"Might help," agreed Sekkar, "but give me a second to check something first." Pebbles was gone or hid so good it could be counted as gone anyway. And at any rate, they were not after his eyes here. Sekkar concentrated on the beholder - the gut feeling alone was an indicator enough but he wanted to be sure.

Primeval Awareness (As an action, you can expend one ranger spell slot (1 minute per level of spell slot) to sense whether any aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead are present within 1 mile of you (or within up to 6 miles if you are in your favored terrain). This feature doesn’t reveal the creatures’ location or number.)

(It is not supposed to reveal the location, but if the general direction can be sensed it would really help :) )

Whether the direction was established or not, but Sekkar accepts flying and now searches for the beholder's lair. Survival: 33

Extending his senses out, just as he did near the angel chamber, Sekkar picks up various 'pings'. Most are minor and feel distant - several scattered demons, the occasional undead, a distant dragon, etc. But stronger than any other, an aberration, which can only be the beholder. The lizardman is hard to see in the dark but Pax casts the spell and Sekkar silently launches into the air and begins looking around.

The first thing Sekkar notices, is that the mist isn't quite right. With that much moisture in the air there should be an abundance of fungus. It must be a temporary and unnatural phenomenon, such as those that sometimes occur around the lair of a powerful unnatural creature like a beholder. The mist is thicker below the bridge, so Sekkar can assume the source is in that direction, and flies down. The walls of the chasm look smooth, although there are enough irregularities to create sufficient handholds for most people to climb - still dangerous though, considering the distance that one would fall if they slipped. And just below the bridge Sekkar manages to find the place where Pebbles recently climbed, based on the changes in the moisture on the rock. Following this path down, Sekkar sees that about a hundred feet below the bridge there begin to be regular-shaped holes in the walls of the cavern - certainly not formed naturally, but probably by the beholder using its disintegration ray to form rooms. Looking inside a few Sekkar sees that most are empty, with some containing bones or other detritus. Sekkar can see several dozen such rooms just from his current viewpoint, but there could easily be several hundred scattered along the chasm wall. The beholder could be lurking in any one of them, and with the hazard of having to climb down the chasm walls and search each one, with no way to escape if caught inside one... it makes for a rather clever lair. But Sekkar can see where the gnome has recently passed, and wouldn't need to check every hole to guess where the beholder's main residence is...

How far does Sekkar wish to go?

How far stretches the telepathic bond? As he descended, Sekkar explained everything he saw and at some point asked Kaylyn if Pensive can join him. Not even to scout (though that would help, of course) but to keep the communication going.

Sekkar now follows Pebbles tracks - if the gnome could find a path, so should he (not the best logic considering size difference but Sekkar deemed himself a good climber). The goal is to find the hole where Pebbles climbed from. Sekkar tries to keep track of time, so, by the time "fly" expires, he hoped to be on the wall or in the lair he is searching (though, at this point any will do).

(The telepathic bond reaches anywhere on this plane, assuming the Faerzenesssie stuff doesn't interfere with it.)

It doesn't take long, and Sekkar soon follows the climbing trail back to a hole in the cliff, certain that is the one Peebles emerged from only recently.

The group was informed about every important step of the progress and Pensive could probably help to organize the ropes line later? Provided there will be a place to go to.

Double careful now, Sekkar studied the hole from which Pebbles started his journey.

Pax ushers the rest of the group over to the the side of the bridge above the path Sekkar has discovered. She positions them where she things they're directly over Sekkar.  

Mentally to the lizardman she says, "Sekkar, are we waiting for you to scout more, are should we begin our descent?" 

Pax pulls out fifty feet of rope and looks to the others, "Anyone else have any more? It's over 100 feet down plus we'll need some for tying up top and so on..."

Kaylyn instructs Pensive to aid Sekkar with the scouting and transferring of images and information to the rest of the party. 

When Pax is ready to descend she speaks up. "I have a grappling hook to help secure the rope and 100 feet of rope to aid us.  That should be enough."  

Pensive flies down to join Sekkar, and the two of them slowly and carefully hover outside the hole, gradually moving downward to gain a better view of the inside. Sekkar senses movement from within. He catches a glimpse of a large object or creature moving around, and turning...

Suddenly a number of things happen at once. Sekkar sees Pensive disappear (and Kaylyn instantly feels the connection with the familiar cut off). Sekkar begins to plummet as the effects of the flying spell vanish. He falls about thirty feet while the ioun stone that floats above his head also falls off (Sekkar, make a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check to catch it), and he feels somehow more exposed than usual. The mental presence of Dawnbringer is silenced, as is the telepathic connection with the rest of the group.

All these things happen in an instant, but just as quickly the fly spell suddenly returns and Sekkar once again begins to hover, now about fifteen feet below the hole. The mental connection with Dawnbringer and with the rest of the group returns, Pensive pops back into view, and Sekkar feels his magical stealth return. He can't say for certain, but doesn't think that the beholder was aware of his presence...

