If you fall into water you can climb out using the climb icon: 
... if you click the left or right arrow twice you will be turned around 180 degrees from the direction you were looking before. So if you drop down a level, you can click right-right (or left-left) and then the climb button to climb back out in the direction you fell from -- unless you fall down more than one level in which case you may or may not be able to climb back up that way. The game design is definitely inspired by 80s games like Wizardy, Ultima III, and Bard's Tale.