Thrice Slain Pt. 01

He pleaded for his life. They always did that, even when they knew they didn't deserve it. It had taken Dantos and Sylpha most of the morning to track down the killer to this reclusive cave. He had done a piss poor job of hiding his tracks and the refuse pile at the bottom of the rocky hill was like a signal screaming to the world that someone was hiding out here.

"Is it him?" Dantos asked. Pushing down on the scrawny man's shoulder until he kneeled on the wet dirt of the cave.

Sylpha scratched at the back of the paladin's neck and purred. "It appears so, dear. Human, male, pallid skin tone, wiry black hair." She glanced about the man's hideout, noting the broken crates and discarded burlap and leather bags. "And unless he's operating a struggling shop from here, I'd say he's a bandit by trade." Sylpha sauntered over to a large damp rock, used the end of her long breezy skirt to wipe flecks of water from its smooth surface and sat, crossing her long legs. "He matches the description the town militiamen gave us."

Dantos gruffed and tugged his heavy handaxe free from its loop on his belt. He cast his shield down and gripped the axe in both hands.

"Hold on! Just wait a -" the bandit started.

Dantos swung his axe in a long flat arc, catching the disheveled man in the neck and cracking through his vertebrae. The greasy haired wide eyed bastard yelped like a pup, but only for a moment. His throat exploded from the vicious impact and the only sound he made now was the thick gurgling of blood. Dantos yanked his axe free from the gore and swung again, hitting the man in the same spot and cleaving through. The head spun in the air and landed with a sickening flop beside the kneeling body.

"That's one," Dantos grumbled, kicking over the headless body. He wiped his bloodied axe head on the dead man's trousers. Dantos gripped the head by the scruffy hair and repositioned it, facing up, where he had just severed it from the body. The lowlight of the cave made seeing difficult for his human eyes, but Sylpha, his elf companion, could see just fine.

"A little to the left, dear." Sylpha pointed her long delicate finger to the side. She tilted her head to appraise the arrangement of the body and head like she was inspecting a painting. "Can you bring the head closer to the neck wound? My magic won't work if the gap is too large."

Dantos huffed and shoved the head into the bleeding neck, squishing out blood and viscera as the bones ground against each other.

"Tsk, tsk. He'll wake up with a serious pain if you are too harsh," Sylpha chided him. She uncrossed her legs and wiggled her sandaled feet playfully. She leaned back on the rock she sat on, her heavy breasts pushing outward and straining the taught fabric of her priestess robes. She grinned when Dantos's eyes flicked down to admire her deep cleavage and smooth legs.

"I'm going to kill him again before he has time to care about some neck pain," said Dantos, his eyes drinking up Sylpha's exposed skin. "Why are you so giddy?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just imagining taking a hot bath later, the sensation of a fluffy towel caressing my skin," Sylpha purred, tracing a finger along the curve of her chest. "But don't let me distract you, love. You have very important paladin things to finish. Just... do we really need to do this twice more? Isn't being dead once enough?"

Dantos took a deep breath to push the thought of sucking on Sylpha's engorged nipples in a steamy bath out of his mind. "Yes," he said, gruffly. "Valwen is a god of retribution. This cur," he said, kicking the corpse in the ribs, "killed three unarmed travellers. He needs to die three times."

Sylpha sighed and slipped off the damp rock. She straightened out her robes, pulling her top down a bit to put her prominent chest on full display, and sauntered over to the corpse and its head. "And I thought paladins were noble and merciful," she said quietly, shooting Dantos a wink. Sylpha hovered her hands over the joint of the severed head and body, beginning to utter a chant.

Dantos watched the pale blue light emit from her soft hands and the flesh begin to mend back together. "I don't take joy from killing, elf. And I do my best to make his death quick and as painless as I can."

"I know, love." Sylpha leaned over to bump her bare shoulder against his leg greaves. She refocused her magic on the body. "You're very studious and proficient when it comes to anatomy," she said, glancing up at him with a smirk.

Dantos crossed his arms and barked out a laugh. "By the gods, elf. Even a wet musky cave and the smell of blood doesn't bring down your lust."

