Quote from Weathervision >>

With that perception you notice a mechanical trap with cleverly hidden thin wires at the bottom of the throne.

Someone could use thieves tools to disarm the trap. DC 15

With Gan-Re's help, Valrieth finds the trap.  She tells him, "Yep!  There's another trap here."  She shows him the wires and the trap.  "I cannot tell whether there's a way to move the throne without triggering the trap, but maybe you could disconnect the wires?"

(I don't know whether it's possible to help someone disarm a trap, but remembering the toxic cloud from the ornate box, Val will at least consult her star map and cast Guidance on Gan-Re before he attempts to disarm the trap.)

"Well spotted and thank you my friend. I shall have this disarmed in a moment" Gan-Re disarms the trap:

TT (Inc Guidance): 19

(I'm not sure about help on TT, but was OK on the first roll anyway)

If the Trap is disarmed then Gan-Re looks under the Throne for either something to retrive or a lock to pick.

"With you in a moment Finley"

Gan-re carefully disarms the trap and soon the thin wires are detached.

What do you do now?

Gan-Re has a look at what is under the Throne. "What was that trap protecting"

Under the throne is not the treasure you were expecting as there is a pile of baubles and worthless trinkets. There is also small pouch among the treasure and inside are truffles.

"Ohh Truffles. I guess we should return these." Gan-Re takes out his axe and chops the throne into bits and adds them to the bag. "I have been looking for wood for ages". He turns round the the bandits and says "Oh and if you have a dagger, give it to Val."

The snipers shrug "We only have the bows and arrows"

"OK. We take those then. Anything else team or I will bring the boat around. We have truffles to return"

Finley decides the simplest solution is the best solution and starts cutting away at the cables with his dagger. "Ah have an extra dagger if ye need it Lady Valrieth. Think we'll be alright while ye get th' boat, good find!"

It takes some time but Finley cuts through the lift cables and it is no longer operational.

Quote from Weathervision >>

Yes everyone can take a short rest

Once they're done getting the things from under the throne, Valrieth rests and bandages any remaining cuts.

Gan-Re Feels much better after  short rest

Heals 12 from 2d12 hit dice.

Head out when ready

Quote from Weathervision >>

Head out when ready

During the short rest, once the party is gathered on the stump and not sitting too close to the harengon prisoners, Valrieth's worried expression, biting her lip and repeatedly checking her star map, tells you that she's troubled.  She finally raises the question of where they should go when the leave the Brigands' Tollway.

"Do we want to head back to Telemy Hill to return Jingle Jangle's truffles and rest before we try to get to Dowfall?  Or should we just go directly to Downfall?  It took us half a day marching and rowing today to get here, so we could probably make it back to Telemy Hill before the end of the day if we don't get lost.  It would certainly be more pleasant to sleep tonight back on Telemy Hill.  But it sounds like we're also close to Downfall here.  If we head west, we could probably make it to that village before the end of the day.  If we return to Telemy Hill, we won't make it to Downfall until tomorrow or maybe the next day..."

Val likes the idea of returning Jingle Jangle's truffles, but she thinks that they just promised to "deal with" Agdon, not to return her stollen truffles.  Returning the truffles is a nice gesture, but Val wonders whether the stars are really leading them in that direction.  How important is just one pouch of truffles to Jingle Jangle's survival? The restoration of Zybilna's rule over Prismeer may be their best chance of helping Jingle Jangle long term.  The party's goal was to find Zybilna (important but not really urgent since she's apparently been frozen in time for years now) and the kidnapped children (which could be urgent).

Val is worried that going back to Telemy Hill gives the remaining brigands time to return to stump at Brigands' Tollway tonight and regroup.  When they discover that the Trio killed Agdon Longscarf and some of their companions, they may want revenge.  What if they start actively looking for the Trio?  

"The brigands were a big enough challenge when they were just opportunistic bandits.  But what will we do if all 15 bandits are actively looking for us?  They know the swamp better than we do, and getting back to Downfall from Telemy Hill would mean passing right by the Brigands' Tollway again or taking a longer journey through the swamp, possibly back through the lands of those giant snakes."

"Ah'm ready, let's go before anything further happens, aye?" Finley glares at the two snipers.

(Once you decide where to go let know)

Gan-Re is a little crestfallen, the crest on his head actually goes down, “I suppose that you are correct Val.  Jingle Jangle was just really nice and it would make her so happy to get her Truffles back. But we are a trio for a reason and we can press on if you think that is best”

Quote from KudosWyvernspur >>

Gan-Re is a little crestfallen, the crest on his head actually goes down, “I suppose that you are correct Val.  Jingle Jangle was just really nice and it would make her so happy to get her Truffles back. But we are a trio for a reason and we can press on if you think that is best”

Valrieth looks to Finley.  "Finley, you're the cleverest of the Trio.  Do you think that we should return to Telemy Hill to rest?  Or should we head directly to Downfall?"

"Ah'd love ta go back to Telemy for a rest, but ah don't want to lead any of these brigands back that way and ah believe we can find a safe enough place to rest on th' way to Downfall." Finley finally says after a moment of thinking.