Lady Alisande stares in awe, the hairs on the nape of her neck rising as she beholds this ancient oathsworn of Bahamut, who forsook his solemn pledges for love and fell into darkness and undeath. Instinctively, she begins floating towards the ceiling of the throne-room. She looks impressed by Meira's oratory, and it shakes her out of her momentary stupefaction. 

"There can be no retrocession in the river of time, no resurrection for those you slew. But penitence has never required the erasure of one's transgressions. It begins in that most simplest of fashions - by taking a different course in the here and now." 

"Lord Kithran Emberforge - is time your vigil comes to a close, and this realm be renewed under new stewardship, a haven for the fearful and dispossessed, as it always should have been."

"We pledge to you that we will free this land under the mountain of the curse that befell it so long ago. Whatever its provenance, we swear to purify Axeholm of it, corridor by corridor, hall by hall."

"My companion speaks truth. Know that your Vyldara has attained some small measure of peace after many long centuries of mourning. She yearned for the moonlight, and I believe she has it at last. She is waiting for you... on the other side, if only you will relinquish your hammer and seize a different destiny."

ACTION: Help. To Meira, should the persuasion roll not be enough. 

The young dark-haired purple-robed and ususally quite cautious man with the sinister-looking scar groans quietly to himself as he suddenly finds himself surrounded by undead enemies, but with the negotiations taken well care of by the stylish bard, he discreetly readies himself to burst aloft and away from the dwarven armoured skeletal warriors. He didn't blame the others for appealing to whatever goodness and decency was left with the fallen bahamutan paladin but somehow he sensed that this time words would not quite cut it.

Zephyros had foolishly believed the skeletal warriors now surrounding the party were macabre statues at first and paid them no mind as he walked past them to stand before the throne of Axeholm. Only after Lord Kithran spoke and the warriors began to move had the battle hardened veteran recognized the danger they were in. Listening to Meira take the lead in talking, his admiration for the rogue increased.

Moving to the northern double door, Ironheart opens it, giving the party an open exit should hostilities commence. 

Lord Kithran stares at Meira with glowing ember eyes that seem to consider her words for a long moment. The disgraced Paladin of Bahamut stands from his throne, placing his helm on in the process. His warhammer rests at his side firmly gripped in his gauntleted hand. Returning to look at Meira, he says, "My love has finally found rest. I thank you for this. She was my moon and stars. You say these halls are needed once more, but they are desecrated, forgotten, cursed."

He takes a few steps down from the throne dais. Lord Kithran and looks up to Alisande as she floats 15' off the floor and says, "Moonlight, yes. My Love Vyldara missed it so..." He walks up to Meira, stopping just short and says, "Very well. These halls will once again be opened to the living. They are not yet safe. I will send my guard to purge the last remaining denizens from these halls." The disgraced Paladin of Bahamut gazes past the rogue at Zephyros as he opens the northern double door. "You wear her amulet." He pushes past Meira nearly knocking the rogue down in the process to engage with Zephyros. A gauntleted hand comes up to grab the amulet but stops short as he waits for a reply. His eyes burn a bit brighter and white flames wreath the warhammer. 

The skeletal warriors begin funneling out of the room via the northern double doors. Brushing past the trident wielding warrior as they go. Two skeletal guards remain standing next to the throne, each wielding shield and spear. 

 Lyra,

 "Please forgive our ignorance oh lord, brave Zephyros is a very honourable man and was merely keeping the amulet safe. I am sure you would want to hold it oh lord." Rasziel says in a near desperate attempt to keep the peace, and the bearded warrior feels how the amulet is slowly lifted and floats over to the fallen paladin.

Persuasion: 12 Another roll if help action is provided: 25
(Mage hand)

"Wait!" Meira says quickly, as the amulet stats to float away from old warrior. Scanning the room, her eyes come to rest on Rasziel casting his spell. Rolling her eyes at him she turns back to what remains for Lord Kithran. "Take the amulet if you must. Your lady Vyldara left it behind when she finally was free from this place. But it is only right that this man here take it up."  She glances briefly to Zephyros. "It was with some difficulty that he chose to share his own grief over his own losses. He gave greatly of himself to see that she would be free."  

Again, she looks back at the dwarf lord. "You do not need the amulet. And I have to believe that in letting yourself finally go from this place, perhaps you and Vyldara can again be united." 

Zephyros instinctively raises shield and trident as the undead leader approaches him. Forgetting the amulet rested around his neck, the bearded warrior looks down only to see it rising to lift up and off of him. The armored warrior shifts his trident to his other hand and grabs the amulet before it floats away from him. Holding the amulet in front of him, Zephyros says, "A beautiful moonstone amulet. One worthy of a queen. Of course this amulet belongs to you my Lord." He offers the amulet to Lord Kithran with a slight bow. His nervousness increasing as the undead warriors brush past him and out the northern exit. "Of course, if you would entrust it to me, I would ensure it was given a place of honor among the living so all may remember the sacrifice she made for you and your kin." Zephyros nods in appreciation at Rasziel's comment. 

"Thank you for your gracious agreement for us to utilize your halls as a sanctuary against the dragon menace we're currently dealing with." Ironheart says in follow-up after the amulet issue is resolved. Unsure of what to do, Zephyros slowly moves to put himself in between Lord Kithran and the rest of the group, gently nudging them away from the unpredictable disgraced Paladin of Bahamut. 