"Mmm, no," she said, hopping up and kissing Dantos on the cheek. "He'll come too shortly, are you sure twice isn't enough?" Sylpha bit her lower lip and stroked Dantos's hair.

Dantos responded to the insatiable elf by spanking her luscious rump and squeezing her flesh in his calloused hand. Sylpha jumped from the impact and let out a loud sharp moan, her eyes growing wide in equal shock and excitement. With her mouth hanging open, just begging to be filled, Dantos felt his cock twitch in anticipation of feeling her plump, pink lips around his glans again. But for now he had a job to do, lest he upset his patron god, so he merely filled the beautiful pale skinned elf's mouth with his tongue in a savage kiss.

"Gahhhh!" screamed the revived murderer. He clutched at his throat and gasped for air, staring wild eyed up at his executioner and the buxom elf healer kissing passionately.

"For fucks sake," muttered Dantos. He pulled Sylpha by the hips to the side and brought his axe down viciously into the man's sternum. The bone snapped open and blood gushed up like a geyser. The man clawed at his chest in a desperate bid to pry the axe head free from his chest, yelling in pain and agony. Dantos twisted the axe, breaking the bone open further, and pulled the bloody weapon free.

"I thought you said you tried to make it quick and painless?" Sylpha whispered in his ear. "This looks quite painful, and certainly not quick."

"It would be, if you'd keep your wanton flirtations under control for a few minutes!"

Sylpha smiled and bit his earlobe playfully. "You make it sound like you don't enjoy it."

Dantos sighed and pushed his elven lover behind himself, then clutched his axe shaft in both hands and brought the heavy blade down in a swift chop. The blade broke through the murderer's chest cavity and bit into the packed earth beneath him. The heart was ruptured and burst like an overfilled waterskin, spraying blood across Dantos's arms, legs and torso. The man gasped for air that his collapsed lungs couldn't breathe in, then his head rolled to the side and his tongue fell limp out of his mouth.

"Fuck me," muttered Dantos, flinging blood and guts off his hands.

"With pleasure, dear. But alas, you insisted you must see justice through." Sylpha delicately stepped around Dantos, avoiding the pooling blood on the ground and placed her hands just above the crushed-in chest of the twice-dead man. "And while I may have VERY little disgust when it comes to bodily fluids, being covered in the blood of some vile miscreant is something even I would prefer to avoid. You'll need a proper cleaning before you can expect any more 'wanton flirtations'," she said, batting her eyelashes up at him.

Dantos sat on the rock Sylpha had been using and scowled at her. She enjoyed teasing him like this, usually at the absolute worst moments, but it made adventuring with the well endowed elf much more interesting. Dantos watched her recite the same healing magic on the man and his guts begin to reassemble before the bones reset themselves in place.

"Does your god have any misgivings about this?"

"About me copulating with a human? Nay, it's rather tame compared to what some of my sisters report doing. Though I like to think what we lack in exotic pairing we make up for with effort and enthusiasm."

Dantos sighed. "I meant healing a dead man just for me to execute him again."

"Oh! No, I shouldn't think so. Or at least, if Gahora disapproved she wouldn't be lending me her magic as I speak." Sylpha finished her spell and stepped back from the newly mended flesh of the man, its color pink and raw.

"A goddess of healing and maternity, aiding a god of vengeance to bring about death." Dantos shook his head and stood up, stretching out his arms in preparation for one last kill.

Sylpha pressed a hand to her forehead and leaned on Dantos's shoulder. "Oof, I think that spell may have been my last for the evening. My head is dizzy." Dantos glanced at his elven mistress and kissed the top of her mahogany haired head. "Will you need a rest before we depart?"

"No, I don't think so. Maybe just some water and a bit of food." She smiled up at Dantos, her flirtatious smile returning when she saw the concern etched across his battle scarred face. "I want to spend tonight wrapped up in warm blankets on a soft bed, not sleeping in a damp cold cave."

The murderer's eyes shot open and he screamed, curling up into a whimpering ball on the packed bloodied dirt. "Please! Stop, I beg you, I'm innocent! Please don't hurt me again!"

