The crossing was long enough to kill them and narrow enough to make that efficient.
It ran in a hard black line between the two basins, rising a little at the center and then sloping toward the far gap where the pale-limbed creatures had appeared. The stone there was slick in places and broken in others, with shallow cracks that looked harmless until you imagined a foot landing badly at speed.
Behind them, the shell creatures were climbing up from the channels.
Ahead, the pale figures were still half hidden between the leaning slabs, not rushing, not wasting motion. Leon counted two at first, then saw the third unfold lower and farther back.
Pell said, "That wasn't supposed to happen."
Mara did not look away from the crossing. "Very useful."
"It wasn't."
Toma adjusted his stance around the bad leg and said, "Stop wasting breath."
Leon's mind had already moved past fear and into structure.
Behind, faster but less deliberate. Ahead, fewer but better positioned. The crossing itself, a trap if they hesitated. The basins below, steep and ugly but not empty. Pell knew the route. Mara could cut space cleanly if given timing. Toma could hold one point, but not for long. He himself could do very little directly unless he turned the moment correctly.
He looked at the basin to the right.
Lower rock. Narrow descent. Wet channels. Terrible footing. But there were also three jutting shelves that could be used as a staggered drop if someone committed early enough.
Ugly.
Which usually meant possible.
"Pell," Leon said, "that right basin. Does it connect back up?"
Pell turned, saw what he was looking at, and went pale. "You can get through it."
"Alive?"
Pell hesitated. "Maybe."
"Good enough."
Mara snapped, "Not with him." She meant Toma. "Too unstable."
"Then we don't all go at once," Leon said.
That got her attention.
The shell creatures behind were closer now, clicking and skittering over the stone in ugly bursts. One was already on the first rise of the crossing.
Mara shifted the spear into both hands. "Say it."
Leon pointed ahead. "The pale ones want the choke point. The crawlers want the open stone. If we run center, both groups hit us where the path narrows. If we drop right, they have to commit down after us or reposition. That buys a few seconds."
"Toma can't take a blind descent," Mara said.
"No," Leon replied. "So you don't send him blind."
The plan formed in him all at once then, fast and sharp and bad enough to work.
"Mara, you open the front. One clean window. Not a fight. A window. Toma, hold the rear long enough to stop the crawlers from collapsing in on us. Pell leads the descent. He knows the footing. I get Toma down."
Toma looked at him. "How?"
Leon did not answer that part.
Because the honest version was: I'll find out in motion.
Mara had already made her decision.
The spear came up.
"Go when I say."
The first shell creature reached them.
Toma met it with the butt of his spear, driving it sideways off the line of stone and into the basin lip hard enough that it cracked against the rock and vanished below. Pain crossed his face with the movement, but he stayed upright.
The pale creature at the far choke point moved then, one long limb reaching across the stone as it stepped fully into view. Smooth white hide. Brass hooks driven through the flesh at the shoulder and chest. No proper mouth, only that narrow seam beneath the nose.
Leon felt cold recognition move through him.
Not the same as the Bailiff.
Close enough to matter.
Mara went forward before the thing could set itself properly.
Her movement was fast, clean, and exact. One step, half step, drive. The spear point struck at the inner side of the front limb rather than center mass, forcing the creature to twist and recover instead of simply absorbing the hit. It opened the lane for less than a second.
That was all they had.
"Now!" Mara shouted.
Pell ran first, exactly as told, and cut right off the crossing onto the first jut of basin stone. He landed badly, corrected instantly, and dropped to the second ledge without waiting to see who followed.
Leon moved toward Toma.
Behind them, two more shell creatures hit the crossing at once.
Toma struck one back and took the second along the spear shaft, the weight of it nearly driving him to one knee. Leon saw the line of strain run through the bad leg and knew they were out of time.
"Down," Leon said.
Toma looked at the basin and then at Leon as if measuring whether this was madness or just a worse form of survival.
Probably both.
Leon grabbed his arm.