Five rogue contractors moved through the Valley in a tight formation, their steps careful and deliberate on the rocky ground. The purple plants swayed as they passed, ankle-high mist parting around their boots.
At the front walked Gregor, a Grade 3 contractor whose outer-being contract had given him skin like diamond and fists that could punch through steel. He was the de facto leader, not by vote, but by the simple logic that he was the strongest and had been doing this the longest. Behind him, the twins Mira and Lira walked side by side, their dark robes marking them as mages, a rare breed among contractors. Most contractors fought with their bodies and auras, enhancing their physical forms. But the twins had signed their contracts with outer beings that granted them access to dark spells, and they channeled Ira into attacks that could debilitate enemies from a distance.
