It was too late to change course now, so he continued hammering the rope with ever increasing desperation. Finally, his efforts were rewarded as the soldier lost his grip.

Oh shite, Tomas thought as he now realized what he hadn’t thought of when he’d started his gambit. He dropped the rope and hurried forward. Even still, he felt the air displaced behind him as the body flew past, bones crunching as the soldier rebounded off the path before continuing his fall toward certain death.

Ahead, the remaining pair of climbers were more than three quarters of the way down. They seemed to realize this, clambering down faster now, anxious to reach their destination.

Tomas hustled onward, grabbing the first rope he reached. Instead of rattling it or slinging it back and forth against the cliff, he backtracked as quickly as he could, one heel at a time. Pulling it with him. The soldier’s weight above him caused the rope to sag somewhat, but he gritted his teeth and pulled it taut. Having felt the motion, the man was no longer climbing, looking down to figure out what was happening. Meanwhile, the climber on the other rope was getting closer and closer to the path.

Directly above him, the soldier started to shimmy down again, determination tightening his features.

This was just what Tomas was counting on.

He released the rope.

It swung like a pendulum, closing off the angle Tomas had created until it was back to its starting position, but then the momentum of the swing and the soldier’s armored weight carried it forward as he approached the end of the rope. For a split-second, Tomas thought he hadn’t pulled the rope far enough back, its speed slackening, even as the forward soldier landed with two feet on the path, turned, and—

Was hit by the other soldier like a battering ram.

The path was simply too narrow. There was nowhere for him to go—nowhere except down. And down he went, following his comrades on their final journey.

The final soldier swung back toward Tomas, clutching the rope with white-knuckled fingers, interlocked knees, and crossed ankles. Tomas grabbed it, drew it back further and then shoved it forward once more. It swung faster this time, wobbling slightly, which caused the soldier to rattle and clank against the stone wall.

To this point, Tomas had been somewhat in control of the situation, always one step ahead of his pursuers, but now this soldier did something he hadn’t expected him to do. He jumped. Wisely, he waited until the rope was at its lowest point, brushing the path, but then he wasted no time, half-sliding, half-falling, cushioning his landing with bent knees and tumbling safely forward onto his stomach.

Tomas tried to hurry forward as he’d done before in order to maintain the advantage, but the soldier righted himself with catlike quickness. Tomas stopped, uncertain what to do next.