Taking off the bandages is a painful process, no matter how much effort Waver puts into being delicate, so Iskandar chooses to concentrate on talking.

"It is. Every inch of progress takes a toll I wouldn't have deemed acceptable in any other circumstances."

This time, they got lucky. It may not look like it given the critical state of some in their little party, but they left no dead behind. It was worse a few last rounds.

"From what you have just told me, we cannot simply stop. When this was still limited to the tunnels, in the worst scenario the Matriarch could have evacuated her people somewhere. Maybe even above ground. Now that its influence has spread they really have nowhere to go."

And neither do they. If even Aefenglom is affected...