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Chapter 8

I make my group wait for the hour and a half it takes for the Greys to be spawned. As the time passed the Green slowly swells larger and larger until it could match a Red for bulk. Finally, the Green falls to all fours and begins to make a gaging motion. From its smooth mouth emerges one after another four grey oval pellets each about two feet in length. Quickly limbs and a head fold themselves out of the pellet transforming it into the slim semi-translucent forms of the Greys. I didn’t question getting four Grey’s out of one Yellow, after all even if Yellows were basic, Grey’s were barley worth considering Coptos as opposed to mobile sense extension stations.

The process was fascinating but now it was time to go. I shoot a quick mental message to one of the Violets garrisoning this section of the wall and the clear magical defenses over the wall rollback. I and my group climb over the defenses and find ourselves in another alleyway outside of the defenses. Even though this alleyway is virtually identical to the one's behinds us it still seems more sinister to me. Out here be monsters.

I move the Greys onto the roofs and have them move ahead of us keeping an eye out for any foes. As we move I am reminded of the squad that I parted with only a few hours ago, it seems that I would not be re-assuming command of that particular group of Reds and Yellows. I don’t find myself too bothered by that, one non-Blue is as good as another in most cases. I glance over at my strange Violet and amend my though, perhaps Violets have some individual uses as well.

We move through the city for several blocks moving as quietly as possible and avoiding any main roads or open spaces. A few times the Greys spot movement ahead of us. Each time I stop the group and we hide, mostly in doorways and garbage bins, sometimes a few of the Yellows even slip into storm drains, untouched by the storm raging in the Mundane.

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Looking through the Greys’ eyes I watch each group as it moves past, they all seem to be patrols of soldiers in different color amours. Some are mounted others are foot patrols. The colors of the armor of these foes seems to come in three shades: slate grey, sky blue, and finally metallic silver. None of these patrols come close to my group, in fact, few of them leave the main boulevards. Perhaps the ambush squads have actually served a purpose causing the enemy to avoid the winding and dark alleys of the city.

As my groups move through the city the buildings begin to get shorter and the streets wider until we find ourselves moving in dirt paved alleys between single-story buildings with large fenced patches surrounding them. The Greys can no longer move roof to roof and must instead climb up and down the buildings to allow for forward scouting. Thankfully the fences prove little obstacle to my Coptos or myself and in each fenced patch is a perfusion of trees and greenery making me far more confident in the hiding places of my group.

As a crouch behind a bush waiting for the Greys to climb the next group of buildings I look into the Mundane. Rain falls heavily into the yard but unlike the city, the water has not accumulated more than a thin layer on the ground. The windows of the building that opens onto the fenced-in area are full of light. One of them is suddenly filled with a fur-covered animal that stares out into the storm. It seems uneasy and bares sharp canines as its eyes dart back and forth around what must normally be its domain.

The animal stands there and seems to vibrate for a second before opening and closing its mouth several times sharply. I suspect if I was able to hear the Mundane I would hear some sort of warning call, clearly the animal somehow senses us. A human comes up behind the animal, it stares out the window for a few seconds before petting the animal and covering the window with a cloth.

I return to my side of reality as my Greys reach their positions for the next move forward. Everything seems clear so the group climbs the next fence and moves into the next patch. Just as I begin to move the Greys into their next positions I suddenly lose connection with one. Looking through the eyes of my other Greys I spot an arrow still quivering in the rooftop where my Grey had been a second before. We have been spotted.