Troubled by what they had learned about the scale of the problem in Axeholm, the group decided to take time to rest and recover before making a decision about their actions regarding it. The morning dawned, and with it Pine told the group that he had received guidance from the three shadowy figures atop Axeholm. To free the banshee, the group would have to put the daughter to rest, and with the banshee gone so the undead in Axeholm would be vulnerable, at which point the Three would deal with them. The King (who they now knew was none other than Durgrim Stoneheart) though, they warned, would make every effort to stop them. Over breakfast the group spoke of tactics, before Pine went with Koraliki Verque to find a cave where the plant that had been entwined with the daughter's bones would survive and flourish away from the underground city. Koraliki Verque's keen eyes spotted a suitable cave, and Pine preemptively dug a grave.
With plans and tactics in motion, the group returned to Axeholm, the doorway still unlocked. While Pine and Koraliki investigated the prison cells further, the rest of the group positioned themselves in readiness for any battle that might ensue, with Idris walking in with his summoned horse, Barolt.
Nimble-fingered Koraliki got the lock on the daughter's cell opened without issue, but no sooner had she stepped in than the cell door slammed shut, locking her in, terrified, only for the banshee to emerge in the cell with her. Far calmer than at any other time, the banshee, seeing her terrified state, once more let the door swing open, before calmly asking her what she was trying to do with the bones. Although succinct, Koraliki's words were enough to gain the banshee's trust, and she was allowed to continue her task as the banshee once more disappeared into the walls. Together her and Pine started to dig out the plant and wrap the roots and bones in some silk Pine had.
All was quiet, and seemed to be going to plan until Koraliki Verque attempted to unlock the second cell where the banshee's remains still lay. Just as she was about to finish the process of unlocking it, a trap triggered paralysing her in place, while an alarm went off. That was not nearly so worrisome as the voice that thundered through the city, disembodied but filled with anger.
"What are you doing? What are you DOING?!"
All the doors to exit Axeholm slammed shut. The king had awoken and was not impressed by their decision. Although Idris made an attempt to work things out peacefully, the king was in no mood to listen. He got up and pulled the lever, the doors to the lower levels of Axeholm bowed but we're still held back, just, by the metal cross-bar, but for how long. As furious fighting took place, Zenari turned her attention to the lever, but try as she might, it was too heavy for her to move. Instead she positioned herself beneath the lever and let out a wave of thunderous power that blasted upwards into the lever. The mechanism slammed up, but then sheared off by the force of the blow. But it was enough, for the metal bars that were integral to the door once more engaged, warped and not perfect, but secure.
Siax took center point and launched arrow after arrow at the king, trash-talking him as he went in a desperate attempt to hold his attention. The king proved no easy match however. With a mighty swing he sundered the very floor open to trap Idris' horse, before partially sealing it shut once again trapping the creature. Another devastating blow cleaved Barolt, and he disappeared as he fell even as the king charged forward to where Siax defended the prison from easy entry, trying to buy the party time. Idris caught up, an unfamiliar skill of blink bringing him close to the action, but the King was not holding back. One huge wave of ice blasted both of the Rockseeker brothers, Nundro falling unconscious but still breathing, but Gundren was instantly felled.
Pine, having seen this happen, carefully wrapped bundle of bones in hand, chose expediency of their goal, and borrowed the teleportation cloak from Koraliki's paralysed form, and used it to take the bones to the cave they had dug the grave in earlier. It was a swift burial, but nonetheless seemed to work, for the spirit of the young elf appeared, relieved at no longer being trapped in Axeholm, before fading away. As this happened, a terrible scream rent the air, but not one of pain so much as battle anger, as the banshee appeared and joined the fight against the king even as the rest of the group fought on.
Broken, bloody, the king opened the front door of the city and staggered out, slamming it shut behind him once more, and went out to use what strength he still had to search for Pine in order to get the daughter's remains back. Overhead a thick storm brewed, clouds black, ominous. Three shadowy figures at its heart over Axeholm.
The king saw Pine as he dashed back to the city, each changing their trajectory until they clashed. This time though, Pine was ready. As the king swung at him, Pine's claws swung up in an arc, digging deep into a warped seam of the armour between the helm and throat, before carving a path upwards, the gauntlets of ogre strength buttressing his efforts. In a rending tear, the king's head was torn from his shoulders after thousands of years in that state of limbo, and he fell, truly dead, to the ground. From the entrance of Axeholm, Koraliki, who had freed herself and continued her task with the banshee's bones, walked out, and there the banshee was, no longer trapped. With some wistful words in elvish she faded away, free, even as her bones, and the bones of the king, disintegrated in the air until nothing was left.
Meanwhile, the fight now over, Idris was desperate to save Gundren Rockseeker. Nundro Rockseeker had attempted to heal his brother but to no avail, and neither did the healing from Idris revive him. In a rush, he flew out of Axeholm and gathered up the King's armour and along with Siax and Nundro Rockseeker, dressed the fallen brother in it. Although the armor made attempts to revive Gundren Rockseeker it was to no avail, and the solemn words in dwarvish from the armor "Subject Deceased" heralded the end to their attempts, all but Idris to still try to heal him with magic, unable to admit that it was too late.
It was then that the storm, which had been gathering, seemed to coalesce outside, any light from there darkening more and more until it appeared that it was being swallowed by Axeholm. Like the push of a smoke cloud but only of darkness, it enters, and the group could see the three shadowy figures ride upon it.
"You have done well," the cowled one said to Pine, "We shall speak again."
They continue onwards, the darkness sweeping in towards the throne where the voices and howls of the undead echo through the jammed door and the deep slice in the floor. Moments pass, and the darkness is lifted, and with it, between one moment and the next, there was silence. All the undead and all the necromantic energy in the entirety of Axeholm was gone. There was nothing violent about it, it was just done.
Their task in Axeholm complete, but at a cost they had not thought to pay, the group decided to take a short rest while Factoré kept busy by identifying the King's armour and weapon. It was then that Zenari stated a wish to see the elf's grave, where she and Pine rested in contemplation before the group headed out of the city in order to help safely guide the people of Phandalin to its gates. They encountered no trouble, although Siax was able to view the orcs retreating north, through the eyes of Falcon's pet hawk. The doors to Axeholm welcomed the townsfolk in, and a start was made on making Axeholm a place for the living once more. There was much work to do but for now the people were safe.