Fireball saves:  

dude: 15

Initiative: 

dude: 6

Hellish fire fills the room, sending papers along the walls into ash, setting the desk alight, and roasting all of the hands in the room which hiss, and squeal as they die by fire.  The creature roars, standing from his desk, as an arrow slams into it's chest.  Grenk slides into the room as Sickle raises his hand.  Grenk leaps, lashing the creature with two powerful sword strikes as he crunches across burnt dead hands, the fire and smoke filling the room.   Sickle, Grenk is in the room and blocking your cone of cold.  Make a Charisma check vs DC 7. 

Silas Initiative: 8

Silas will throw fire a Guiding Bolt at the creatre

Attack: 26 Damage: 8

Sickle CHA: 15

Genk dex save 23 vs Sickles spell dc, of save no damage.  Unless DM rules he doesn't get us of shield master feat.

A glowing bolt flashes over Grenks' shoulder into the body, and then Grenk hears a strange hissing, raising his shield reflexively as a spray of ice cold hurt  from Sickle's outstretched hand fills the room, blasting over him.  Luckily his shield blocks the spray.  The front of his shield covered in a thin layer of frost that sparkles and steams.

There's a moment silence...as the ice and fire, steam and smoke clear the room.  The hands are all roasted, and the undead creature is in three charred and iced up pieces. Charred paper cinders float through the air, books are burned and then shattered into bits. The skeletal song bird is just charred bones in the bottom of the charred smoking cage. The bronze mask the thing wore is burned and smoking but still intact.  A book on the desk is a charred mess though may contain some intact pages, while another book appears to be more intact, covered in soot and ice.  Bits of other stuff like a quill and bottle of ink are shattered and destroyed. A bag of sand oh the table is burned into a glass chunk. Several bottles and stands and various other "office" type items are badly damaged by the sudden wrathful magic. 

The room is quiet aside from the crackle and pop of burnt and frozen furniture. 

Mal will quickly usher everyone into the room and then will move back down the passageway to see if she hears anything coming their way alerted by the noise. Then will move back into the room and shut the door, keeping an ear on the door to make sure nothing is trying to sneak up on them.

Mal Perception: 12

Everyone is in the room, the door shut.  Mal thinks that the very brief attack seems not to have drawn any attention that she can tell. 

Badger looks around the room at the charred remains and brightly chirps: Good work everyone. You see? This is what we can accomplish when we follow the plan. We assessed and eliminated the risk, and no-one was hurt...  The stunned silence that follows seems to warrant further explanation, so with some embarrassment Badger turns away from the stern faces of his companions and picks through the rubble while stammering in an uncharacteristic glum voice: Uh... this creature is -was- the engineer of this accursed place. I could -uh- hear thoughts. His thoughts. Twisted mind. He is toying with you. Wicked double talk. Be cautious. Best let your friends destroy him. Turning back to face them again he smiles and sums up cheerily: His interest in us was genuine, but his intentions were to do us harm. I thought a preemptive strike would be best.

Considering that sufficient explanation, Badger then turns back to the detritus in the room, regretting the need to have to destroy so much of scholarly interest, but hoping something useful remained... Investigation: 13

Sickle slides over next to Silas, murmuring low. “That was regrettable, but once it started, there was nothing else for it.  Seems like something is off with him.  He doesn’t trust me though. Perhaps you should talk to him.”

He will go study the mask on the icy corpse.

Silas nodds his head to what Sickle says as he goes to a corner and out if sight casts Guidance on himself before moving some random items around then calls Badger over.

"Badger could you come here for a moment?" Silas questions him, calling him over to a corner and wait for him to come, "I know this is a stressful environment. Perhaps you should take it easy before you burn yourself out. This place was built by nine gods and we are merely on second level. This will be a marathon and you should pace yourself accordingly. Come, if there is something wrong, you can tell me," Silas probes the gnome for his strange behavior and tries to get some insight. 

