I winced as I heard the dagger audibly connect to something metallic.  I could only hope that the sound hadn’t reached the top of the wall, or if it had then the guards were too busy clearing out of Gertrude’s way to notice.  

This time the dagger held.  I wasn’t prepared to trust myself to the rope without testing it first.  I pulled as hard as I could and was glad to find that the rope stayed put.  If it’s worth testing once, it’s worth testing twice.  I wrapped part of the rope around my arm and swung my whole body weight off the ground.

Something up in the darkness gave way and I found myself sprawled on the wet ground with the rope, and more importantly that dagger, heading rapidly towards me.

Hastily, I scrambled out of the danger zone.  I got myself clear just in time, but for a moment I wasn’t sure.  The pain in my ribs kicked up a notch and I fought not to cry out.  I’d been making plenty of noise, but there was no reason to make even more.

I gave the rope a quick check to make sure that it wasn’t damaged and it all seemed serviceable.  Ordinarily, I’d take more time to make certain that everything was in a good state, but here in the drizzle and darkness I had to do the best I could.  Time and Gertrude wait for no man.

My thrown dagger had struck something solid somewhere along the way and now it bent at a gentle angle.  No use for combat, but it was only serving as a weight anyway.

I swung the contraption and threw it upwards with all my strength, ignoring the protestations of my injury.  This time I was more fortunate and something had stuck. Despite my best tugging, the rope remained in place.  I grabbed my backpack and started to climb.