Once it became readily apparent that Arnold would not be reasoning his way out of a fight with the drunkards, he reached for his shield and unhooked it from the harness on his back. The way he twisted around to grab the torso-sized barrier, he saw Tamra to be the first under attack—and naturally, he moved to defend her. It was only then that he noticed he, in all his armor, was also a target.

The thin man rushing at him looked light and fast, but did not seem to have the best handle on how to approach an armored target. Arnold immediately recognized that he could not draw his mace in time and instead opted to offer the armored back of his gauntlet. He leaned in as he brushed the blade aside with the back of his hand, and used the motion as the wind up for a heavy slap across the man’s ear. It would hardly be the most decisive blow he had ever dealt, but it would certainly create the opening he needed.