The knight's maneuver was a more costly mistake than he realized. Talon's intention was never to bash into the shield again, it was only to grab it, and by pivoting into him, he made grabbing it only that much easier. With a grip that could crush stone, Talons claws dug into the shield, and with the strength to move boulders, he pushed it downwards. All of Daniel's attempts to manipulate momentum were futile, for there was no forward momentum to manipulate; there was only downward momentum, and that would not send him flying into the pillar. Daniel yanked his shield back, but he had already allowed Talon to close his claws on it so such a gesture would not be enough to rip it from his grip. Nor would a momentary jerk of resistance be enough to overpower Talon's strength, gravity, and a disadvantage in leverage. If Daniel wanted to keep his shield off of the ground, he would need more than one momentary jerk. Even if he failed to resist the downward force, Daniel would be able to pivot, scraping the bottom of his shield through the dirt, but he would find their positioning quite different that he imagined. 

All Talon had to do to retain the advantageous position was pivot with them, leaving both of their sides exposed to the monolith and Talon still facing him head on, peering at him over that shield he refused to let rise up from the ground. His strike, should he choose to make it despite this positioning, would be blocked by the boneblade in Talon's left hand, a simple swat to provide just enough force to thwart the blow. And now Daniel would see the folly of trying to dance with the dragon. His tail, elegantly flowing with the change in positioning, would whip around, curving up from under Talon's left and returning the favor of an armpit strike by stabbing at the opening that the knight's own attack had created. Blocking with his sword would require getting beneath Talon's left boneblade, which the dragon had little intention of letting the knight do.