He was glad that he had greased the weapon, because even with the surprised attack, he still managed to find and exploit a small hole in his armor even as he turned. He wasn't sure he could have blocked that even if his shield spell had been active. Instead he skittered backwards a short way, and cast shield on himself, if only to blunt further damage, and in case the hedgemage tried to assist with magic missile.<br/><br/>(5ft step back, cast shield)