The seed containment seems like the best choice. No active monitoring and if the effect is biological undead immunities might simply render its danger moot. Unlucky carefully cuts the wards and slips into the glass case, coming closer and closer to the artifact...

And then there is a click. And a hiss. And the ominous ethereal rush of a null magic zone reasserting itself.

Unlucky glances over his shoulder. Standing by the edge of the containment cell, having just pulled off an expert repair of the containment wards, is one of the yellow-robed aliens - perhaps. Skill recognizes skill, and even through the heavy plastic sheets you can see that this is not a civilian technician. This is someone extremely skilled, moving with utmost precision. 

It gives you a cheerful wave and steps back from the glass to observe.

Behind you, the seeds are sprouting. Within seconds wood and root and leaf and branch begins to form into a terrible monster shape. An animate plant monster, twisted and jagged and terrible, and instinctively it lashes out...

[Friction: [b]5[/b]]

... But you chose well and your theory is borne out. Without organic material to manipulate, there is a sharp limit on how swiftly the creature can grow, and without breath, body heat or moisture it will fight you blind and without its most dangerous weapons. When an individual tear of limbs is 'killed' it swiftly rots and collapses back into the form of a seed where it cannot suffer further damage. 

Still, though, you are fighting with an audience. What kind of show do you put on?

Upshot is that from that point there's plenty of time to scan it. Surprisingly this isn't any sort of biotech - this is a planar outsider from some unknown dimensional realm, aligned to life, growth, and positive energy. In the right conditions, with time to feed and grow, this thing would be [i]nasty[/i]. Set it loose on a highly forested environment like this planet and could deny a broad swathe of territory.

But what's more unusual is that the creature is highly attuned. There are multiple layers of binding and channeling riven into it magically. Not only would these taps allow for direct control by the controller, but it could even have elements of its magic extracted remotely. Imagine a process by which a powerful demon was captured, bound, and converted into an energy source for a single spellcaster to extract power from.