Tandor could send in Gilbert, using the cat's eyes and ears. I think that would be a good first move. A cat might not arouse any real response.

(I like the idea of the familiar first, then if he gets chased out we wait half an hour and hopefully the 'automaton resets' (or else he does scout well, either way...) and then we go in with the other approach, distract and turn off with magic help!)

Sounds good

ooc: OK, so that's the plan. We try to send it Gilbert with Tandor using his senses to do a recon.

(believe so)

((You head to the lab?))

ooc: Yes.

You depart and follow instructions to the lab, arriving outside, where a [Caution: Do Not Enter] sign has been tacked to the front door. The windows are frosted and dim, there are a few glowing sources of light within, but it doesn't seem that anything is actively lighting the space. The front door has a small door made of leather set in the middle of the bottom edge, maybe a foot high, with a horizontal hinge that allows it to swing back and forth.

(ok, gilbert's turn)

Sitting on the ground to one side of the door, Tandor enters Gilbert's mind and puts the head through the flap, seeing what's there. Assuming nothing obviously dangerous, Gilbert enters the room entirely. Tandor keeps up a running monologue of what he sees and hears and smells.

Tandor is able to convey to the others what he sees through Gilbert's borrowed senses.

<clutter, lots of books and papers up on crates and desks, experimental apparatuses, faint scent of burning, probably from the glow of the forge, a clean hot metal kind of burning, not unpleasant. Faint scent of blood, probably from the failed attempt at subduing the construct. A chemical scent, hard to place, multiple sources, perhaps from projects knocked over? A soft clacking of gears, a low humming. Further in... a buzzing. Flies, the scent of death, but the air is dry in here, dry and warm, the body may be desiccating. Can make out the back of her head. No construct yet visible.>

Gilbert pads further into the room, looking a table to jump to for a better vantage.

((As he moves further in, let's have a Stealth check from Gilbert, and Perception checks from everyone else except Tandor.))

Perception: 13

Gilbert Stealth: 9 
If you'll allow Guidance: 1

Perception: 15

Perception: 5

The others outside hear heavy footsteps approaching rapidly, while Tandor's attention is taken be Gilbert hopping up into a table and giving a soft hiss as his foot lands in a sticky pool of blood. 

A purple glow begins to emanate from around the corner of the forge.

Dain Ironfist's stout boots carried him swiftly toward the entrance of the laboratory, where his companions had gathered. The anticipation of reuniting with his team had been building during his month-long absence. He was eager to catch up on their recent adventures and contribute his expertise to their current challenge.
As he approached the laboratory door, he spotted the familiar faces of his companions. Tandor, engrossed in something, seemed entirely focused on his task and didn't notice Dain's rapid approach. However, the others, Mialee, Liber, Trencher, and Mixtli, immediately sensed his presence and turned their attention toward him.
Dain couldn't help but feel a surge of camaraderie as he joined their circle. "It's good to see you all again," he said, his voice a deep rumble of gratitude. "I trust you've been keeping busy in my absence?"

Gilbert steps out of the blood, looking for a clean place to sit, scrapping his paw clean as best he can. Finding a clean space, he sits on his haunches and Tandor examines the purple glow, trying to discern the source and what it might signify?