The Cherwinians had finally assembled some kind of proper defense against them. It would be certain suicide to run at them again on horse. They would need to hold out for relief from the main force when it flanked. Elis pulled in behind and their own shield wall that began coalescing from what men were left. He dismounted next to an injured soldier behind their shield line and helped the man up shouting to him over the chaos, “Take my horse and ride back to the field medics.” He assisted the man in climbing onto his horse before taking his staff, bow and arrows and turning his attention back to the action. He took position directly behind Haesteinn and jammed his staff in the soft earth, ready to be used should the enemy get close enough.

The organized enemy was now sending volleys of arrows down on them, but few of them did little more than bounce off the shield wall. Still, with the Cherwinian’s newfound coordination, it made it difficult for their own archers to come up from behind their shield wall long enough to get off shots and not receive one themselves for the effort. The enemy archers were still far enough away that there was at least a little time to observe the arrows as they travelled and get in cover before they struck their target, but not much. Elis waited patiently for his chances, popped out to fire two or three back at their archer line before ducking back behind Haesteinn and the shield wall. An arrow would occasionally hit its mark, an archer who hadn’t properly covered behind their own shield line. Most of his shots were rendered ineffective as they bounced uselessly off the shield wall.

He could see the Cherwinians slowly pushing their wall forward. This would end in a bitter melee between the two walls soon enough. Their own wall was holding, sure enough, but with each passing moment another enemy arrow would find a target. Most were the less experienced archers, not fully aware or out of position and too far behind the wall for it to offer any real protection to them. Some of the archers seemed to have given up trying to fire back altogether and simply cowered behind the shield wall, afraid to even attempt retaliation. Elis lifted one of the cowering archers up, still well under the shield wall and looked him in the eye. He shouted at him and gazed at the few others nearby who had similarly lost their resolve, “The Monarch does not shine his light on those who are cowards! Those who chose to hide themselves like rats in sewers. Pick up your bows. Show these Cherwinians what kind of men you really are, secure your place in The Monarch’s eternal kingdom, or be content to wallow in Hell!”

Some of the archers seemed to take it to heart and stood from their cowering. Elis nodded to them and waited as the enemies’ volley lulled. He rose fully and released an arrow. Other archers around him followed suit, lifting up and releasing their own volley into the enemy troops. “Down!” Elis shouted as another wave of arrows rained on them. Their archers ducked under the shield wall and the enemies’ arrows bounced off the wall or sailed over their heads. It became a rhythm, dodging and returning volley after volley of arrows. What few archers in the vanguard were left had now all joined in and were starting to move closer to one cohesive unit. So long as the shield wall held, they would have their archers behind them.