Filliandari
Filli opened the doors and was immediately swarmed by a pack of hyenas, who bowled into her, threatening her balance, but she braced in time, driving back into them. Eris maneuvered behind the pack, slashing at their flanks, his blades far more effective against this enemy than Filli's holy magics. Down the short stairs and twenty feet down the hall, the junior paladin had bottlenecked a door, entirely focused on defense as a horde of gnolls battered at him. There was no sign of his senior.
The Priestess sent a burst of healing into him, stabilizing his bottleneck. It's unclear if the paladin even noticed her timely save, but Filli's concern, besides making sure that she wasn't shredded by the barking pack in front of her, was on the abandoned hammer and shield on the ground, beside a streak of blood that led into the room the junior paladin was fiercely protecting.
Gritting her teeth, Filli pressed forward, focusing her attention primarily on healing, splitting her attention between Eris and the paladin, trusting that Eris was more than capable of finishing things off quickly. He maneuvered between her and the horde and called out casually, "Not on purpose, he needs a heal..." before he started chanting, and a tiny bead of fire formed in his hand. Looking past him, Filli could see that, yes, Eris could clear the hall. But he would also clear the door...
Cursing under her breath, she began chanting as well, her focus entirely on the paladin now, ready to release her magic in a powerful burst of healing, the moment after the fireball goes off.
Fire engulfed the hallway, blasting the junior paladin into the room even as her spell enveloped him. Making her way through the charred bodies, Filli found him sitting dumbfounded on the floor, the senior paladin laying still on the floor beside him. Her hands already glowed with healing energy as she knelt beside the elder, only needing a sliver of life to be left in him to save him.
Filli's spell entered the old knight's body, while the junior mumbled, in a state of shock, "He... shoved me in here when the horde came. So many... all at once..."
Her spell did nothing. The man died performing his duties and protecting his charge.
After he finished looting, Eris entered the room with a casual gait and the surviving paladin snarled, fumbling for his sword, "Demon spawn!"
"Stop," Filli commanded him, with all the authority of her position, moving to place herself between the two males, "This is neither the time, nor the place for petty prejudice. He just saved your life, and that is all that should matter."
The paladin rose, his sword raised as he glared past her, "It is okay, Lady. Lord Asher has informed us that you are held in thrall by its spell, I wi..."
"Cock."
The paladin fell into stunned silence for several seconds.
"I hold her enthralled by my cock, lad. But please, continue your speech."
Filli shot Eris an irritated glance, before patiently and properly correcting the paladin, "I am not enthralled by anything. I keep his company by choice, and Lord Asher is more concerned for my image than the lives of those he holds authority over. Truly, if he cared even a little for me, you, or anyone else, he would do the right thing and resurrect your companion before seeing the both of you safely home, but his head is way too far up his ass to see that he is at fault here just as much as I."
"You are not at fault, My Dark Princess," Eris corrected her firmly.
The boy wavered, but after a few moments, Filli saw his eyes harden. He could no more deny the words of a Nephillim than she could worship the Dark Gods. She sighed, closing her eyes with an internal prayer to her Goddess, before laying her hand on his arm and gently whispering the command word for her sleep spell.
Not expecting an attack from her, the paladin didn't even try to resist. "You know... he'll go back. And next time you go back, it might be a while before I can rescue you."
Filli laid her head in her hands, miserably muttering, "I know. This is such a mess, and it's all my fault..." then, keeping her voice low to not wake the sleeping paladin, she told him about the colossal mistake she made in asking Asher for help with their... issue.
Eris sighed, pulling Filli to her feet and into his arms. "You are taught from birth they are kind and generous. It is always best to go to them first. But really, they are simply a different kind of tyranny. Much like a Devil, it is their way or no way. Check the hall, listen for voices, then we will make our way down. Put some distance between us and this level."
She nodded, stepping from his embrace and retrieving her bikini plate from the boy, and taking a moment to pause and look at Eris. "Please don't harvest the elder... he was only doing his duty and deserves more dignity in death than to be used as an ingredient for a potion."
Eris sighed, "His death could be used for something good..." Eris tried to reason, but the resignation in his voice, devoid of cunning or wickedness let Filli know that her Eris would not take a vial of the dead man's blood without her consent.
She kissed him in gratitude, with a quiet, "Thank you." before turning her attention back to the dungeon.
"Was that an okay?" he asked hopefully.
"Nope." she called over her shoulder while heading out into the hall.
He followed her almost immediately, grumbling as he took point continuing into the dungeon. They soon found the next door and the Champion of Baphomet beyond was no match for them. This was, after all, only the first floor. "What's the position of the Church on the Halls of Repentance?" Eris asked as they sorted through the loot.
This was a sore spot for the Church and confusing for everyone else. In their eagerness for a perfect world, anyone who defied the Laws of Light was summarily banished in the first century after the Fall. That resulted in a dungeon that many chaotic and neutral aligned clerics, angels, and similar beings now call home. Forever.
