Poljen purses his lips.  "If we destroy this, the drow might get angry at us if they ever come back here.  We have enough enemies as it is.  And maybe the noise will draw unwanted attention.  I say leave it."

OOC:  Can Poljen upgrade his Cloak of Protection to +2 for his item from the hoard?

"If you can use this to ask a higher power where the brain is, and quickly, let's do that."

Lawrance nods at both Pol's and Velon's comments and says "This will take about ten minutes to do, so we should compose our questions quickly while I prepare. " As the group discusses the options, he begins the needed ceremony, using help from Velon and Perry to enhance their chance of success. 

Once preparations are complete, Lawrance calls forth across the planes to a willing listener, seeking answers to the questions posed. 

INT save 22 plus Bardic Inspiration and Velon's Aura 10

With a low rumble, the channel to the being opens and it speaks with a low-hissing voice

"Ask your questionsss, keeper of knowledge, but do not tarry!"

Lawrance, a bit startled by the difference from the voice he expected, asks his planned questions of the entity

"Is the illithid Elder Brain we seek within 1,000 feet of us?" ,

"Is the Elder brain we seek above where we are now?", '

"Are the Illithid enemy forces currently aware we are in their castle?" ,

"Do they know we seek their brain's destruction?",

"Do the normal hallways, stairs and doors lead to the brain?"

and awaits the response. 

To Gamliel and Aisling he says - I think I got a servitor of Lolth. Hope it's not hungry. -

The answers to Lawrance's questions come in an audibly indignant hiss,
"No"
"Yes"
"No"
"No"
"Yes"

Lawrance nervously closes the channel and clears the ether of any residual magics from the spell. "Well, there you have it. We have a distance to go and up is the way."

 As the group moves on, Lawrance can't help but frequently glance at the recently used circle of power, disturbed by the nature of the being he contacted in this dark place. 

"Wait, that doesn't make sense.... ah, oh, yeah... so it's either in another building somewhere, or maybe on the far side of this castle?"  Velon scratches his head and looks at Lawrance.  "So, ah, to the far side of the castle, and on a level higher than we are now?"

The group will probably look for any passage heading to the far side of the castle from here.

Knowing kind of where the brain is at is helpful to this quest.  Cratol will proceed upwards with the rest as they search more for this elusive brain. 

The group heads back upstairs quietly, narrowly avoiding a group on patrol. Finding the front door, a few of you peek out into the courtyard. The walls of this place form a hexagonal shape, with the building you're in forming one side. There are a couple of buildings along the walls across the courtyard that appear to be outside of the one thousand feet limit you had been asking after. There's what looks like a barracks, a stables of some sort, and a large church.

There are a good number of eyes out here. Slaves standing watch and going about their business, as well as a few of their mindflayer masters. Simply walking out there will result in quick detection. You might try hiding yourself somehow, or use the interior of the perimeter wall instead.

"Maybe the brain is in the church-thing?"  Velon tells the group they'll try to stay inside the wall on whichever side the church is closer to.  (Left at random if the distance is about the same.)

Lawrance nods at that "Make sense, since it is about a close to a godling as they come." he says, as he follows the route chosen, trusting in the Dagger to alert them to dangers. 

"With many eyes out in the open it is very wise to take the longer more hidden route to get to the evil that is controlling so many people.  Freeing them of their slavery will be a good thing."

The group backs  off and heads to the side doors of the main keep, looking for a passage to hide them from those in the courtyard. It takes a bit of searching, but soon enough you find a heavy door leading to the interior of the wall. 

The interior of the wall is fairly cramped, with frequent reinforcements and heavy doors that can be barred. The passage is mainly intended for runners to safely get from one part of the battlements to another while the keep is under attack, rather than for normal use.

You reach the end of the first half of the passage, and look out into the stable like building you saw before. This place seems... weirdly constructed, until Lawrence realizes that it would be perfect for the webs of the giant spiders the drow liked to keep on hand.

The door you need is on the other side of the building, a straight shot along the side. There is a low fence in between you and the stable proper, but it doesn't do much to hide you.

Unfortunately the stable is not quite empty, a trio of creatures are here. Two seem to be asleep, while the third lounges around, idly scratching at himself with rather dangerous looking claws. They look a bit like big and thick furred albino bears, but their limbs are shaped more like those of humanoids.

Perry starts rolling up his sleeves and steps in front of Velon and Lawrance.  "I got this, boss."

Velon looks at Lia and Lawrance with a look of uncertainty, hoping they are ready with a backup spell here so they can avoid a loud fight.

Meanwhile Perry makes a big but silent show of it, waving his arms around and such, before finally casting Suggestion on the one quaggoth this awake.  "Sleep, my pretty, sleep..."  DC21 WIS

Lia nods reassuringly at Velon as Perry does his thing, lifting Sune's holy symbol to communicate her readiness in case it goes wrong. 

Lawrance also has magic ready, hoping it doesn't come to blows. 

Cratol watches as Perry does his thing  He hopes that it goes well but is ready to move into action to take this new threat out if all goes bad.  He understands that one cry out from the beast will wake the other two and a then the fight would be on as well as their position would be given away. 

The big furry creature shakes his head once before yawning and moving over to his own part of the nest, settling down and closing his eyes.

Knowing he could still easily wake up the other two quaggoths, Velon nods to the rest and begins moving across the stables.  He does his best to stay quiet despite his armor, including using the silence stone as needed.

Lawrance and rest help each other past the sleeping beasts, hoping that the cooperation will provide the needed stealth. Lia is at the ready with her spells, if one of the creatures should happen to stir. 

The group edges on past the quaggoths, all of whom seem to be asleep at the moment, and proceed down the tunnel. You find yourself at a locked door, which Mari manages to open with about a minute's worth of work.

Beyond the portal, you see what appears to have once been a cathedral dedicated to Lloth. What remains of the artwork bears the typical imagery associated with the spider queen.

The room has been cleared out to leave a wide open space, the center of which is occupied by large pool dug into the stone floor. Out of the liquid rises the swell of an absolutely huge brain, perhaps as big as a large bull. Surrounding it are a number of apparently enslaved attendants. Two of which, a pair of slender elves, are suspended by ropes near the elder brain, and apparently using their dexterous fingers to massage the wrinkles in the disgusting creature's form.

A trio of mindflayers are also here, standing off to the side as if in discussion.

Moments after you enter, all activity ceases, and every single form in the room turns to face you. There is not a single spoken word, making the uniform motion especially eerie.

//Well they know we are here now.  If we are going to attack this thing we need to do it now.// Cratol thinks to the others.