Quinn anchors himself as he lowers Fergus. He had not seen Bryony take aim and let loose a shot, and the sound of the bow string twang beside him startled Quinn. He momentarily lost focus and let slip the rope but he quickly composed himself and held tight before Fergus hit the floor.

Quinn focuses his attention on the flesh nuggets  to gauge their reaction from the attack.

Bryony takes very careful aim, and lets loose a sharp arrow. It hits and penetrates the strange, misshapen gemmule, but does not kill it. (It is clearly wounded, but not deeply.)

The two strange creatures scatter out of sight. Fergus can see them retreat through open doorways into rooms to the south and east.

Fergus, his heart in his throat after a sudden drop nearly to the floor below, sees... a living room? Filled with collapse and debris.

"I got it!" Bryony says excitedly before she notices Quinn almost drop Fergus down the hole. "Oh no! Sorry Fergus. I didn't realize you were trying to talk to them."

The halfling attempts to help Quinn steady the rope, but she's not very strong and thus can't really do anything. "I can climb down next. Shooting them didn't really seem to work. They are tougher than they look!"

Fergus:

Thankful the FN’s didn’t stay around to snack on him as he dangled from the rope, Fergus unties himself and drops the last few feet to the floor.

Looking around, he considers the reaction of the creatures—do they appear to be intelligent and capable of speech, or are they acting merely on instinct?

Insight:  8

Quinn motions for Bryony to head down below with Fergus.

"Fergus! What do you see down there? Where'd they go?!"

Bryony joins Fergus at the bottom of the rope. Other than the collapse of the stairwell and the fallen dirt and debris from the sinkhole above, they find themselves in a once-tidy home, perhaps a couple of centuries old, completely intact. In Fergus' lantern light, you can see furniture ready to sit on, dishes on the table, an open book (in Dwarvish) on a side table, a hearth and kettle, a stack of dry firewood, and other household odds-and-ends. Three open doorways lead north, east, and south. (The tiny creatures retreated south and east.)

Fergus has never seen anything remotely like those alien creatures, but their behavior earlier did not suggest high intelligence.

Quinn and Jorzu watch from the edge of the hole above. Boona hangs back a little with the two boys, and Jurgen.

Fergus:

Calling up to Quinn, he says, “I’m fine, Quinn, you caught me in time.”  

Looking around, he adds, “This place looks lived-in, and recently—by someone who can read Dwarven.  If these alien-looking creatures are intruders here, the resident could be in danger.”

While he waits for others to come down who might wish to, Fergus moves around in the room and shines his light through each of the doorways, though he doesn’t go in.

”Hello, anyone home?” he calls out, adding, “there are some alien-looking creatures who fell in through the hole and may pose a danger to you.”

Perception (looking through doorways):  4

(Halfling Luck Reroll:  14 )