I found myself wandering the halls of the Barra D’aron compound until I made my way to the barracks. I walked through the door with my head held high, feeling pretty confident as usual. Inside the lobby, I spotted Durdrin, Vielyn, Rylzt, Caelnel, and Brudaer standing in front of seven Dark Elves who were standing at attention.

“Ahh, you’re here. Good,” Durdrin said as I walked over to stand next to him. “Masdrin, I am giving you Rylzt, Caelnel, Brudaer, and these seven men to form Shadow Nine. The success of your team will depend on your leadership qualities and your ability to make use of these assets.” Durdrin said as he waved a hand towards the seven men standing in line.

“Sir!” came a call from down the line of men.

Durdrin turned slowly and looked dumbfounded at the man who dared to interrupt him.

“Yes?” he replied, his tone not hiding his annoyance.

A moment later, we were standing in front of the Drow who had called out. We both looked at the man as he replied, “Sir, you expect us to take orders from a hunchback child? You said we were going to be a shadow team… not high-priced babysitters.” He stated, clearly unhappy that I’d be leading them.

Durdrin blinked a couple of times. He wasn’t sure what he was angrier about: his subordinate questioning his orders or a subordinate openly insulting a high-ranking officer. As Durdrin was about to react, I called out to him, “Father,” in my most innocent child voice.

Durdrin looked down at me, and I smiled at him. “You asked me if I was ever really in your room, and I didn’t give you a straight answer. Would you like one?” I asked.

Durdrin looked at me for a moment, expecting a verbal answer. I stepped in front of him, between Durdrin and the subordinate, and spoke again with the voice of an innocent child. “Hey mister, you wanna know a secret?” I asked as I raised my hand and beckoned him closer with a wave of my finger.

As the man leaned down to humor the cripple child, I hammered him with a backhand strike from my left hand, right across his jaw. I struck much harder than should have been possible for a person my size, and the elf’s knees buckled as his jaw broke. As his head passed my shoulder height on its way to the stone floor, I hit him again with a powerful left cross that knocked him out cold.

I turned to face the rest of the men in the line before standing up straight, removing my cloak and pack, and setting them on the ground at my feet. “Anyone else have a problem taking orders from me?” I asked. When nobody else replied, I put my pack back on my back and then my cloak before turning to Durdrin.

With a wide grin, I held up my pinky finger on my left hand to show Durdrin a ring he most definitely recognized. It was a simple band of iron with two fists meeting in the middle of my finger. “I must confess, I’ve only been in Rylzt’s room a couple of times. But you, father, used this very ring against me five years ago. I endeavored to find it and try it out myself.” I said as I slid it off my finger and held it out for Durdrin.

“Keep it,” he said dryly. He knew exactly where he kept that ring, and it did indeed answer his question. He didn’t bother to tell me to keep out of his room; he was taking measures that would keep me out. I had my fun though, so I wasn’t worried.

“So, now that you men have seen my son’s way of dealing with insubordination, I hope he won’t have any more issues,” my father said sternly. The six men still standing saluted and then stood at attention. “I’ll leave you to get acquainted with your men. You seem capable of handling yourself,” Durdrin said as he turned and headed for the exit. Before walking through the door, he stopped and turned back to face us again. “Don’t let me down, son,” he said before turning back for the door and heading out.

“You three, get in line,” I ordered Rylzt, Caelnel, and Brudaer. “Caelnel, you stand in the center. Rylzt and Brudaer, you flank Caelnel,” I said and watched as my men repositioned themselves in line. “Very good,” I said with a nod.

“I understand this may be a little out of the ordinary, but I’ve brought a gift for each of you. You will carry this gift with you at all times,” I said as I walked to the start of the line. I stood in front of the first soldier, and as he saluted me, I dropped my pack off my left shoulder and swung it around my right side so that it was in front of me.

As I undid the ornate brass clasps and flipped open the bag, I looked up at the man who stood a full foot taller than me. I reached into the pack and, to my surprise, the kukri was right on top. I picked it up and held it out to the soldier. “Take this, train with it. It may not replace your favorite weapon, but it will make an excellent backup in case you need one,” I said firmly.

The soldier quickly fastened the new blade to his belt. “Thank you, sir!” he shouted loudly.

I moved down the line from soldier to soldier, skipping Caelnel, Rylzt, and Brudaer, and giving blades to the three beyond them.

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Stepping back, I walked over to face Caelnel. I withdrew another kukri from my pack. “Caelnel, you taught me to outthink my enemy. I want you to continue to help me outthink our enemies. Therefore, you’re my second in command,” I said as I held out the kukri for him.

“I’m honored, sir,” he said as he removed his dagger from his belt and replaced it with the kukri that I had given him.

Next, I stopped in front of Rylzt, who stomped his heel and saluted me like a soldier.

“Rylzt, you taught me to outfight my enemy. When we travel, I want you to be on rear guard. I trust you, and you alone, more than anyone else here to effectively protect our rear flank. You, and one other, will work together as my third in command.”

Rylzt smiled and brought his hand down from his head to accept the kukri. “Thank you, sir,” he said as he affixed the kukri to the back of his belt.

I then walked over to Brudaer. Another kukri came out of the bag, and I looked up to him. “Brudaer, you taught me to survive, evade, resist, and escape my enemy… should I ever need to. You taught me to be stealthier than the enemy, to sneak right up on them and stick my blade in their back before they even knew I was there. You, along with Rylzt, will be my third in command,” I said as I held out the blade for him.

Brudaer smiled wide and, like Caelnel, removed his dagger and replaced it with the starmetal kukri. “Thank you for the wonderful gift. It’s a fine weapon and tool. I am honored to serve under you,” he said as he looked down at me. With a smile and a nod, I walked back to a position where I could address all my men.

