Deep in the cellars Arula had discovered a fault in the rock. She supervised a band of shrews as they levered, chiseled and chipped at the fissure. The young molemaid had smelt water below, a cold clear spring of good fresh drinking water. It would make the mountain invulnerable to siege, giving an endless supply of the most precious of liquids. She shook paws with Log-a-log and Alfoh as they watched the spring gurgle gently through the hole they had sweated to cut into the living stone.

“Hurr hurr, it baint no ’Tober ale, guddbeasts, but oi wager ’ee taste just as gudd, hurr hurr!”

*   *   *

There remained one last sad duty, to install the body of Urthstripe with his predecessors.

Samkim was requested to be at the ceremony, wearing the sword of Martin the Warrior strapped across his shoulders. He carried a lantern, lighting the way for the three badgers who bore the mountain Lord. Big Oxeye and Sergeant Sapwood walked with them, giving Samkim directions to the spot.

Urthwyte pushed back the slab to the secret cave. Samkim gazed around at the rock walls covered in mysterious badger carvings and pictures. Sapwood sniffed and wiped a paw roughly across his eyes as he peered at the last carving.

“This ’ere was graven by ’Is Lordship ’imself. See, there ’e is, an’ there’s you, Lord Urthwyte. ’Ere’s young Master Samkim, too, an’ the sword. Though Hi can’t read the writin’ my friend Urthstripe carved there.”

Loambudd could, however. Samkim held the lantern as she silently scanned the high ancient badger script. When she had finished reading she turned to them.

“This was written for me alone to read; that is why I am not pictured on the wall. I alone must keep the awful and joyful secrets written here until Urthwyte can be instructed as Lord of Salamandastron. There is one thing I can tell you, however: Urthstripe my grandson wishes to rest beneath emllor—where that is I cannot say. Do any of you know?”

The lantern light flickered about the walls as they looked at each other.

“Emllor?” Big Oxeye shrugged. “There’s no place in this mountain with such a name.”

Samkim wandered about the chamber, repeating the name to himself. “Emllor, emllor.”

At the far end of the cave the wall was smooth but blank; there was no writing on it. Samkim ran his paw across it and leapt back in surprise. “Look, this is not stone!”