Lost Mines, Lost Labs, and Lost Hope (RobJFalcon's Campaign)

Absinthe assists with the moving of furniture blocking the door. 

Az Emberi checks for life among the Bugbears 24 One by one, looking for a heartbeat, he finds nothing. He calls their deaths out citing the time of day. On the Big Guy's belt, there is a pouch containing 15 cp, 15 sp, 5 gp, and a vial of crimson liquid that regularly pulses with a dull light, calling to mind a heartbeat.

Hymir looks around for anything that might be hidden. 15 He doesn't notice any traps, secret doors, or any such thing.

Retcon post:

The large awkward lockbox you've been carrying around finally opened after a long careful session of picking. It contains 600 cp, 580 sp, and 65 gp (Added to loots)

You each gain 167 XP from the Bugbear fight.

Dustfinger peeks out of the door. There is a passage that proceeds about 15' before opening into a large chamber, and a set of stairs heading down about 10' ahead on the right, most likely leading to the large chamber where you fought the ghouls. From the door, you can see a mechanical bellows powered by a waterwheel. The waterwheel sits in a ten-foot-wide channel cut into the floor of the room, but the channel is dry. Several more dwarven and orcish bodies litter the floor here, a dim light flickers on the far side of the cavern. Another booming wave echoes from the Northeast.

Dusty swings the door open wide so the whole party can get a view. "The godsdamned noisemakers, at last. Can we get these boomers to shut the **** up?"

Well don't stop now, press on! I whisper hurriedly.

Dustfinger moves forward cautiously to inspect the bellows if nothing else warrants attention.

Stealth 10

Investigation 7

Dustfinger creeps forward to the end of the hall and stands in the dark against the wall at the entrance to this cavern to get a better look.

A blast furnace lies cold and dark, unheated by the bellows, which is silent from the waterwheel, which is unpowered by the channel, which is bereft of water. But heaps of coal are piled nearby, along with carts full of unrefined ore. The channel looks about 5' deep. Aside from the path you came down from the West, two passages exit to the South, and one East. The empty channel exits to the North and to the East.

You notice all of this, but the most interesting thing in this cavern is not the equipment, it is the creature on the other side of the furnace emitting the dim light. There in the middle of the East side of the room floats a humanoid skull, wreathed in green flames and chattering unintelligibly to itself, peppered by bouts of quiet maniacal laughter. hahahahaha cheehchshaahshachhhchaa hahahahahaha hhhmmmmmmm yeshhhh shoooo hahahahahaha. 4

It whips around to face you. "SKEEEEEEEEEE!! YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" It screams in your direction. As it does, several of the bodies in the room begin to move.

Everyone hears the loud screeching, but right now only Dustfinger sees this guy:

 It's time for initiative.

6 / 9

I wonder if I know anything I can recall about floating skulls 12  (Just a D20 in case there is a roll, some modifier to top it)

Dustfinger mutters quietly to himself. "Shit."

Initiative 5

Initiative.  4

i'd be towards the front

Initiative 4

Fjolnir pops through the door about 10' staying in the hallway.

Init 13

"Sweet, I don't even have to scalp one!" 

Initiative: 13

Absinthe moves toward the closest enemy. 

Hymir initiative: 18 I'm going to retro that his mage armor is up, he makes it a point to keep that on.
Hymir moves past Dirk into the hallway. "Uh, ah, not close enough, can't see, WAITING UNTIL THEY BUNCH UP," He yells even though you're all within 20' of him. He holds an action to cast shatter as soon as the zombies get close enough to each other.

All of the zombies slowly shamble toward the hallway that the party is cluttering. Several get close enough to hit Dustfinger, but the ones on the other side of the room struggle to make it in a timely manner.
1) Attack: 11 Damage: 6
2) Attack: 19 Damage: 5
3) Attack: 15 Damage: 4
4) Attack: 7 Damage: 6
The zombies stumble into each other, making more than half of their attacks ineffective, but #2 lands a hit.

Hymir hears the commotion, and even though he can't see them, he centers his shatter where he thinks he'll get the most zombies. He ends up hitting 1, 2, 3, and 5 for 13 Thunder damage. He also rattles the bellows and the mechanism that connects it to the waterwheel for some damage, but it holds. "Oops." CON Saves: 9/15/7/16 1 and 3 take the full blast, 2 and 5 are made of sterner stuff.

Fjolnir and Absinthe are up. Absinthe can't currently see anything outside of the room you just cleared, besides a faint green glow from across the cavern.

Round 1: This skull is on fire...
Light: Dim inside the room, skull emits dim light in 15' radius.

18- Hymir
15- Dwarven Zombies AC: 8/ HP: 22
1) Taken 13 damage, Looks hurt
2) Taken 6 damage
3) Taken 13 damage, Looks hurt
4) 
5) Taken 6 damage
6) 
7) 
8) 
13- Fjolnir
13- Absinthe
08- Flameskull
05- Dustfinger
04- Az Emberi
04- Dirk

Absinthe lights a torch and moves just out of range of the zombies. 

Hesitating, then squatting, and waffling at which creature to target, Fjolnir stops cursing under his breath long enough to conjur hail of thorns on one and send them hastily at zombies 5 then 3.

Longbow         27 Dmg 11    Hail of Thorns 9
Hordebreaker 24 Dmg 9

Fjolnir's first arrow hits, thankfully, as well as the second. At the same time the second arrow hits, the first arrow bursts and zombies 2, 3, and 5 try to dodge the effects, 14/15/10 #3 manages to block himself from the full blow, but it doesn't matter much because of the second arrow that struck him. Undead Fortitude DC 15: 19 #3 falls, unable to cling to his unlife.

The Flameskull hovers over to the bellows and floats a good 10 feet up from it, chattering the whole time. "No, no, no! No one enters the forge! No one! HA HA HAHA HA HA!" As he laughs a thin streak of light shoots from its mouth to the middle of the party's position, blossoming with a low roar into a fiery explosion! EVERYONE makes a DEX Save, DC 13. On a failed save, you take 31 fire damage, on success you take half (9).

Zombie #4 DEX Save: 8 Hymir DEX Save: 13 Damage applied.

Dustfinger, Az Emberi and Dirk are up.

Round 1: This skull is on fire...
Light: Dim inside the room, skull emits dim light in 15' radius.

18- Hymir
15- Dwarven Zombies AC: 8/ HP: 22
1) Taken 13 damage, looks hurt
2) Taken 13 damage, looks hurt
3) Dead
4) Taken 9 damage
5) Taken 17 damage, looks rough
6) 
7) 
8) 
13- Fjolnir
13- Absinthe
08- Flameskull
05- Dustfinger
04- Az Emberi
04- Dirk

Duck and cover! 21  

Con check vs 19 for maintaining Hex 3

8  staggers.  Gg.....  That chattering shit needs to be stopped!  I rush ahead of Az and bring my hands to the cock breach in my pants.  Now I'm going to show you something, but i'm gonna need you take a step back.... 5 charges expended as I brandish the gem of brightness in an attempt to blind the floating skull and everything else angled as best as possible at enemies.  (Damage and charges marked)