Persuasion: 16

Or helping Rasziel

Lord Kithran grabs the amulet out of Zephyros' hand and holds it up to his embered eyes for a moment before the hand holding it clenches tightly around the amulet's chain. He stands there, unmoving for seconds that seem like minutes in the tense atmosphere. The undead dwarf seems to consider your words during this time. His gaze shifts between party members as he does. "Perhaps you're right." He gives the amulet back to Zephyros. His eyes dim slightly as if sorrowful, and his warhammer returns to smoldering embers that gently fall to the stone floor. "Please honor my love's memory."

Again, turning back to Meira, Lord Kithran says, "Leave this place? Yes, I sense the magic I used to seal this place has been dispelled. I will leave this place and seek atonement with Bahamut."

As this happens, the undead skeletons continue to funnel out of the room, disappearing into the fortress beyond. Lord Kithran begins to follow them out of the northern exit, but stops. Without looking back, the undead Paladin of Bahamut says, "Thank you." Unless stopped, he continues to walk out.

Lady Alisande blinks in astonishment, and weighs whether to interrupt the undead paladin's exodus from the site of his centuries-long vigil. In the end, the wizard's unquenchable hunger for knowledge wins out. I shall end up flagellating myself as ruthlessly as an easily affronted governess if I do not break this silence. Revenant or not, he cannot be allowed to abscond without answers.

"Lord Kithran, before you depart, there is one outstanding matter - the source of the malady which consumed Axeholm to begin with. If this realm is to serve as harbourage against the winged terrors that plague our skies, we must know our refugees will not suffer the selfsame fate. The lives of many innocents - men, women and children - hang in the balance. I have read histories about the fall of Axeholm, but the font of the calamity itself was veiled beyond murky, fragmented accounts that laid blame at the feet of goblins that emerged from the Underdark." 

The noblewoman glides down on her broom, not quite blocking the dwarf's way, yet descending until she is level with him. She steels her nerves, fighting the instinct to swallow hard and betray her anxiety. 

"Do you know from whence this curse sprang? Has the peril passed for those who would walk these halls now?"

Meira is relieved to see Lord Kithran decide to leave. "May you path of atonement be fruitful," she says as he starts to go.  And then she sees Alisande glide down to interrupt the dwarf's departure. She tries not to show any reaction but lets out a small sigh.  

The undead Paladin stops as Lady Immerwood floats down to ask about the plague that decimated Axeholm. He turns around as his minions continue moving away into the darkness beyond. The two dwarf skeletal guards that remained in the throne room just now catching up to Lord Kithran and passing him as he begins to answer your question.

"Goblins? No, not goblins. We were cursed by the gods for our vanity. By what tool they used for our destruction, I never learned. Perhaps you will. The plague has died out. No one left to kill..." His eyes grow brighter and his grip on his warhammer gets tighter at the recollection. "... who can say if the threat is gone for good?"

"Well, I guess that will be for us to figure out," Meira says. "We thank you though for giving us the chance to start to discover that."  She pauses to see if the dwarf lord might now finally be allowed to depart. 

"My sincere gratitude for the information, Lord Kithran. I pray the King of Goodly Dragons receives you into his grace once more." The wizard says before immediately ascending to the ceiling, hovering beside one of the rune-engraved pillars where Ozymandias is lurking.

She studies the undead paladin as he presumably withdraws, and finds herself affected by a quiet, unexpected twinge of sympathy for the knight. For all the fire in his eyes and the dread he evokes now, his tragedy was born out of love. 

Lord Kithran turns and leaves, disappearing into the darkness beyond.

What do you do?

Zephyros takes the amulet reverently as the death knight returns it to him. "Thank you my Lord. I will." He says in response. Breathing a sigh of relief as the undead funnel out of the room, Ironheart's curiosity gets the better of him and he says, "I wonder where they're going. Should we follow?"

As the group answers, the bearded warrior moves to block the double doors from any undead that decide to return. 'Please don't come back.'

"Lord Kithrin said they were going to purge the remaining dangers here," Meira says to Zephyros. "Not sure though what that means for his guards though. Will they go once their task is done? We'll probably need to still look through the rest of this place to make sure."  She pauses to take a look at the others in the group. "Do we need a rest? Give the undead time to complete their task then we continue to see the result?"  

"That seems right. I propose we retire for the evening, and leave the previous tenants to the business of cleaning up in advance of their departure." Alisande says, exhaling with relief as she descends from the ceiling once more with Ozymandias in tow.

"The chambers we secured on our way in will suffice as lodgings. And if there remains any mould that needs tending to, I suppose I can be called upon to do a little housekeeping of my own." The mage twirls her wand, and a thick patina of dust coating one of the pillars vanishes at once.

"In the morning, we can ensure the fortress is truly cleared, and then make our return to Phandalin."

Zephyros turns back to the group as Meira asks the others about needing rest. "I could use a short rest, but I believe we can complete the task before sleeping for the night." Watching the mage clean a dusty pillar, Ironheart's thoughts drift to Eldrin and how he regularly used his giftings to maintain a neat and tidy appearance. 

The battle hardened veteran moves to the dais and steps up to the throne. He sits in the seat and pulls out his pipe and lights it, taking a deep pull to create an ember in the bowl. He then sits and watches the doors for movement as he burns the mold spores out of his lungs with the smoke.

Perception: 19

(OOC Zephyros is taking a short rest and heals 20 hp.)