Insight: 15 + 2

Sickle examines the mask, removing it from the creature. The mask is made to look like a frowning visage, and though it's a bit burned, it can easily be polished and looks like it fetch a good price at market.  (25gp).   While examining the mask he notices an amulet hanging from the corpses neck, carved from obsidian and shaped like a screaming humanoid skull. It has ruby eyes, and emeralds for teeth and looks untouched by the flame and ice. 

Badger gulps, having expected this might come to a head at some point. He puts on his best bravado and tries to gloss things over...

I appreciate your concern, Silas. We can't be too careful. But we can manage this, we assure you. We will be sure to tell you if we aren't coping. Just now, you could have all been in terrible danger if it wasn't for us and our warning.

Deception (using Portent roll of 3): 4.

Badger knew at the start of the day that there would come a time when a secret would be unwittingly revealed, and he realises that he has just goofed by using the plural pronoun. He turns away in embarrassment to go and search among the rubble some more, and see if there is any intact information among the books...

Silas stares at his friend (friends?) as he walks away to go examine a book on the desk....with wide eyes and a particularly disturbed look on his face.  From across the room Sickle glances over his shoulder, watching the exchange, and is alarmed at the look on Silas' face.  They make eye contact and shrug. 

The sickening sound of charred blackened bones from the numerous hands being stepped on and crunching under foot fills the room as you the group walks around. Sickle has found this strange necklace around the dead things neck, Mal meanwhile slides open a cupboard and sees a strange grey stone, fist sized, that tingles with magic as she touches it.  Badger finds three books on the table.  One, though charred, seems less damaged by the magic, and tingles with magic as he touches it. The writing within the thick tomb is arcane in nature, though it's not a spell book.  Next to that is a charred book, that appears to be full of spells....though it's badly damaged and Badger thinks he may only be able to recover a few spells.  Finally, there is another book, that looks like perhaps a journal, which is written in old Omuan and appears badly damaged.  It may take a bit of time to read through it. 

The group pokes through the bird cage, and desks and finds other inks, quills, paper, and other normal supplies. The desk is big, heavy, and charred, still smoking slightly.  The papers along the walls are all burned to nothing.  

Badger notes on the intact, inside back cover of the spellbook is the word "Khomara Blackfire" scribbled.

A quick read through of the spell book shows the following spells still intact:  Wall of Fire, Blight, Telekinesis, Dispel Magic, Hold Person, Expedious Retreat, and Lightning bolt. 

A quick read through of the journal after a 'Comprehend Languages' spell is cast by Badger shows it's mostly burned, but he finds some musings about this creature that reveal a twisted mind, plus this entry: 

When Badger attempts to read the magical book though, it expels energy at him and he takes 14 psychic damage.

The book, the necklace, and the grey fist sized stone are all magical, but nothing else.  You've all thoroughly searched the room.  No secret doors or panels or anything else that you can find in here.

Grenk stops by Badger and casually leans against something by him.  "So Badger, what's going on with the plurals?  I've only known you for a short bit but I dont recall you referring to yourself as us and we.  What did ya do, pick up a passenger?"

Sickle stows the mask and pulls out a knife, cutting off a large section of burned and tattered clothing from the being in the chair.  He uses this to carefully remove and wrap the amulet from the neck of the dead mage, placing it carefully into a bag until a revitalized Badger can identify it.

Without looking up, Badger mumbles Obo'laka almost imperceptibly. At a prompt from Grenk, he looks up and says it louder. Obo'laka. The zorbo god of Omu. Evidently the dead gods aren't entirely dead. I can hear one of them in my mind, and frankly so far they have been quite helpful.

Sickle looks up at Badger. "Since the mask? Or before?"

Grenk gives a hard stare at Badger.  The muscles of his upper left lip involuntarily twitch.  His hand grips his sword tighter and his body goes very tense.  Then he turns away for away breaths a few heavy breath and turns back.  "Spirits, undead, undead gods.  They are helpful until they are not and after they are their hosts are either dead, crazy, or a shell of their former self."

Mal silently moves behind badger, scimitar in hand, waiting.

Stealth: 19

{OOc: lol, I swear, I have a +10 in stealth.]