"Sure," said Jean, "let's go down five or six feet, nice and smooth, and stop on my mark, shall we?" Each of them gripped his taut main line and released a bit of tension on his descender. Slowly, smoothly, they slipped down a good two yards, and Jean cried, "Hold!"
"Not bad," said Locke. "The knack seems to come back quick, doesn't it?"
"I suppose. I was never really keen on this after I got back from my little holiday at Revelation House. This was more your thing, and the Sanzas", than mine. And, ah, Sabetha" s, of course."
"Yeah," said Locke, wistfully. "Yeah, she was so mad… so mad and so lovely. I used to love watching her climb. She didn't like ropes. She'd… take her boots off, and let her hair out, and wouldn't even wear gloves sometimes. Just her breeches and her blouse… and I would just—"
"Sit there hypnotized," said Jean. "Struck dumb. Hey, my eyes worked back then too, Locke."
"Heh. I suppose it must have been obvious. Gods." Locke stared at Jean and laughed nervously. "Gods, I'm actually bringing her up myself. I don't believe it." His expression turned shrewd. "Are we all right with each other, Jean? Back to being comfortable, I mean?"
"Hell, we're hanging together eighty feet above a messy death, aren't we? I don't do that with people I don't like." "That's good to hear." "And yeah, I'd say we're—" "Gentlemen! Hello down there!"
The voice was Verrari, with a rough rustic edge. Locke and Jean glanced up in surprise and saw a man standing at the edge of the cliff, arms akimbo, silhouetted against the churning sky. He wore a threadbare cloak with the hood thrown up. "Er, hello up there," said Locke. "Fine day for a bit of sport, ain't it?" "That's exactly what we thought," cried Jean.
"A fine day indeed, beggin" your pardons, sirs. And a fine set o" coats and vests you" ve gone and left up here. I like them very much, exceptin" that there ain't no purses in the pockets."
"Of course not, we're not stu— Hey, come on now. Kindly don't mess with our things," said Jean. As if by some unspoken signal, he and Locke reached out to brace themselves against the cliff, finding hand— and footholds as quickly as they could.
"Why not? They" re such fine things, sirs, I just can't help but feel sort of drawn to them, like."
"If you'll just wait right there," said Locke, preparing to begin climbing, "one of us should be up in a few minutes and I'm sure we can discuss this civilly."
"I'm also sort of drawn to the idea of keepin" you two down there, if it's all the same to you, gents." The man moved slightly and a hatchet appeared in his right hand. "It's a mighty fine pair of choppers you" ve left up here with your coats, too. Damned fine. Ain't never seen the like." "That's very polite of you to say," yelled Locke. "Oh, sweet jumping fuck," muttered Jean.
"I might point out, however," continued Locke, "that our man at the carriage is due to check on us soon, and he'll have his crossbow with him."
"Oh, you mean the unconscious fellow I, like, jacked over the head with a rock, sir? Sorry to report that he was drunk." "I don't believe you. We didn't give him that much beer!"
"Beggin" pardon, but he weren't all that much man, gents. Skinny fellow, if you savvy. As it is, he's sleepin" now. And he didn't have no crossbow anyway. I checked." "Well, I hope you don't blame us for trying," said Locke.
"I don't, not one little bit. Good try. Very creditable, like. But I'm sort of interested, if you don't mind, in the wheres-abouts of your purses."
"Safely down here with us," said Locke. "We might be convinced to surrender them, but you'll have to help haul us up if you want them."
"Now, on that subject," said the stranger, "you an" I have a sort of difference in outlook, like. Since I know you" ve got "em, now, I think it's easier to just chop you down and collect "em at my ease."
"Unless you're a much better rock climber than you look," said Jean, "it's one hell of a way down and back for the sake of our little purses!"
"And they are little," said Locke. "Our rock-climbing purses. Specially made not to weigh us down. Hardly hold anything!"
"I think we probably got different ideas of what anythin" is. And I wouldn't have to climb," said the stranger. "There's easier ways down to that valley floor, if you know where to go."
"Ah… don't be foolish," said Jean. "These ropes are demi-silk. It'll take you some time to cut through them. Longer than it will take for us to climb back up, surely" "Probably," said the man in the cloak. "But I'm still up here if you do, ain't I? I can just crack you over the edge and make your skulls into soup bowls, like. See if I don't!"
"But if we stay down here, we'll die anyway, so we might as well come up and die fighting," said Locke.
"Well, have it your way, sir. Whole conversation's gettin" sort of circular, if you don't mind me sayin", so I'm just gonna start cuttin" rope now. Me, I'd stay put and go quiet, was I you."
"Yeah, well, you're a miserable cur," shouted Locke. "Any child of three could murder helpless men hanging over a cliff. Time was when a bandit would have the balls to fight us face to face and earn his pay!"
"What do I rightly look like, sir, an honest tradesmen? Guild tats on my arms?" He knelt down and began to chop at something, steadily, with Jean's hatchet. "Splattin" you against those rocks below seems a fine way of earnin" my pay. Even finer if you're gonna speak so unkind."
"You're a wretch," cried Locke. "A cringing dog, a scrub, damned not just for avarice but for cowardice! The gods spit on those without honour, you know! It'll be a cold hell, and a dark one, for you!"
"I'm chock full of honour, sir. Got lots of it. Keep it right here between my empty stomach and my puckered white arse, which you may kiss, by the way."
"Fine, fine," said Locke. "I merely wanted to see if you could be goaded to misjudgement. I applaud your restraint! But surely there's more profit to be had in hoisting us up and holding us for ransom!" "We're important people," said Jean.
"With rich, important friends. Why not just hold us prisoner and send a letter with a ransom demand?" "Well," said the man, "for one thing, I can't read nor write." "We" d be happy to write the demand for you!"
"Can't rightly see how that" d work. You could just write anythin" you like, couldn't you? Ask for constables and soldiers instead of gold, if you take my meanin". I said I can't read, not that I got worm piss for brains."
"Whoa! Hold it! Stop cutting!" Jean heaved himself up another foot and braced his rope within the descender to hold him. "Stop cutting! I have a serious question!" "What's that, then?" "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Roundabouts, here and there, by way of my mother's womb, original like," said the man, who continued chopping.
"No, I mean, do you always watch these cliffs for climbers? Seems bloody unlikely thed'r be common enough to skulk in ambush for."
"Oh, they isn't, sir. Ain't never seen any, before you two. Was so curious I just had to come down and take a peek, and ain't I glad I did?" Chop, chop, chop. "No, mostly I hide in the woods, sometimes the hills. Watch the roads." "All by yourself?" "I'd be cuttin" you down faster if I wasn't by myself, wouldn't I?" "So you watch the roads. Looking to rob what, carriages?" "Mostly." "You have a bow or a crossbow?"