Bryony climbs down the rope into the hole. She notes that she is the perfect size to go through the door should someone be able to open it.

"I wonder if it's another room or if it leads somewhere?"

Bryony climbs down last as Jurgen listens for any sounds behind the boarded-up hatch. A cold breeze softly sighs through the cracks, carrying the faint scent of decaying flesh. But there are no other sounds.

Jurgen opens it.

Jurgen opens it.

Testing it, Jurgen finds that it's not going to readily open. The wooden hatch door was nailed shut to its frame decades if not centuries ago, with fat black iron nails. It will take some prying and wrenching to remove the boards. (Anyone have a crowbar?)

Jurgen, seeing that this will take some leverage. He uses the crowbar 

"I dunno bout this."

Quinn draws his bow and stands at the ready incase there's any threats behind the door.

IF any threats come out of the door, Quinn will attack with his bow.

With some loud shrieks of metal against wood, Jurgen pries the wooden panel off the hatch. Beyond is a neat, if very old and rough, tunnel. It extends straight south, with a slight pitch downward, beyond the limits of Jurgen's darkvision. It appears utilitarian, shored up by sturdy wooden beams and braces. It is barely four feet tall, and about the same wide. There are hooks on the wall for lanterns - but no lanterns - and evidence that there were once rails on the earthen floor, since removed. The air is very cold, with a smell of decay. The air moves a little with a slight whispering sound.

Bryony peers down the revealed tunnel. It's so chilly and a bit creepy that it makes her shiver. "South...is that toward the Tresendar Manor I wonder? Maybe the inhabitants of the manor had some sort of escape tunnel."

Tessa drops down into the room once a secure rope up is established. She lights up her spear and peers down the tunnel. "Let me try something."

She uses Speak With Animals, and begins producing some various squeaks and chitters, hoping to attract the attention of any rats or other wildlife that might be hiding in the room or tunnel. "Anyone down here? I have a bit of cheese if you're hungry."

Tessa's calls seem to be futile. This room appears to have been completely sealed for decades, if not centuries – nothing alive larger than the tiniest of boring insects have entered this room until you came along.

But then a faint squeaking sound can be heard down the tunnel. Tessa can hear them but not see them. (Jurgen's darkvision picks them up: two curious bats.)

"Fruit! Fruit!" they call back to Tessa. "No cheese, fruit!"

“Bats! But they talked?!?”

Kimberley leaned down next to Tessa, " You can talk to animals? What are they saying?"

She took out her Moons Hand mace and held it in her hands.  

" If those squeaks are bats there must be another way out so they can hunt.....but it won't necessarily be big enough for us.   Thats assuming the tunnel has collapsed at some point, if not there may well be another door....though I suppose bats wouldn't use a door......"

" Most of us are pretty tapped out but I'm willing to take a peek down there if you are."

Bryony listens to the bats' squeaking and regards Tessa with new fascination. "I would love to be able to speak to animals!" she exclaims. "But yes, I wouldn't mind exploring the tunnel a bit if anyone else wants to. I'm curious to see where it leads."

After bagging the coins and carpenter tools, Szyygy stands behind Jurgen and peers down the descending tunnel. "I'm also curious...and concerned about our security being compromised from below. We should make some sense of what we've found here."

Syzygy takes a moment to prepare and focus his energies to form mage armor around himself [as well as burning sorcery point to gain a spell slot].

Several of the party are evidently eager to investigate this shaft at least a little further. (Who's going in? Who's leading? Who's staying back?) Other than Bryony and Jurgen (who can walk in the shaft upright) the rest of you would have to clamber on all fours. There are no lights within - it is pitch dark. (Syzygy and Jurgen have darkvision; others may choose other means of producing light.)

The bats continue to beg for food. "Fruit? Fruit?" they call to Tessa. (The rest of the party hear just tiny squeaks from deeper in the shaft.)

“As much as I would like to adventure down this tunnel now, I believe we should rest and go at this tomorrow. “ Jurgen says disappointed 

Kimberley touched the smooth round head of her mace and blue tinted bright moonlight began to shine from it, " Small folk in the front so they can drop if we need to fire over them?"

Looking at Jurgen she muses, " How about we just go down to the bats and see what we can see?"

( Kimberley is wanting to be in the middle of the group...)

JUrgen gives into the request and his inner curiosity. He heads down the tunnel, being vigilant looking for traps. 

Quinn will take up the rear. He stashes his bow and attaches his sheathed dagger to his chest so it's easily accessible. He walks closer towards the door and takes a deep breath through his nose and he gages at the scent of the decay. 

"Whoever's taking leading the way, keep your eyes peeled. That stench of decay doesn't sit right with me. Something musta died down there recently."

Quinn will light his way with a torch.

Jurgen reluctantly takes the lead into the shaft. Kimberley is in the middle (presumably joined by Bryony and arcanely-armored Syzygy. Tessa, too?) Quinn takes the rear with a flickering torch. Other than Jurgen and Bryony, the group is completely hunched over or on all fours in the very low tunnel. 

The shaft runs due south and slightly downward for nearly 100 feet, the ancient earthen tunnel turning into a stone shaft which becomes rougher and more unfinished as it descends. The bats nervously retreat deeper underground.

It ends abruptly in a natural rock crevasse, barely three feet wide, running east and west, like a great crack in the earth, some twenty feet in height. Here you may stand up again. The uneven floor is icy cold, seemingly unnaturally so. The huge crack seems to close to the west, but continues irregularly at least sixty feet to the east, the direction the bats eventually retreat. (The pair of bats is just visible at a distance, still curious and hungry. Now a third joins them.) There are no signs of habitation, nor of anything unnatural, other than a bad smell. The air continues to move slightly with a soft sigh.