Gareth takes you up on the suggestion to climb the rope and fire arrows down from above. (Athletics 11 Success) He scrambles up to the balcony and turns around just before the eastern double doors burst open, releasing a torrent of undead into the room. Zephyros and Alisande quickly dispatch the first ghoul through the door, leaving four remaining.

Combat continues... We'll start at the top of the round.

• Meira 24
• Zephyros 22
• Ghouls 17
• Gareth 15
• Azazel 13
• Ozymandias 12
• Alisande 11
• Rasziel 6
• Lyra 5

(OOC - I had posted that Meira had an attack readied but failed to provide a roll. I'll put that here if it's ok to do, or we can just ignore it:

Shortbow Attack: 22, Damage: 8)

Meira moves to stand next to Lyra. (The square immediately right.) She then fires her bow at the zombie right in front of Alisande. 

(Shortbow Attack: 8, nat. 1 misses)

Seeing her shot fly off the mark, she tries to draw the attention of the creatures. "Better watch out! Who knows where my next arrow will land!" (Bonus Action - Master of Tactics - gives HELP to Zephyros on an attack.)

Zephyros, after helping Lady Alisande efficiently slaughter the first ghoul, waits for the undead foes to glare at Meira, thanks to her distraction. Seizing the perfect moment, Ironheart deftly impales the monster in front of him.

Attack: 16+7= 23

Damage: 11

Once again, Meira and Zephyros prove capable and quickly dispatch another ghoul. Meira's arrow lodges in the monster's face as Zephyros impales the creature in the chest. It crumples to the ground as Meira shoots another arrow, but Zephyros' movements cause him to block her line of fire. Too late, the arrow flies! Thankfully, the rogue adjusted her aim at the last second, sending the arrow smashing against the stone wall south of the doors.

Two of the remaining ghouls attack Zephyros with clawed hands, but the warrior's defenses prove too powerful. Both attacks miss. One of the ghouls tries to jump up and attack Alisande, but she's just out of reach, making the attack useless.

Gareth sends an arrow into the head of a ghoul attacking Zephyros. The blow of the hit causes the monster to fall to the floor, unmoving.

Two ghouls remain.

The winged cat returns from scouting to the west, only to find that another battle has broken out in his absence. He shoots through the air in defence of Alisande, as chivalrous as a knight. Rather than clawing feebly at the monster with his diminutive paws, the calico tressym begins to tap-dance atop the ghoul's head, providing the perfect distraction for his mistress. 

Like a cavalier mounted upon a war-horse, the bladesinger wheels her broom back in the direction of the undead, slashing at the ghouls gathered below. Her blade now echoes the accompaniment Meira played for Zephyros' song, modulating it into a freer, rhapsodic form. But before the new harmony can fully take hold, the sword whizzes harmlessly past a row of decaying, blackened teeth.  

Ozymandias
MOVEMENT: 40ft towards the ghouls.
ACTION: Help, to provide advantage.

Alisande
ACTION: Attack. Booming Blade with Shortsword. To hit: (7, 7) (two nat 1s!). Damage: 10
BONUS ACTION: None.
MOVEMENT: None. 

Rasziel´s not so brave accountant stays hidden behind his master.

The young purple-robed dark-haired man with the sinister-looking scar steps closer to the remaining ravenous dwarves assailing the brave soldier, again swiftly placing the hellish curse upon another of the restless dead before unleashing a beam of purplish fire towards it.

Place Hex (str) on Ghoul D
Eldritch Blast: 14 Force: 15 Necrotic: 5

@Alisande Ozymandias can get to the first ghoul to provide help on your action, but would not be able to fly further and leave the threat range.

((@Abishai - Thanks! Updated. Not that it matters - two natural 1s... Nothing but air!))

By the time Lyra is ready to attack, most of the ghouls are already dead. If she'd taken even a blink longer, her companions would've finished them all before she could act! Pleased that her companions are so effective—but reminding herself she needs to stay alert and move faster next time—she launches a fresh divine ray at the remaining ghoul.

The floating hand beside her doesn't need to be told twice: it immediately curls into a fist and punches the ghoul's ugly face. Pow! It seems Tymora is no longer disgusted by touching undead flesh—if anything, she's grown rather fond of crushing it!

Action: Holy Word Again, the ghoul's speed is reduced by 10 feet and it cannot take reactions until the end of its next turn. To hit: 22 / Damage: 2
Bonus action: Tymora's hand (prioritizing the same targets as above) To Hit: 16 / Damage: 9 

If the remaining zombie is still up, Meira holds her position (Bonus Action - Steady Aim) and then she fires her bow at it. 
(Shortbow Attack: 15, Damage: 8 piercing + 7 sneak attack) 

Alisande counter attacks the ghoul as it jumps to attack her, but her blade flies past the monster as it falls back to the ground after its attack. All the while, Ozymandias flies around the ghouls face, causing it to get distracted.

