Strength

Wolgroth led the group back to the Matriarchs chamber, the large crowd of Order haedians moved in dead silence, the only sounds audible was the clanking of the Orders shackles and the scraping of Wolgroths claws against the stone and crystal of the cavern way. Candy Queen awkwardly shuffled forward in the middle of the crowd, not sure how her mission to track down the missing nyxthorns had gotten so exceptionally derailed but she did manage to catch a glimpse of the haedian who had been holding the lost pet eariler and she was relieved to see they still had the creature in their arms. Hopefully the other reoseans she had sent out to find the missing nyxthorns had managed to find the rest of them. Before she could really worry about the nyxthorns the group emerged into the chamber and saw the throng of surface dwellers diligently moving across the Matriarchs body like a hoard of leaf cutter ants, steadily shipping away at the rock face containing her. Many of the Order haedians gasped in shock upon seeing their beloved Matriarchs state, pain and horror gripping their hearts as they saw how poorly she had faired since the last time she had mingled with the rest of her kin. With new found vigor the Order haedians turned to Shira for the order who quickly commanded her clansmen to begin the process of excavating their beloved leader.

Shira glanced at Wolgroth as she moved away to join the rest of the reoseans working on digging out the Matriarch. Once Candy Queen was alone with Wolgroth she cautiously approached the massive black tyrian and hesitated before asking, "What will you do?" Candy pointed sheepishly toward a large group of empyrians who had formed a chain to help pass dislodged rocks away from the dig sites. "Will you be joining one of the groups?" Wolgroth merely scoffed at the suggestion before starting to make her way down directly toward the Matriarchs skull. She waved her tail at Candy Queen as she went past, if the runner had been bigger the gesture might have been just just a gently dismissively brush but due to the size difference the slight graze was enough to nearly knock Candy Queen over. "Just watch, I will carry out Oris' will." The black empyrian said over her shoulder. Candy Queen quickly followed after the empyrian, worried about what the brash tyrian would do when the two stopped right in front of the Matriarchs skull. The Matriarch spoke first after sensing the distinct magical essence that Wolgroth gave off. "Ahhh... A follower of Oris... I see you have been 'blessed' as well." The Matriarch laughed dryly at her own joke, Wolgroth ran her tongue along the inside of her permanently scared and disfigured mouth from where her magic was slowly eating away at her. "Indeed Earth Mother. Our benefactor has commanded for me to assist you with handling your blessing. Please pardon what I am about to do." Wolgroth gave a small nod, probably the closest she would ever come to a bow as she turned away from the Matriarch. "Earth Mother?" The Matriarch questioned before laughing once more. "I quite like that actually. It's rather fitting."

Wolgroth moved to where the Matriarchs shoulder would likely be within the stone and clambered up over the small groups of reoseans gathered to excavate her. Shira and Candy Queen eyed Wolgroth warily, wondering what the massive tyrian was about to do when they both caught sight of a familiar red smoke. Immediately recognizing the volatile magic Shira rushed the black tyrian while snarling. "Stop!" she yelled in a deep and commanding voice that made everyone  in the chamber except for Wolgroth freeze in their tracks. Wolgroth merely turned to meet the Clan leaders charge, catching the enraged haedian in a grapple while still releasing her magic. The crystal spikes of Shiras armor dug into Wolgroths flesh as Shira tried to pin the empyrian in place. "You dare attack the Matriarch?! I will kill you where you stand!" Wolgroth merely chuckled as she leaned in close to the Order leaders bared fangs, her blood red eyes filled with madness as she smoke. "While that does sound like fun, I am not attacking your beloved Matriarch." Red smoke leaked like a waterfall with each word from the black empyrian. Shira didn't believe a word she said and continued to try and fight Wolgroth who was having enough trouble trying to maintain her footing on the uneven rocky surface. The throng of surface dwellers paused in their efforts to mutter among each other warily, unsure as to why those two massive tyrians were fighting and what this ominous fog was. The diggers backed away from the coiling smoke that seemed to be seeping into every nook and cranny among the rocks. The red smoke continued to flow down and out coating the Matriarch entirely. Just as Shira was reaching a frenzied state and managed to knock Wolgroth off balance the Matriarch let out a long contented sigh.

Shira paused mid strike as the sound of the Matriarch relaxing and enjoying the sensation of Wolgroths magic reached her. In that moment of hesitation Wolgroth wriggled out of the haedians grasp and flew up to the caverns ceiling, perching herself on the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. She continued to release the red smoke and as Shira stared in confusion everyone began to realize what was happening. The red smoke of Wolgroths magic was seeping into the stone and merging with the crystals that were exposed across the cavern turning them a light pink color. A slight electric crackling covered the crystals surface as the two blessings Oris connected and resonated. Loose stones and rocks across the matriarchs body clattered and fell away like a glacier loosing chunks after a thaw. After a few moments more of rocks cascading away in a small land slide Wolgroth stopped using her magic and the red smoke slowly faded away. Once the smoke was clear everyone could see that the edges of where the Matriarchs body had been exposed and grown ever so slightly larger. Wolgroth smiled as she dropped back down to stand beside Shira sending a few small stones scattering under the impact. "Shall we?" Wolgroth questioned the Order leader who could only stare disbelievingly at the empyrian. A new surge of hate swelled in Shiras heart as she turned away from the empyrian to started removing another large boulder but Wolgroth merely chuckled to herself again before assisting the clan leader with moving the massive and heavy stone.

Candy Queens knees quivered in relief that the psychotic empyrian hadn't attacked the Matriarch and after a moment forced herself to take a deep breath and focus on something else. She quickly rallied the other surface dwellers and Order haedians to get back to work, silently glad that none of the surface dwellers had known of the destructive force that Wolgroths magic was capable of. Together with the rest of the reoseans gathered together Candy Queen and Wolgroth helped chip away at the massive cascade of stone that seemed to have flowed and merged to encase the Matriarch. The haedian who had caught the lost nyxthorn presented it to the matriarch before joining the excavation effort and combined with Wolgroths magic the Matriarch was almost comfortable enough to sleep as the reoseans worked diligently to free her. The gathered reoseans barely had any tools to use so most of them dug by hand or with the assistance of magic. Candy Queen was not used to such labor intensive work but she still did her best to keep up with everyone else by helping to haul dislodged stones and crack the tough rock face where she could. Wolgroth had never gone mining like this before but she found the monotonous motions of striking the cavern wall almost hypnotic, strike after strike she cracked the stone until she had it down to a science. The gathered reoseans worked diligently into the night taking short breaks when needed to care not just for the Matriarch but also for themselves. Uncovering the colossal haedian was not an easy task and would take an untold number of hours but the group continued to chip away at the rock wall determined to see the task through to the end.