As Stoney slips on the rope, a part of his brain is thinking about the need to improve the range of motion on his armor.
The other part is panicking as he starts to fall, not knowing the depth of this pit.

He casts Feather Fall on himself and the next 4 people closest below him.
(Even at slower speed, if he crashes into someone, they'd need help too.)

(Trying to sound calm, but his voice still cracks.) "Can someone grab me as I pass by you?"

Phodoxia half turns her head as she dangles from the rope, giving the slow-falling gnome an odd stare. Gnomes float, huh. But she reaches out and grabs at his collar as he falls past her, only to have gravity pull him--slowly--out of her grasp, nearly yanking her arm out in the process. Oof. He might be floating like a feather, but he sure doesn't weigh like one. "Sorry," she snaps, "I tried."

Grrzark ignores the fall and tumble above him as he plants his feet on the grate and reaches down to grab the adjoining bars. "Let's see if this'll move," he says, and with a too-loud aggressive battle shout, his muscles bulge and ripple as he heaves at the bars, trying to break them clean off.

Mud has a strange sense of deja vu.  He remembers staring slack-jawed as the old ship's mage, a gnome, leaped once from the rigging and floated to the deck, lighter than a kestrel's feather.  Seeing Stoney do it now takes him back to that moment... and slows Mud's mind down to boot.

Reacting too late, Mud lunges, but is unable to find purchase on Stoney's garments or armor as the gnome floats maddeningly slowly below his reach.

"Not a drop of rum or brandy in days, yet I have the reflexes of a sea cucumber," Mud grumbles under his breath with a rueful smile, making a mental note to devote another offering to Procan when he next gets the chance.  Have I learned nothing?

Shadowheart hears a commotion above and see the gnome falling. Except Tark was not falling fully, more floating down. Wordlessly and without expression, Shadowheart sidesteps to ensure he doesn't have a gnome fall on him, and then actually facepalms when Gzzark starts making a lot of noise.

"Stealth," he whisper-growls into the goblin's ear, bending down. "We're sneaking in. With stealth. It means, stay quiet."

With a sigh he tries to observe the grate beneath them. Hinges, latches, weaknesses. Perhaps there was a way he could use his thieves' tools to open this hatch? 

Could be Perception +4, or Investigation +2, I rolled d20 in game log, got 3 so it would be either 7 or 5. I'mma 'sume they fail either way.

He doesn't seem to find anything of particular note. He backs up to give room for others to try and get through. He casually looks up at the room, already mentally sighing at the idea of having to already climb back up if they can't open this grate. 

As the little gnome flies down the shaft with the rest of the team trying to grab him but having to focus more on themselves not to suffer his same fate, an interminable slow fall it appears, the already angry, and hungry, Grzzark pulls and pulls from the grate with all the strentgh that his little green arms could muster. Still, the grate does not fudge. 

He let it go, frustrated and now more angrier, and just stomp his right feet into it. 

"Stupid thing move!!" he says, stomping with all hiss strength. 

For a second nothing happens, and he and Shadowheart look into each other's eyes and then the grate falls. making them falling too into the chamber below and land in their butts. 

Jusst in that second, Stoney appears floating gently to the ground between them. 

The chamber is more or less eliptoical, with exits at the north and south edges and another grate, similar to the one who momentary halted their way, at their feet. 

Despite the noises no one sseems to be inmediatly coming their way. 

After the awkward landing, Stoney stands up and starts to dust himself off, like nothing happened.
Mumbling: "I'll have to make adjustments to my armor to make it easier to maneuver."
He then remembers that they are in a dark, dangerous place. With his 60' Darkvision, he looks around.

Mud too finally finishes descending, climbing down the rope far less nimbly than his experience as a sailor would warrant.  Procan Protect.  A few days floating in the sea and half an hour chasing a deer.  Suddenly I climb the rigging worse than a landlubber with a loose grip.

However, agreeing with Shadowheart on the need for stealth, he remains quiet, hoping Rasen knows which way to go once he arrives.  Sensing that Grrzark will not listen to him any more than he is listening to Shadowheart about being quiet, Mud shrugs wryly.  He gives Stoney a rueful look after having failed to catch him, and also looks around with his 60' darkvision while listening along both passageways.

Unfortunately, being deep underground, which should come naturally to a goblin, is something Mud hasn't done much of in a long long time.  He feels oddly disoriented, not noticing much.  Thoroughly disappointed in himself, he settles back to see which way Rasen (or anyone else) will lead.

Shadowheart falls when the grate does and lands very unceremoniously on his ass. He lies there for a moment. 'Well, **** you too, Gravity.' he thinks. He gets up, a wince of pain thankfully concealed by his mask. He waits a moment, listening out in case the noise has brought any unwelcome attention. When it seems it has not, he relaxes a little and says, "Thank you, Gzzark."

