When the battle was over, Paladin Erin stood in front of everyone and counted the remaining men. Of one-hundred-thirty men, only thirty-five remained.

“Thank you all for your service.” The Paladin said. “We could never have done this without you all. We could never have made it half way without our friend Black Shadow, he took out the archers, and without him the battle would have been over before it began.”

Black Shadow was lifted up off his feet by a few men before he could react, and all the men began to cheer. Black Shadow waved his hands, signaling them to stop cheering and put him down. He was no more special than anyone else, and he only did what he had to protect the men who hired him.

Paladin Erin signaled the men to put him down, then walked up to him. “Black Shadow I wanted to thank you for your service. We could never have done this without you, you have done us a great service.”

Black Shadow nodded and shook the Paladin’s hand.

“Please, if you ever need something, just call on me, I will help you.” He said, putting his hand on Black Shadow’s shoulder. He nodded back, and released the Paladin’s hand. “We promised you that you would be paid again if we made it. We always stay true to our promises, here is your payment, and for your exceptional services, we wanted to give you some extra.”

Black Shadow took the bag of money, surprised by the amount. “There’s two-thousand gold coins in there, you deserve it. Take it, and remember us.”

Black Shadow looked at Paladin Erin, nodded in thanks, and closed the coin purse. He again shook the Paladin’s hand, then started his journey home, thankful that he was alive, and that he earned this gold to provide for his daughter.