(story continues from Sarak)
Part 2 : Sarak learns about Ponygirls
Sarak woke to the hum of bees, as they flew through the covering of trees above his head, and that of the glade he had spent the night. His awakening mind listened to the clamour of the bees as they travelled about their business. He heard the tinkle of the brook, as it ran over some stones before dropping into the pool that made up the centre of this peaceful intermission, in an otherwise fairly barren and sparse piece of countryside. The noises drifted through, and he heard further noises, those of horses or ponies as they stamped the grass in the morning light. Sarak woke then in a start, the previous day’s memories flooding through. He stared around him, first locating the six ponygirls, then scanning the undergrowth, then as he stood, looking amongst the trees. Dropping his cloak to the ground, his covering for the night, he stretched and walked to the water’s edge, kneeled and drank his fill. Then rising he gathered the knives he had collected from the fallen Masan, and set off to discover whether he and the ponies were still safe here, alone and without recourse to any other travellers coming upon them.
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