He looks around, putting his 120 ft Darkvision to work, to take in the details.

Phodoxia nearly lets go of the rope when Grrzark suddenly crashes through the grate with an enormous bang. And groans quietly to herself. Now everything down here is going to hear us. She watches Mud shimmy awkwardly the rest of the way down the rope as it drops down through the hole where the grate was. After several seconds, when no screams or other threatening sounds come from below, she slowly and cautiously follows.

Grrzark pushes himself to his feet and dusts himself off. He nods to Shadowheart, puffing his chest out as he looks around calculatingly. "You're welcome," he says, glibly. His demeanor giving the impression that nothing can stand in his way if he puts his mind to it, and these humans are fortunate to have him along.

Phodoxia makes it down the rope and drops quietly to the ground. "Nice work, Zark," she singsongs, almost in a whisper. She's still cautious about being heard. "Now which way do we go? Let me know, and I'll scout ahead."

"No you won't, Dox," Grrzark says. "I'll scout. I can handle it if there's something there. I don't want you to get hurt. Or fall into a hole or something."

The party finally decend into the cave. Those who can see in the dark are able to see now that to the west the corridor ends in a natural cul-de-sac, while the east streches into a corridor with an exit that seems to lead north-northwest. 

There is another grate just behind the one that they came in, leading to what seems to be another level of the cavern system. 

The air is colder and more humid than before. 

No sounds can be heard from the corridor, it seems that, despite Grrzark's quarrel with the grate no one has heard them. Or they aren't close enough for the party to detect them. 

Rasen says

"Well... from now on you're guess are as best as mine, we never made it here... " 

Mud wonders once more how he ever spent so much time grubbing around under a bunch of dirt like this.  Life without the horizons seems empty.

"Dead end up that way, right?  So maybe back east to the intersection?  Or do we feel like smashing grates until someone hears?"

"I'm going ahead a bit to the intersection and see if I notice anything," Shadowheart says to the group. "If you're following, try to be sneaky, otherwise stay here and I'll report back."

Shadowheart adjusts his stance to move as silently as possible down the eastern corridor to where there is a intersection. He will hide there as he looks and listens both the northern passage and where it continues east. Not only to watch out for enemies or traps but also for signs of which direction may be best to take.

ROLLS IN GAME LOG

Stealth: 7
Perception: 6

((**** you, dice. 🤣))

Except for a light breeze coming from the eastern part of the corridor Shadowheart does not hear anything of note in either corridor. 

Shadowheart returns to the others, "no immediate threats, do you want to proceed to the intersection? We should scout bit by bit."

Hearing Shadowheart say "no immediate threats...", Stoney immediately jogs up to the intersection.
He then hears "... do you want to proceed to the intersection?"

Without any shame about his premature action, Stoney agrees with going to the intersection, and with the plan to scout bit by bit.

A direction having been chosen, Mud follows his new companions to the intersection without a word.

If nothing accosts the party, he gestures, then turns left and continues carefully to the northwest passage.  Distant memories of scurrying around in tunnels return to him and he is able to sneak and hide as he does so, blending into the shadows and making no sound whatsoever...

Scouting northwest branch from intersection sneakily and with his darkvision:
Stealth:  24 (Natural 20)
Perception:  11

Unfortunately while quiet as a mouse, Mud also seems to have the eyesight of a mouse.  Not necessarily the greatest.

Mud's memories serve him well and apparently he hasn't lost his touch, as he scurries off the tunnel in complete silence and blend with the shadows. 

Following the passage he finds that it ends in a wide, open chamber, dimly lit by some torches here and there. Great, chiseled columns support the ceiling of the chamber and he can percieve that the sounds are amplified and reverberate in this great chamber, thanks to the sound of metal clinking against the rock that comes from the his left. Even him, who shares the senses of a mouse, can tell that the work at the quarry during this day has started. 

Mud pads back to report his findings.

"Sounds like mine work going on up past that tunnel.  Not a surprise, probably?  Might be one of you bigger ones should go first."  He looks at Rasen and Shadowheart.  "Easier to explain one of you being here than a goblin."  Not for the first time, he realizes he does not really understand the plan here...

Nevertheless, Mud shrugs philosophically, gathering his courage like a slowly incoming tide.  Procan would guide him.

"Well, there wasn't  a plan really... perhaps that's why the others were killed in the fiirst time" Rasen reflects"anyway we should try and find this man who used to work for the burguemaster and investigate the place in search for something wrong. He suspects that something is amiss here... "

"So they're mining up that way," Phodoxia muses. "You humans can look for the burgomaster's man. I'll check the other passage, to the east." Furtively, she sneaks off down the eastern passageway at the intersection.

Stealth: 19
Perception: 2

Grrzark shoots a haughty look at Mud, and follows after Phodoxia, hefting his battleaxe protectively.

Stealth: 22
Perception: 4