Dantos idly twirled his axe in one hand and stepped over the cowardly killer, straddling him from high above, and raised his axe. "Keep still and move your arms out of the way. I'll aim for your head and make it quick. You won't have time to feel any more pain." The leather palm of his gauntlets creaked as he tightened his grip on the axe. "It's a better death than what you gave those poor innocent villagers."

"No!" The sobbing man crawled forward and clutched at the toes of Dantos's steel boots. "Please hear me, I didn't kill anyone! I swear on all the gods I have only ever stolen some food and robbed a few wagons. I never killed anyone milord!" The man dipped his head down, sobbing into the earth.

Dantos grimaced and kicked the man off of his feet. He had heard too many vagabonds and killers lie up to the end of their lives to spare any remorse for this craven. If the man wished to enter the gates of hell butchered to pieces then Dantos would grant him that request. He grabbed one arm of the simpering fool and hefted his axe, readying to sever the limb and deliver divine punishment for the brutal actions this vicious ruffian had inflicted upon -

"Dantos," Sylpha said quietly from behind him. She pressed her body against his back and hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around his chest and tickling the neckline of his cuirass with a finger. "Valwen may demand vengeance, but I ask for compassion. Do only what is necessary to fulfill your vow, please."

Dantos took a deep, long breath. Sylpha's lavender and honey perfume calmed his senses and her warm body squished so tight upon his back that it sent a pleasurable shiver up his spine. He let go of the murderer's arm and lowered his axe, his stern gaze never leaving the man's face.

"Keep. Still." Dantos kneeled down, pinning the man's arms to the side with his large muscular legs. The vagrant shook his head from side to side and locked his eyes on the lovely pale skinned elf overlooking his final moments.

"You! You're a cleric!"

"Priestess, actually. It's a minor distinction but significant enough. You see, a cleric -"

"You can cast a spell on me! Yes! You can know if I'm a liar!"

"I already know you're a liar," grumbled Dantos, taking hold of the man's jaw and fixing his head still. He aimed the blade of his axe between the eyes.

Sylpha tucked a lock of hair behind her long pointed ear and leaned on one leg. "A truth scrying spell? I could, if I hadn't spent my magical energy on a revival ritual... twice." Sylpha glanced at Dantos, then back again at the condemned man.

"Please, miss. I beg you, as my last dying wish, please just cast the spell!"

"She said no." Dantos raised his axe above his head, prepared to see retribution be delivered with the man's skull split open and his brainmatter cleaved in two.

"Ahem!"

Dantos looked over his shoulder at Sylpha, who was batting her eyes at him and pursed her lips in a tight smile. "Dantos, compassion? It's a simple enough last wish from a condemned man."

"I'm giving him a quick death, if he'd hold still. That's more compassion than he gave." Sylpha rolled her eyes and leaned down till her breasts hung in front of Dantos's face. Her long hair spilled over her shoulders and framed her chest for his view, trapping his sight to just her sparkling eyes and soft skin.

"Please?" she asked sweetly. Dantos tried to keep his gaze locked on to Sylpha's silver eyes, but her swaying breasts were too mesmerizing to ignore and he took a long appreciative view of the soft tempting valley between them. Sylpha giggled when she knew Dantos's resolve had cracked and leaned in even closer. The smell of her skin washed over him as she licked the edge of his ear and whispered, "Grant me this one request, and I'll grant you any request later tonight."

"What does it matter?" he growled.

"Gahora is a goddess of healing, maternity and mercy. And I'm an enabler of those virtues. It may mean little to Valwen, but it means much to me." Sylpha rubbed her lips along his stubbly neck and nibbled just above his shoulder.

"Damn it, elf," he muttered. She loved toying with him and knew exactly what to do to distract him from his duties. Sylpha would have made an excellent follower of any deities that promoted scandalous acts, temptation or seduction. "Any request?" he asked.

"I trust you," she whispered, bending her neck to kiss his rough lips. "Yes, any." Sylpha stood back up, straightening out her robes and fixing her top to hold in her chest that threatened to pop out. She turned to go sit on her rock once more but Dantos gave her a light smack on the bottom before she could get away. "Oh!" she yelped, turning briefly to glare at him with a grin.