“Shadow Nine, I’d like to show you something about your gift,” I said as I pulled the last kukri from my bag, the one that would have gone to the man with the broken jaw, and then attuned it to myself. I held the kukri out, still in the sheath, and held my left hand out wide, then summoned the blade to my hand. “You can call it to your hand at will,” I said before sheathing the blade and setting it back in my pack.

“Caelnel, Rylzt, and Brudaer, you will continue to train us in your respective areas of expertise. Everyone will be required to attend training. Understood?” I asked.

“Yes, sir!” they all replied in unison.

“Durdrin thinks all we’re capable of is escorting nobles through town and picking up payments for jobs ‘better’ teams have performed. It is insulting… but at the same time, it is to be expected that Durdrin would want to protect his fifteen-year-old son. We are going to show him that he does not need to protect me. We will show him that Shadow Nine is more than just a team of errand boys. We will show him that Shadow Nine is the best team he ever assembled. I will lead us, and our teachers will teach us, and we WILL be the best. Right, men?” I said, my voice booming with authority thanks to the thaumaturgy button on my collar under my armor.

“Yes, sir!” the nine men shouted in unison. A crooked grin spread wide across my face. I did not want to be anyone’s errand boy; I would lead these men to glory if they were capable of it, and I’d replace any who weren’t.

I led the men to the chow hall, and as we were about to step through the doors, Caelnel grabbed me by the arm. “Masdrin, us officers eat at a… better… spot,” he said, referring to the company inn.

I looked at him for a moment to think carefully about what I was going to say in response. “Caelnel, a true leader stands shoulder to shoulder with the men he leads on the battlefield. If these men are good enough for me to die beside, then they are good enough for me to dine beside. I’ll eat with my men, and so will you,” I said sternly as I looked him directly in the eyes.

He nodded at me and sighed. “Yes, sir,” he said unenthusiastically.

We walked into the chow hall, and I walked up to a man sitting at the table in the far back corner. “I beg your pardon, friend, you and your friends are sitting at my table,” I said politely.

The man turned his head, eyed me up and down, then scoffed and turned back to his meal.

With a turn of my head, I smiled at my soldiers as they looked to me, wondering what I was going to do. I turned back to face the man I had spoken to a moment ago. “I’m sure you know who I am, but what you don’t know is that I was recently promoted. I now lead Shadow Nine. Now, you can leave my table while you still have the legs to carry you, or your friends can carry you out after me and my men beat you to within an inch of your life.”

The threat left my mouth before I could stop it, and soon, I was standing eyes to chest with a man easily a foot and a half taller than me. He looked down at me and through gritted teeth growled, “I will not be intimidated by Durdrin’s pet project!”

Tilting my head back, I looked up at him and grinned my crooked grin. “Indeed…” I said with a sigh.

I struck fast with a right-hand strike to his solar plexus, but this guy was a seasoned warrior and easily slapped my fist away. I followed it up with a left-hand superman punch that connected hard with the side of his head. The blow rattled his skull, and he instinctively reached for his sword to protect himself.

At that point, Rylzt shoved me roughly aside, where I was caught by Caelnel and Brudaer. “You know what the penalty is for drawing a weapon on an officer?” Rylzt threatened as he grabbed the man’s wrist with one hand and throat with the other.

The man’s eyes went wide, and he immediately threw his free hand up. “I yield!” he said, and Rylzt looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. “Sorry for shoving you, boss,” he said as he released his grip on the man.

“Don’t do it again,” I said with a wide grin. Rylzt just smirked and shook his head.

The man was a tough one. I had used the last of today’s charges in the iron hand ring, and it didn’t faze him nearly as much as I thought it would.

“What do you do around here?” I asked him. He looked at me and shrugged. “I’m a soldier,” he replied. Nodding my head, I responded, “My team is a man down. You wanna join Shadow Nine?” I inquired. The man looked at me blankly for a moment and then nodded his head. “Go to the armory now and get your kit. Be back here before we finish eating,” I said, and the man nodded at me and jumped up from the table, running from the chow hall.

“Find another seat, fellas,” I said to the other nine men at the table. They kept their eyes down, grabbed their plates, and quickly scurried off to find another place to enjoy their meal. My men and I sat at the bench together to enjoy our meal.

“Perhaps tomorrow we dine at the inn...” I said as I cast the group a mischievous grin.

“That would be nice, much better than this slop that’s for sure!” one of the soldiers near the end of the table piped up.

I nodded my head as I cast prestidigitation on my bowl of… whatever it was… to warm it and make it taste better. As we all ate our porridge, I smiled happily at the idea I had of making us the best Shadow Team of them all. I wasn’t sure how I would do it, but I’d figure it out.

As we were finishing up, the new guy burst through the door and ran up to our table, clearly out of breath but now wearing a Shadow Knight uniform. “I made it back as fast as I could!” he gasped.

When I sat down, I had placed my bag down between my feet, so I reached down and opened the bag. I pulled the last kukri out of the bag and presented it to the new soldier. “Take this, train with it. It may not replace your favorite weapon, but it will make an excellent backup in case you need one,” I repeated, the same thing I told the first man back in the barracks. The soldier nodded and sat down to catch his breath as we finished our meal.

When we all finished eating, I pushed my bowl forward and wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. I looked up and down my table at the men who would follow me. “Our first task is a simple one. We head to the marketplace and pick up payment for a job Thirteen did and return it here,” I said casually.

The men groaned. “A perfect job for a hunchback child and his high-priced babysitters!” one of them said jokingly.

I leaned forward and smiled at the man; I wanted them to be comfortable around me. We’d be spending a lot of time together. “Let’s get going, shall we?” I said as I stood up from my seat and walked for the exit.