Matthias awoke to find he had somehow rolled off Orlando and was lying on the head of the axe. Each time he moved, it dug painfully into his side. Sitting upright, he rubbed the spot, realizing it had all been a fevered dream. But it was also help and a warning from his fellow warrior spirit.

Forcing himself upright, he held the axe by the twin blades, and by staggering about in the dark he located the blocked entrance. With agonizing slowness he pulled himself as high as he could up the sloping hill of debris until he was at its topmost point. Breathing hard, sweat starting out all over beneath his habit, Matthias began probing the rubble heap with the long axe handle. Pushing and shoving laboriously, he felt the long axe haft sink into the hill. Sometimes it struck a rock, but with a bit of manoeuvring he thrust it past the obstacle. Almost the full length of the haft was buried in the pile. With a final effort he gave one last painful shove, and fell forward as the haft buried itself entirely. Slowly, wearily, he started waggling the shaft by pushing the twin blades from side to side, then very carefully he began withdrawing the axe from the hole he had made, with painstaking care sliding the axe back until it came all the way out.

Matthias knelt paw-deep in the rubble, hardly daring to draw breath.

Like the first kiss of sun upon ice in spring, he felt it on his whiskers. . . .

Fresh air!

Tears of gratitude flowed freely through the dust upon the Warrior’s face. Cool, clean, fresh air and a shaft of daylight poured in.

“Thank you, Martin. Thank you for our lives, my long-dead warrior friend.”

*   *   *

Scrambling down off the heap, Matthias located Basil. Rubbing the hare’s limbs and tugging at his ears, he pummelled and massaged as best he could. It took quite a while before there was any response, then Basil soon proved he was his old self.

“Owch ooch! Steady on, laddie. Tchah! Why’d you wake me, I was halfway through a leek and lettuce pastie and just gettin’ ready to demolish a summer salad as big as a house. Huh, could’ve done it too if you hadn’t come along. I say, my old head’s burstin’. It must’ve bin that cask of elderberry wine me and old Spike drank together. Haha, I got more than him, though. Bigger swallow, y’see.”

Matthias ruffled Basil’s ears gratefully. “Come on, up on your paws, you old glutton. See to young Cheek, while I’ll deal with Jess. It’ll take three of us to bring Orlando round. I hope he hasn’t stopped breathing altogether.”