Nyxek claw wonders what to do: confront the Dauphin Gammoranth or slay the Storm Princess' beast to earn her favor? Skorjira brings up that he hasn't spoken directly to his father in some time because he has been waylaid by the Vox Gammoranth when he tries. The princess sent a letter saying the beast that needs slaying is an undead threat that is an echo of her birth. Nyxek speaks with Draxelas about Drakscendence and their preparations. They are both pretty ready, but they need the blessing, so Nyxek decides the claw will pursue the Storm Princess' blessing. They travel to an island and dive into a cave. It's filled with undead, the claw battles them. Kal gets pretty drained, and more more undead lizardfolk flood out of other crevasses holding a line against the claw. Nyxek waits until the gang of corpses comes closer and releases the power of the Truth to turn them away. The disruption is enough for the Claw to take apart the stragglers. They take a short rest and then dive to the deepest depths of the cave. They find an abandoned temple to the Five Headed Mother. Draxelas notes this is a temple that has been lost for millennia because of a taint that inhabits it. Nyxek retorts that the claw would purify it. As they enter the temple, a strange voice calls to them, creepily child-like and haunting. Vutha moves into the temple and senses a powerful life-destroying aura. The whole claw realizes they can sense the source of the evil aura, but it is invisibly in the center of the temple. Nyxek orders the assault. Tad makes the first move as if his bow is guided by the five-headed mother herself. His first shots hits the invisible enemy perfectly dealing devastating damage and disrupting the strange abomination's invisbility. It is an undead godling, the remnant of some unborn divinity, it's horrible umbilicus connected to the far realm and what few warped features it possesses reminding the claw of octopodes. As if the five headed mother herself abhorred the intrustion of this plague or unreality within her sanctum, Tad's next arrow was filled with divine power, the arrow head glowed silver, his magical power flared in retribution and the shot exploded the foul beasts umbilical connection to the Far Realm. It may have been the touch of the all Mother, but Tad experienced a surreal moment of connection to a dreaming elf on the moon and an ageless moonsilver sword (seeing the enemy of all Truth may have been too much for his small amphibian mind). The atropal howled in pain from that unbelievable blow that it did not even notice Tad's final arrow. That howl held the harrowing message of unlife and enervated most of the claw with exhaustion. Nyxek, Vox Harmonic Octavius, realized it would take only a few of those cries for the entire claw to fall apart and pressed for extermination. With the umbilicus cut, the aborted godlings powerful aura faded and Vutha charged with a frenzy. His assault was one of maul and tooth, expending every runic power he could, pressing the foul thing back with the swings of his hammer, and devouring huge chunks of long dead abominable flesh. His strength and his teeth proved themselves to the task as with Vutha's final bite, the atropal shuddered and ceased to move. Its relenting did not slow the black Lizardfolk who continued to devour large chunks of its remaining flesh in a feeding frenzy. Draxelas kind of stared in amazement at the claw's success and disbelief as such a powerful being who came from the realms 'which truly should not exist' fell so quickly. Vox Horizon Octavius stated it was simply the will of the emperor and the Five Header Mother and began the preparation to purge the taint from the temple and rededicate it to the purposes of the empire. A moment is taken to observe that the depiction of the Five-Headed Mother in the mosaics of the temple represents her aspect as the dragon mother: a friendly, benevolent, caretaker scarred in gold.