"Get back!"
Moore roared, raising the Cracked Greatshield over his head and dropping into a half crouch, sheltering his comrades beneath a fragile refuge.
Clang, clang, clang, clang-
Arrows hammered the Verdigris Greatshield like rain, the metallic clashes setting their teeth on edge. Moore gritted his teeth, his arm muscles bulging like iron. Every arrow numbed the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. Scratches multiplied across the shield, but none pierced it.
"Stay against the rock wall!" the veteran Ansbach bellowed. With one hand, he dragged the dazed Leda along; with the other, he supported Dryleaf Dane, whose leg bone had cracked. The three stumbled along one side of the canyon.
Behind them, arrows buried themselves deep in the soil and cracks between stones, as dense as a bed of steel reeds.
The archers on the cliffs displayed chilling accuracy. Though Leda and the others hugged the rock wall to present smaller targets, arrows still found them from treacherous angles. An Ancestral Spirit Arrow fired by an Ancestral Follower slipped past the shield's edge and grazed Ansbach's left shoulder, spraying blood.
"Urgh!" The veteran grunted but kept moving.
Dryleaf Dane was faring worse. His right leg was already injured, and now he struggled through mud and loose stones, every step drawing sweat from his brow. An arrow grazed his calf, leaving another bloody streak.
Leda let Ansbach drag her along, her gaze unfocused. She watched an arrow slip through a gap in Moore's shield and bury itself deep in his right arm. The heavily armored warrior shuddered, but instead of retreating, he held the shield even steadier.
"Moore..." Leda murmured.
"Don't stop!" Moore's voice came from behind the shield, hoarse but firm. "Keep going, Leda! You have to keep going!"
Another volley descended.
This time, the arrows included magical ones