Blearily, Herebrand awoke as sunlight streamed in through a window. He turned his head and saw Laurel as she too stretched as she tried to scrub the sleep from her eyes. Herebrand grinned at her and heaved himself up off the cot. Muscles protested loudly and he groaned as he rubbed at his back. "I must be getting old..." He couldn't help but grin as she saw Laurel eye him with misgiving. If he looked as rough as he felt...well, he couldn't blame her.
At the moment all he wanted was breakfast, and lots of it. He wandered over to the nearest table that looked that it might have something edible on it. He was mistaken. All he could find was a few scraps of bread on a cracked plate and an empty goblet. He muttered under his breath as he stomped outside to find his saddle-bags, there always something stowed away for emergencies in there!
Thoughts of what could have befallen his men fought their way to the fore-front of his attention. He sighed, unable to fathom what had occurred. How had this happened? How had he lost track of his comrades? It was as though he was part of a larger story and he had been suddenly thrust into it without knowing what had gone before...He shook his head to clear it. "I must be exhausted to be thinking such fanciful thoughts!"
After a few moments of intense searching once he got to the stable, Herebrand found two strips of dried meat and he sat down on a hay-bale to devour his prize.
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