Stony

Tauran Junction was home to many livestock, leaving the Demons to ensure that the animals were heavily guarded.

The smell coming from the farm was so strong that it was necessary for it to be far from Adonia and in a wide open space for the stench to not spread even further.

Walking up to the fence, the two guards clad in metal armor and wielding spears at the entrance eyed me up before a human limped out from behind them, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"You the new recruit?"

The man was built like a warrior, standing nearly as tall as the two Demon guards, yet somehow wider at the shoulders.

The man's hair was full and a healthy dark brown; his face covered in dirt and manure. He was wearing a simple weathered brown shirt and dark colored pants with boots coming up nearly to the knee.

"I'm Alex. Come this way."

Turning back around without another glance, the man started hobbling back into the farm, favoring his left side. His figure disappeared inside the building, but not before I caught a glimpse of a shiny bald spot on the top of his head.

Following him inside, the two Demon guards watched me with their eyes as I passed between them, not taking their eyes off of me until I was further inside the compound.

The farm was made up of two areas: inside and outside.

The inside area was through a set of thin stone doors that led to an area that had a layer of semi-dry clay on the floor, as well as stone half-walls that separated different animals into their respective pens.

"Here we have Stony Cows, Stony Hogs, and Stony Birds. And over there is the hospital pen."

Each of them had a coloration that was slightly gray in tone, camouflaging them against the stone backdrop comprising the building if you weren't looking hard enough.

Walking towards the other side of the building, there was a thin leather doorway that led to the outside area of the farm.

It was an open area that was surrounded by a stone wall that had gaps in it that were large enough to look through but not to fit through.

The area had a similar layer of clay as inside, but it seemed to be a little harder to walk on. Roaming around the outside were dozens of Stony animals of all kinds.

Inside of a tunnel near the back of the outside area were a large amount of stone were allowed to feed on.

"Your job is to watch over these guys and make sure they all get fed. At the end of the day, I'll come over and help you move them back into the pens. For now, let's head back inside so I can show you how to deal with the animals."

Going back through the doorway, Alex led me over to between two of the pens where there was a small stone cabinet.

However, before he could open it, he heard a loud ruckus coming from the hospital pen to his right.

*Sounds of a cow groaning in pain*

"Precious!"

Despite his awkward gait due to an injury on his right leg, he instantly appeared in the pen, helping one of the extra large Stony Cows lie down.

"Come help me over here, kid!"

Hurrying to his side, I crouched down, waiting for instructions.

"She's pregnant, if you couldn't tell. But I didn't think today would be the day she gave birth.

"Your job is to stay in front of her face, making sure she can see you. These girls freak out if they think they're alone."

Faster than I could even process, the Stony Cow had given birth to a Stony Calf, covered in goo and some sort of red liquid.

"Red?" I carefully asked Alex, receiving a blank stare in reply.