Chapter 2

Austin was a simple man. No he was a simple minded child. He loved everything about life. It was kind of easy to do that when you did not witness the horrors of life. He loved everything about life especially the small things to the point where he did not mind sleeping next to a pile of horse dung. The time he spent combing the many horse's he took care of mane's.

Whatever little money he earnt he sent it to his mother and his sister back home. Recently his mother was sick which was why he pulled late night shifts as a security guard for a nobles property.

So far no trouble had occurred. Even if it did he did not need to worry as there were other people who were with him. All he had to do was shout and the other gaurds would be him within a matter of seconds. Well at least that was what they said.

Austin was patrolling the area near the stables. It was filled with several horses. The horses were not that precious and were out of commission as they were war horses that needed to be put down. The only reason why they were still alive was because the count had shown mercy to them because his daughter and her friends liked taking rides on them.

Several snorts and low neighing came from the stable. Austin glanced over at the stable. "I guess what they say about animals being able to sense death is true," Austin did not think it was that big of a deal but soon he heard the neighing of several more horses.

'Did a wolf slip in? No, if it was a wolf then there would be a lot more noise, so I'm guessing it must be a fox or some small animal that does not pose a threat, but anyways it would not hurt to take a look.'

Austin held up the rake he was holding. He was a tall lanky fellow with red hair and freckles. He wore dirty clothes that was covered in manure, soil, animal feaces and hay.

As Austin crept closer to the stable the horses seemed to have calmed down as they made barely any noise. All he could hear was the the sound of them chewing the cud. He heard a slight whispery voice that he thought was his imagination. As he crept closer he could hear the faint voice.

It wasn't because his hearing was like that of an elephant but because it was such a calm and natural atmosphere. It was a peaceful night where not even the owls that normally hooted were not, the crickets that used to chirp were not anymore.

Austin slowly peeked his head into the stables to see if anything was there. He did not know whether it was the moonlight that illuminated the tall figure or the fact that nearly every single horse was lying dead on the ground except for two that filled fear in him.

Austin held his breath and slowly walked backwards before turning around and sprinting. He had to alert and get the other gaurds. Whoever or whatever that was he did not want to meet or know.

Austin ran for quite some time before reaching a shack. He burst into the door surprising everyone inside. There were seven gaurds sitting around the table drinking booze and playing cards. They wore normal black attire with the emblem of the noble they worked for.

"Tch... What is wrong with you you dumb kid?" one of the men asked. He had a dumb moustache and a red nose from all the alchol he drank.

"Someone broke into the stables and killed all the horses." he shouted. They all looked at him before laughing loudly cackling at the top of their lungs like witches.

"Why are you laughing? If you don't believe me come check it out with me!" Austin said. His words were met with more laughter from the other gaurds.

"You are one funny kid I'll give you that." one of the men said. He was bald headed and seemed to be the only one who was not drunk. "So what your telling me is someone broke into the stable of the count and instead of stealing valuables they decide to kill the horses that were to be put down next week."

"I'm not lying." Austin said.

"Ok you know what? I just want to play some cards, Chory. Go check it out." the man with the dumb moustache said.

"Ok." a voice came from the distant corner of the room. There stood a man who had the same physique as Austin. The only difference between him and Austin was the fact that he had a sword on his waist and his hair was black not red.

____

"I told you did I not?" Austin said to Chory. Chory looked at the corpses of the headless horses with a frown on his face.

"It doesn't not make sense though." Austin said. "Why go through the trouble of breaking into this place only to kill horses?"

"Where is Mary Gold?" Chory asked Austin. "Who?"

"Mary gold? I called her that mainly because of her red skin and the gold coloured seat that was usually mounted on her."

Austin looked around and finally admitted one of the horses was missing.

____

Mara was riding through the gates of the city on a giant stallion. The stallion was not the size of any ordinary horse. It was as thick and heavy as a rhino and at least 2.8 times bigger than any normal horse.

Mara dug her heels into the horses belly. It galloped of into the night with a demon like person on it's back.

Mara rode the horse (pause) until the sun rose. She rode through the thick heavy vegetation, down the steep slopes of mountains, up rocky holes where a single misstep could lead to death.

It was a long ride but Mara did not care. Even the horse did not seem to care as it was not tired at all. Finally they reached an open plain area that was filled with only small vegetation. The occasional shrubbery and the small herbs and weeds. The acacia trees and the giant rocks created the sense that she was in a semi arid desert.

She got of the giant horse and walked for quite a while. She looked around for quite some time until her eyes fell on a giant rock. She walked up to it slowly and moved back just in time to dodge a claw from the rock.

She looked at the rock which lifted itself of the ground to reveal four sturdy scaly legs. The rock slowly turned revealing a long neck covered in scales and the disgusting face of a reptilian creature with razor sharp teeth.

'Ausi Dragons, despite being flightless and incapable of breathing they are still considered dragons and one of the most dangerous.'

Mara stared at the dragon who glared back at her. She could already see it was salvitaiting as drool dripped down from its mouth. The saliva was like acid as it corroded the soil that it landed on.

"The rumours that an Ausi dragon was here was true, it does not matter, it still classifies as a dragon." Mara removed both swords from their sheaths. She held one in each hand before charging at the dragon.