"Fine." Dantos pushed himself off the man's arms and strapped his axe to his hip. He held his hands in front of himself and muttered a chant to Valwen, his patron god.

"You two practice divine magic?" the murderer asked in a pathetic voice. "What the fuck kind of gods do you worship?"

"Shut up." Dantos focused his mind and pressed his palms together. He felt the searing gaze of Valwen upon his soul and his eyes glazed over with a crackling red sheen. The spell was in effect, but only briefly.

The murderer scrambled backwards on the dirty cave floor. His mouth fell open at the furious divine gaze of Dantos, his visage akin more to a demon than anything holy. "What the fuck is that?!" he squeaked.

"I can see lies and truth. Attempt to deceive me and I'll butcher you like a pig. Understand?" The man nodded vigorously. "SPEAK!"

"Yes! I understand!" The words left the man's mouth and Dantos saw a gentle stream of white smoke, the spell doing its work to judge the spoken words. He spoke truthfully, or at least what he believed was truth.

"Did you kill the villagers?" Dantos gripped the shaft of his axe. His knuckles turned white and he stepped forward.

"No!"

White smoke.

Sylpha looked between the cowering man and Dantos. Her arms crossed over her stomach and she cocked her head to the side. "Dantos?"

He ignored her. "The three travelers on the road to Herdshire. An elderly man, a young woman and man. That was your work?"

"It wasn't, I swear!"

White smoke.

"They were stripped naked, their throats cut and left to bleed out in the mud. On the road between Herdshire and Bedford. Four days ago. Your stupid footprints led us straight here from where the bodies were found!"

"Dantos, what's going on?"

"That wasn't me! I walk that road sometimes looking for easy marks but I never killed no one!"

Dantos lunged forward and grabbed the tattered and blood soaked remains of the man's shirt. He lifted him up till their noses touched and he could smell the miscreant's foul breath. "You know who did it!" Dantos roared.

"I don't know anything!" He shut his eyes and whimpered in Dantos's grip. "Please believe me..." White smoke seeped out from between the man's crooked yellow teeth. Dantos dropped the pathetic mewling man to the ground and spun around to face Sylpha.

"Tell me a lie, quickly," he snapped.

"Why? What did you see?" Sylpha squinted down at the man withering on the ground.

"I need to know if the spell is working right. Tell me something false before it runs out." Sylpha glared at Dantos, all sense of her teasing banter gone. "Please," he said.

Sylpha rested her hands on her wide hips and took a long breath before responding. "I have absolutely no concerns about how many times nor the manner in which you have repeatedly asked the same question to this man." Dantos watched her speak, her words turning into puffs of grey smoke.

"Without the sarcasm, elf."

"Don't call me 'elf', not now." Sylpha stomped forward till her chest collided with Dantos's and stared back up at him. "I rescind my offer to fulfil any request and you'll be lucky if you get to share a bed with me ever again if you don't start answering me!"

Black smoke spilled from her soft pink lips. Dantos suppressed the urge to grab her by the hips and ravage her mouth. He blinked a few times, the red sheen dissipated, and he was left with only Sylpha's scowl and her false threats of an empty bed.

"Fuck," he murmured. Dantos tugged at a small coin purse around his belt and tossed it onto the ground beside the innocent bandit. "Take it and leave. Go start a new life far from here. And do not EVER rob again."

The man reached out and took the leather bag with trembling hands. "Yes, th-thank you, milord." Dantos turned on his heel and stormed off to the entrance of the cave. Sylpha stared daggers into his back before crouching down to speak softly with the shaking twice-slain man.

"I apologize profusely on behalf of my companion for this, erm, misunderstanding." Sylpha touched her palm to the man's forehead and muttered something in her elvish tongue. "Go forth with the blessing of Gahora, and please don't ever speak of this incident to any guards, law authorities or holy orders. Yes? Excellent." Sylpha left the wide eyed shocked man and caught up with Dantos just as he exited the mouth of the cave.

"What. The fuck. Was that!" She hissed, striding alongside him.

