Mara could not stand in the enclosed space, but she clenched her paws and growled fiercely, “I’d like to see them try to eat me. I’d give them a few bodies of their own to cook before they got me on the table. Nordo, why do you all wait down here doing nothing? Can’t you attempt some kind of escape instead of just sitting here waiting for those filthy creatures to eat you?”

Nordo drew them close and whispered, “That’s exactly what we are doing. Are you with us?”

Mara and Pikkle clasped his paw in the darkness.

“We’re with you, all the way!”

“Just say the jolly ol’ word an’ we’ll stick t’ you like slime on a toad’s back, if you’ll pardon the pun, old lad!”

Nordo chuckled grimly. “Good! Let me explain. We have a messenger. When it is daylight if you look up you may see a wren fly over. That is Leaflad. He is a friend of the shrews, so keep a watchout for him. The day he drops an acorn into this hole, that’s the day we escape from here.”

“You mean you’re going to break out with an acorn?” Pikkle Ffolger scratched his nose.

Mara slapped his paw. “Stop fooling, Ffolger, and listen to what our friend has to say. Sorry, Nordo. Carry on.”

“Right. When the acorn drops in it means that my father and his shrews will attack from the river south of here. They will have to act quickly and drive the toads back beyond this hole. It is our job to defend ourselves until help arrives.”

Mara nodded. “How will we do that?”

“Simple really. The cave we are sitting in was dug by us to prevent the toads hooking us out when they want us. While we were digging this cave and others like it, we found lots of good heavy throwing pebbles in the mud. So we stockpiled them and tore up our jerkins to make slings. That’s how we’ll defend ourselves until the shrew warriors can get us out of this pit.”

“Krrike! Hey down there, here’s food for you. Eat it all up now. Kraahaahaa!”

As they piled out of the cave they were hit by a pile of watercress, roots, tubers and dandelions that the guards had thrown down. Mara gathered them and heaved them into the cave while they were still dry and edible.

“As you said, Nordo, while there’s life there’s hope, and we need food to stay alive, so let’s eat up and keep our hopes high!”

Pikkle mumbled through a mouthful of roots, “’Sright old gel, couldn’t have said it better m’self, wot!”

BOOK TWO

Warriors and Monsters