I think you only flee up unless you choose it or it is the only way out now, Seeker.
I believe he means if, perhaps, you are fighting a scrab near the shield wall, and need to flee. Without a good flee skill, you might flee to the climb room which, because running/flee/?
doesn't give you a climb check, you just fall. Or at least, that is what is described.
Nope - meant what I typed. You guys are silly. Do the field research before discounting your buddy's sincere claims as bogus. Pfffft.
Riev is right in what he is describing: if you do flee to the edge of the Shield Wall, you will tumble, regardless of your skill. The same for any climbcheck room that you flee into. You will be getting the "You let go. Bad Move." message and you are going to be falling.
I also meant that if you type "flee" when engaged in combat (in at least some locations), there is a random chance that you will flee in the Up direction if it is available as a climbable exit. Then, in the room above the one you were fighting in, after I assume sprinting up the side of the wall, you will automatically get the "You let go. Bad Move" message and then tumble down a few moments later to take damage and be prone or possibly unconscious in the room you just fled from. This is not supposition. This is experience. And then disbelieving retested experiences.
For what its worth, your NPC opponent will be completely freaked out and flee the room when you tumble back into it of the sky. But, if they are aggro, they will come back slavering. Sometimes before you can stand back up, if you are conscious.
Hence, I think it is probably a bug and why I was asking about it.