However, as the ghoul seems ready to grab the flying kitten, a beam of purple energy from Rasziel arcs into the undead, blasting the creature in the chest. The blow causes the creature to collapse to the ground with its midsection disintegrated. 

Lyra whispers a prayer to Tymora, sending a mote of radiant energy at the last ghoul. It burns into the undead with a divine heat as Tymora's fist strikes it down with a crushing blow. As the monster is falling to the ground, Meira sends an arrow into its eye socket for good measure, ensuring the undead doesn't rise again.

Combat has ended. What would you like to do?

Alisande breathes a sigh of relief as the last ghoul is felled, returning her quivering blade to its sheath. The blade's eerie thrum fades into silence, but her voice fills the panting quiet as she mops her brow. "Is everyone unharmed?" The noblewoman inquires, looking over the group for severe injuries. When she has confirmation that they remain hale and whole, she gestures to the west. 

"With Ambassador Vyldara now seemingly free to enjoy her repose, I believe we can resume the eviction of Axeholm's less agreeable residents. Ozymandias scouted the north-western passages - ahead lies something of a charnel-house, the gnawed remains of soldiers who fell before the ghouls now carpeting the floors. Further north stands an armoury, though it appears to have been relieved of most of its contents. If there is no need for rest, I suggest we press on and liberate the fortress section by section."

If there are no objections, the wizard slides off her broom, seizes it in her spare hand and begins striding westward. 

Meira looks first to Lyra, making sure she is ok, before replying to Alisande. "I'm fine." She glances about, her eyes landing on Alisande. "If you have scouted north-west and saw no adversaries, then I think we leave that area for later. We had enemies from the west and east, so perhaps we should investigate south?" 

"There remain several portions of the north-west yet unexplored, and if the objective is to render Axeholm habitable as a sanctuary for the folk of Phandalin in the event of calamity, every inch of the fortress will need to be inspected for threats." Alisande replies to Meira, before turning to the others for their input. 

"The last thing we should wish is to escort poor Toblen Stonehill here, only to feed him to some ghoul skulking behind a pantry door."

"We do need to completely cover this place before we go," Meira responds. "But I don't want to go into an area without adversaries and have someone sneak up on us from behind."  She pauses, looking at Alisande again. "Did you see something we need to investigate in that direction? Why do you want to go that way? Wouldn't it make more sense to go a direction we've not scouted yet? Or, perhaps you want to send your little scouts to look in other areas first?"  

Alisande looks puzzled by the disagreement, wondering if she's doing a poor job of explaining herself. 

"Ozymandias managed to investigate only a portion of the region in question before I recalled him for the battle. I have seen the doors through his eyes. There remain several other unexplored, unscouted chambers to the west. To my mind, It seems more efficient to complete exploring a section we've already begun."

"Yet I am content to follow the group. We can proceed south... but in all probability, we will be required to double back and ensure the west is free of undead later. Unless you possess some mysterious piece of magic like Rasziel that permits you to divine the correct path forward?"

Rasziel looks between Alisande and Meira, at first somewhat amused by their discussion, but growing more impatient now. "For my part I can't see any strong reason to go one way or the other. I would suggest leaving the decisions on where to go first to the one who would safest lead the way." He says, looking to the massive bearded warrior. "I think we all agree on that we need to be thorough, but I sincerely doubt it will matter much in which order we go trough the halls of Axeholm. If you are concerned about more enemies coming from our rear, I can have my accountant stay a bit behind us and warn us if this should happen." He finishes with a small smile to Meira.

Zephyros stares at the arguing women going back and forth. From the veteran's perspective, he can see the validity of both ideas.

 The strategist observes aloud, "In one hand, if we choose to head south, we certainly could clear the potential danger in that area, and eliminate the risk of getting ambushed altogether."

"In the other, that potential danger from the south may not even know we are here yet. Knowing that dwarves constructed Axeholm, the southern door is bound to be thick and well-made. It's unlikely sound can pass through those doors unless a noise was exponentially large. Although we likely cleared out the eastern and western wings it would not be a bad idea to map out those areas first and check for traps, in case we absolutely must retreat, and for some reason cannot get out through the main entrance." Ironheart gruffly concludes, reflecting on similar battles and situations from the Great War.

Zephyros glances at each of his allies and mentions, "I think mapping out the east and west first would be wise. Mister Rasziel can set his accountant on watch for us."

Zephyros,

Looking through the door to the east, you see the eastern half of the hall is strewn with debris. You surmise the debris used to be part of the ceiling at some point. The dwarven ghouls dead at your feet give off a strong smell of decay and death. In the room, you see a hallway leading north and a closed door to the south. The eastern edge of the room filled with rubble disappears into darkness.

 Everyone,

Gareth calls out from the balcony above and says, "I'll scout the second floor and report back shortly." He disappears into the darkness beyond.