"A short rest is probably plenty, a longer rest would give me more time to read my book. Such an opportunity to read would be beneficial to me and we seem to be getting ahead of schedule as we were expected to take longer to collect the egg. So maybe?" Kaylyn asks the others.

The hunt was not very strenuous but did drain some of Sekkars inner resources and was a touch emotional - an unpleasant feeling by itself. He shrugged - the next part had to be so unpredictable, he would not mind if everyone was there at his/her best.

Pax stands up and nods, “Very well, We barely broke a sweat but we also got that done in record time. We can wait a day to be completely ready. I should adjust my spells to battle a beholder anyway I think.”

"A beholder is a tricky opponent for sure," Kirin comments offhanded as he wanders to a corner, pulling out his spellbook and just sorting through uses.

Long rest then. Kaylyn gets eight hours of reading.

Pebbles WIS save v Scrying: 14

Rhayna again conjures up a vision of Pebbles the gnome. His location is different to the last scrying, and rather than seeing him in the beholder's lair, she sees him climbing a rather steep rockface in a large open cavern. Panning around, Rhayna can see a very long rope bridge behind and below him, extending off an impossible distance into the darkness. Pebbles is muttering to himself, and Rhayna catches snatches of words and phrases: low-hanging fruit... Mantol-Derith... easier said than done... secret outpost...

Rhayna watches him as long as the spell lasts, and is convinced that he has recently left the lair of Xazax the Eyemonger, has crossed or passed the Chasmleap Bridge, and is slowly making his way to seek out Mantol-Derith in the search for Lorthuun, the maimed beholder rumoured to reside in the Zhentarim compound.

After their rest, Pax gathers the group around as she often does at the beginning of each day and repeats her ritual spell that lets them all breath water. Water Breathing.  Then, she spends an extra ten minutes casting another ritual spell on the group.  At the end of which, her voice sounds directly into their minds, as she telepathically speaks, "This will last an hour, but I can cast again when needed. The wizard can't listen in now, unless he's reading our thoughts."  Rary's Telepathic Bond. 

Hearing the description of the scene from Rhayna, Pax says, "Well, you've seen the beholders lair. I suggest we try to pop directly in there, ready for battle, and just take the thing on. I don't want to waste of bunch of effort trying to sneak in through a bunch of potential traps and guardians if we can just..appear and try to kill it quickly." 

"I was going to suggest that we teleport to Mantol-Derith, and wait for Pebbles there. I think that Sekkar is right. We might be able to enlist his help, or at the very least, get a better idea of what we are up against. Since we are there, we could also to be on the lookout for the gem. I am also fine going straight to Xazax's lair." Suggest Rhayna on the next course of action to the party.

Kaylyn  loses the book as she finishes another 8 hours of reading during her rest.  She feels stronger and power of the celestial that bonded her flows through her.  She looks around at her companions and feels that she can share some of that celestial strength with them.

Each member of the party gains +10 temp HP

Celestial Resilience XGtE, pg. 55

"Directly to the lair I think.  While Pebbles is on his way to Mantol Derith we don't know how long such a journey will take, we could wait a long time.  We wouldn't happen to have anything of his would we?  From when we last dealt with him?  It would help the connection for the teleportation if it is from the lair as I presume Pebbles lives there." 

She then pauses as a thought comes to her.

"I think we know that bridge, We could teleport to the bridge and seek the lair from there.  If I am not mistaken we crossed that bridge when we left Gracklstugh.  We hid in Sekkar's floating hut while a group of gnolls passed by.  If that is the same bridge and Pebbles is near there now we could teleport directly to where he will climb out.  We can intercept Pebbles and go from there!  And that destination is a bit better known and would make the teleportation less likely to go awry."

Pax nods, "Lets do it then, before that pack of gnolls arrives for the first time, for the second time. Have we learned anything about beholders by the way? A strategy perhaps?  All that I really know is they're big floating eyeballs. I think the one in Mantol-Derith was blasting people with magic from its little eyes, when it was threatened."  

"Straight to the lair," nodded Sekkar. He was all for strategizing first but time was still is of the essence. "Rhayna, you sure that was the same bridge? They are common around here but we can be lucky sometimes". Sekkar was ready and even eager: new enemy - new challenge! "True on both things, Pax. A lot of magic from the eyes. Some say they turn people into stones. Others claim, they can explode them to dust. There are many stories but rarely from those who fought the things, not many survived to tell it. Pebbles had the right idea - cutting their eyes. Maybe this is what we have to do? Jump on it and cut the eyes one by one? If we could somehow hold it in place, that would be helpful".  

"I believe it's the same bridge. In that case, maybe if we teleport now, we may be able to catch Pebbles before he makes it to Mantol-Derith." Suggest Rhayan. She puts the crystal way into her rucksack, and gets ready to depart if the party is ready.

Roll for teleportation to the bridge to intercept Pebbles.

11

Ouch,  sorry

34

(The gnoll bridge was a different bridge. Kaylyn and Sekkar would know this, based on the information that the Chasmleap Bridge is close to Velkynvelve, but the gnoll bridge was on the west of the Darklake. Here's a fresh map to help.

The maps and other information available in Vizeran's tower is sufficient to give Kaylyn a good description of the Chasmleap Bridge, and it is with these details that she activates the helm. Also since Rhayna didn't specify exactly when she cast the scrying, I'll say it was after the rest, so hopefully Pebbles is still close to the location she saw...)