Sleight of Hand: 5

The protecting rock disappeared somewhere in endless darkness but at the moment Sekkar was too busy falling himself to notice. Later he could only quietly hiss in frustration, but the return of connection with Dawnbringer washed away the bad feeling. It was quite a relief - by now Sekkar forgot what it means to be completely alone. The loss of - admittedly - very useful stone was still nothing compared to being alive and re-united with the most trusted friend. "It's here. The beholder."  Sekkar's first move was to reach the hole, by climbing, rather than flying in case the monster will be back and flying fails again. Once inside the right hole, he elaborated. "Kills magic around it - armour, weapon - everything. I'll secure the rope if you are coming."

That's what he was doing next - with Pensive bringing the free end of the rope to him, so it could be secured around a boulder (or Sekkar's waist if there is nothing around and in that case, the lizardman will anchor himself on the ground) and the group will have an easier time to climb down ((can it be counted as "help" for advantage?))

Before climbing Pax crouches down, then mentally to everyone, "Ok, how are we doing this? Presuming there are a bunch of holes in the wall, and we'll be climbing down about ten feet apart, is someone going to try and climb into one of these holes to start a fight while the rest of us are still descending?  Do we have a better plan at all? Didn't you scry and see a big room? Sekkar, is there more than one way in or a safe place for us to assemble once we've climbed down?"

Sekkar glanced at the hole around him (reporting all he could see).

Kirin let out a sigh before trying to calm himself, "The beholder's anti-magic is limited to sight so we should surround it but need to hit hard and fast. Its not an enemy to hold back upon so strike what you have," Kirin mentions before looking down, "As most of my abilities are magical, I do not wish to be first to charge more than ever,"

Rhayna looks down, holds her spectacles closer, and "gulp". She gives a big non-audible sigh, and puts on her climbing gloves that she purchased from Gravenhollow's souvenir shop.

Kaylyn: Can I please get a Stealth check from Pensive...

The original scrying stated that Peebles and Xazax were "huddled in a small cave". Sekkar briefly saw into the cave, and it is indeed rather small - probably enough room for everyone to fit in if they squeezed, but not easily. As soon as Sekkar enters the hole he will be in full view of the beholder.

There are several holes nearby, including one 20 feet above the lair hole.

The others can climb down the rope even if the lower end hangs loose. But if securing it is important, then there aren't a lot of handy projections on the chasm wall. A piton could be hammered into the rock, but that would take one turn and probably a lot of noise, then another turn to tie the rope. Otherwise Sekkar could tie it around himself before he enters the hole.

Pax taps her fingers on the rocky ground as she crouches next to the cliff face. A furrow on her face. “This is a bad place to have a fight. Maybe we might have to stay up here and lure the beholder out into the chasm where we can attack it at range. Or. We consider a different target. With its antimagic field facing the hole, the only way to force it out would be with arrows being shot into it. Then we’ll need light down there so we can see it from here.  Sekkar, if you move away across the chasm could you fire arrows across into the hole you think?”

Full stop! If it has to be a hole and not the lair itself - then it's the hole above the lair! There we can all decide what to do.

But does it mean Peebles climbed into the random hole by the wall (not from some tunnel inside), where he and the beholder had a briefing and then Peebles set on his journey?

"Can not see the wall from another side. That would mean to shoot from the bridge... Which the monster can drop. Not the big fan of flying into that mist down there. Our best bet is the crippled beholder in Mantol-Derith, which even Pebbles could take down. The other beholder is stronger than that one, they said. But we can try."

Yes, it certainly is a tricky spot, specifically designed by a clever monster to defend against intruders like these. A mostly smooth chasm with numerous holes dotted throughout, and none so deep that the occupant can get trapped inside. There don't appear to be any tunnel exits from the holes, but Pebbles probably frequents this area enough to know which hole to go to, as well as the best way to climb down.

(So, the hole is about 100 feet down. How far across is the chasm?  The mist only obstructs views beyond 300 feet correct?  If we had a light spell cast about the hole, then presumably we'd be able to see it from across the chasm.  I would guess, due to angles, we can't fire from the bridge or top of the cliff, but would need to climb down the far cliff side, get into a spot there where arrows could be shot directly into the beholders hole?)

Pax mutters to herself, "Hey, when you scryed on pebbles, is there a corner or enough space to take cover from arrows coming in through the hole?  Cause if so....its a particularly devious spot. But. I have one other idea. I have a spell called Passwall that can make a 20 foot deep passage through the rock. I could cast two of these, one into the wall above the beholders hole, and then another directly down. It would give us another way to approach the beholder. If it shines its anti-magic eye on the passage, and it will temporarily close up...but only as long as it's looking at it. That means we can then attack from the cliff entrance. So, we create the second passage, Sekkar drops down into the lair from there, then, depending on where the beholder focus' its antimagic, the rest of us join the attack from other routes in. The passages last an hour and don't require concentration, so that's good. Thoughts?"

(Also - Did Sekkar get a view of the main lair?)

"Only one thought so far - the beholder does not need to fight us, only waited until we give up if it's outside, or until we are dead from hunger if we lock ourselves in the holes. Playing yo-yo with that ball would be fun, but he can refuse to play. Just saying. Any ideas on how to goad it? Or trap it somewhere? Is it even possible?"