"He spoke truthfully."

"I could tell!" Sylpha grabbed his beefy forearm and yanked Dantos to a stop to face her. "Answer me, Dantos! I'm a priestess dedicated to healing and righteous causes! Did I just revive an innocent man twice so you could kill him for a crime he had nothing to do with?"

"He admitted to being a highwayman."

"Dantos!"

"He still lives and may yet live an honest life from now on!"

"That's not the point and you know it, paladin!"

He lowered his head and looked down at her sandaled feet in the soft grass. Dantos knew he had fucked up. It wasn't the first time. Valwen would forgive him for his overzealous pursuit of justice, even if he himself would not. But worse was that he dragged Sylpha into this disgusting transgression as well.

"Gahora forgive me," she muttered to herself, "I knew better and didn't stop it sooner."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I should have interrogated him first, before delivering retribution." Sylpha pulled her hair back and turned, taking a few steps away from Dantos and gazing up at the midday blue sky. She bowed her head and crossed her arms. Sylpha muttered a few curses in elvish, her hair swaying as she shook her head, before turning back to face Dantos.

"We need to fix this," she said flatly. "We need to find the real murderer and atone for our mistake. Our COLOSSAL mistake."

Dantos nodded and dared to look up at his beautiful elven companion. "Sylpha," he started, but she waved away whatever he was going to say.

"Not now, Dantos. Maybe later. But right now I need to eat and drink something. Then we're going back to where the bodies were found and we're going to find something, anything." She crossed her arms over her large bosom and turned her head to the side, her long slender neck on full display.

Dantos slowly approached her and timidly hugged around her waist. When she didn't resist he rested his head into the crook of her neck and kissed her just above the shoulder. Sylpha shivered slightly but didn't move or say a word.

"I'll right this, I swear. I won't let you down, Sylpha," he growled softly into her neck. He traced his nose along her skin and kissed her cheek.

Sylpha whipped her head around, raking Dantos's face with her long silky hair, and kissed his mouth hard and fast. "Swear to the dead, Dantos. They're the ones that need justice."

Dantos looked deep into her shimmering silver eyes and nodded. "I swear it." Sylpha held his gaze a moment longer, then kissed him again, this time more softly and longer. She laid her head on his broad chest and took a deep shuddering breath. Dantos wrapped his arms around her slim waist and held her close.

After a moment, Sylpha gently pushed herself off of him and looked down at her robes in disgust. "Oh for fucks sake," she muttered. Her gown was stained red from the sticky blood of the man Dantos had executed, twice, that had splashed across his armor. "This is just... just..."

Dantos trembled with suppressed laughter and did his best to subdue the smile prying at his lips. Sylpha snapped her head up at him, wild eyed and furious, which made him lose control and start bellowing. The sound echoed through the forest and along the ridgeline containing the cave they had emerged from. Sylpha squirmed in his embrace but he held her tight.

"You owe me a new gown! And I want silver threads to match my eyes and blue embroidery on the hem!" Dantos nodded as he continued laughing, squeezing his precious elf closer. Sylpha half-heartedly slapped at his armored chest and glared up at him with adoring eyes, admiring his strong jawline and the way his eyes crinkled whenever he smiled.

"I'll buy you a whole wardrobe," he said, after wiping away a tear from his eye. "Anything you want, I'll spend the rest of my life to get you."

Sylpha crossed her arms underneath her heavy chest, lifting her breasts up and pressing herself against her human. "What if what I want isn't anything material?" she asked with a smirk.

"Like what?" Sylpha shook her head and smiled, finally shaking herself free from Dantos's bloodstained hug.

"You'll figure it out one day, I'm sure. Let's get away from here. I want to find a stream to wash up at and refresh before we investigate the murder scene." She turned away from Dantos and began walking downhill into the woods, putting a little sway in her hips as she went that made her long skirt flutter.

Dantos watched her for a moment before following. Sylpha looked over her shoulder just once to make sure he was watching before chuckling to herself. She took great pride in distracting him, and was ever pursuant to remind Dantos of the effect she wielded over his better senses.

END PART 1