyes narrowed as he glared at me with visible anger. Leonardo was pissed off. "I asked a question, boy! Do you understand me!? I want a yes or a no response out of you." I hissed. He sighed deeply. In even his hottest rage, he knew better than to hit me. "Yes Father." he said. I looked at the 3 knights. "There you have it. We cannot trust your intentions and it is a celebration for my family. I won't let you ruin it for your selfish desires." I spat. We were all called cowards, but I did not care. We went about our day. Only 2 days later, they had died.