With the group again gathered in a circle, Kaylyn activates the helm. The tower of Araj twists and melts around the group, blurring and warping ... 

There is a flash and a searing pain (everyone takes 15 force damage) as it feels like every blood vessel is exploding. The sensation lasts only a fraction of a second, but the pain lingers as the spell attempts to recalibrate itself and try again.

... until it resolves into a new scene. The group are standing on a bridge made mostly of thick rope with zurkhwood planking. There is a light, cool mist in the air which obstructs vision beyond a few hundred feet. Looking down, the group can see only mist far below, with no sense of how deep the chasm goes. Likewise, no ceiling is visible overhead. To the east (and the party is sufficiently skilled now to intuit the points of the compass) the bridge extends into the mist, but to the west the shadowy form of a large support framework signals that they are at the western end of the bridge. No faerzress or fungus is visible to shed even the slightest mote of light on the scene. 

(Rhayna: Despite there being no phosphorescent fungus to produce light, there are small patches on the western side of the chasm. In addition, although Rhayna's fungal senses don't normally extend too far, there is a mycotic organism of such colossal size nearby, of such continental proportions, that Rhayna can sense it despite the fact that it's outer perimeter is several miles away.)

"Owwww. That hurt... Again." Rhayna whispers to herself. She adjusts her spectacles, but she is not able to see anything, so she lights up one end of her Zurkhwood Staff. She puts palm of one hand on top, so the tip of the staff doesn't light up everywhere. She looks around, quickly senses that everyone else is here, and they could use a little patch. She starts to hum (the little mermaid hum? Performance: 4) She hums a little, but quickly starts to choke. "Ugh... Uhum..." She clears her throat. "At any rate. Here is something to help everyone feel better." Rhayna casts Mass Healing Word healing everyone 12

(I thought Rhayna was going to crit fail when trying hum...)

(Any fungus patch large enough for Rhayna to Fungus Stride?)

(Why can not Rhayna see anything if the vision only obstructed "beyond a few hundred feet"?)

Sekkar was still convinced the mis-teleportation was drow's tinkering with the helmet but let it drop for now. "We had to drag that wizard here," muttered he, but mostly to himself. He took a few deep breaths, placing internal organs back to their rightful places and looked around. The first thing he did was to cover the group with silence - the lair was too close for not taking all possible precautions. ( Pass without Trace ) Then he tried Pax's telepathic speech "Kill the lights and stay quiet - we do not want the monster to get a drop on us!"

Sekkar lovered the hood of his cloak and moved silently to search for gnome's tracks.

Stealth: 31 Perception: 21 (+ 5 to it for favorite terrain and for beholder itself (favorite enemy) another roll 15 +5) same with Survival: 18 and second for advantage for beholder 33)

(I might have misread. "No faerzress or fungus is visible to shed even the slightest mote of light on the scene." Is that only for the bottom of the bridge, or for the place they are in? If Rhayna is able to see anything, then no Light.)

"I will never get to that," Kirin whispers to himself as he readjusts from the sudden shift, "Let's find some solid footing before we begin our search," 

Pax's dark shadows swirl violently about her after the teleportation, the protective energy having absorbed that wrenching from the violent shift in their location. 

She glances down into the darkness, then looks up, blinking at Rhayna's light that glares in the dark caves. Taking Kirin's queue, she heads down the western side of the bridge so they can get onto solid ground. She peers around watching for danger but otherwise leaves Sekkar to go whichever side of the bridge he was planning on, for his tracking to find out which way Pebble's went. 

Telepathically she says, "Rhayna, if you don't need the light, maybe you can just take my hand and follow me in the darkness so we can stay stealthy for the moment. Let's await Sekkar's investigations over here...."

There is no light in this chasm at all. Rhayna doesn't have darkvision, so can't see anything without light. But with Pax's help she can make it to the end of the bridge without incident. Everyone else does have darkvision, so can see in the darkness up to their range. I don't suppose anyone has a darkvision range or can see in darkness beyond 300 feet at the most, so although the 'mist' thing was added for scenic effect, its probably unnecessary unless someone wanted to cast Light on a pebble and drop it.

Sekkar glides like a ghost through the darkness, unheard and unseen. The bridge stops at a small ledge. Below the ledge the chasm walls are vertical and almost smooth, while above the ledge they are riddled with small caves and tunnel openings, overhangs, loose rocks and scree, and the chasm gradually widens. This is the certainly the correct side of the bridge, and the area where Peebles was seen climbing, but the terrain is so rough and the deep gnome so savvy, that even the infallible Sekkar can find no trace of his passing. And although the ranger scans the chasm and strains to catch the sound of movement, he detects nothing. Either the gnome is hiding expertly or has moved beyond Sekkar's range of perception.

As everyone moves across the bridge and to the ledge, despite the oppressive weight of darkness and lack of visibility, each feels as though their passing is being observed.

Pax looks around suspiciously into the darkness beyond her 120 feet. She can see perfectly in this darkness, it's not just shades of grey, yet still feels observed by something hiding. Mentally she says to Sekkar, "I can cast a spell on you to make you fly for ten minutes. You can maybe check down the chasm and up into some of the holes more thoroughly?" 

If the lizard mans wants, she'll cast the spell on him.