Symon watches the other adventurers work together like a finely-oiled wagon and it's wheels and had gathered their names as they had addressed each other. Kethra, the cloaked girl, was apparently their most fit. The black cat, once a man, seemed to be Davian. Lithe Jairus seemed to be an archer or catspaw from how he moved. Rubin was the last. He was feeling confident in his makeshift introduction, and at least two of them had heard his name in turn.

Then there was Tyde, possibly the oldest among them and mage of a sort, from his garments. It was Tyde who approached now, a glowing sphere in his hand. Symon nods in greeting.

"It looks like the ground will hold long enough to get the runts to safety, but I weigh a little more." He jerks a thumb at the door. "More pressing is the weight of my curiosity. Why is there a door here? Why did a sinkhole open right on top of it? I think we should seek out these Delvers. To apologize, of course."

His lips curl in the grin of a child with a cookie jar. He presses an ear to the door before inspecting it for anything unusual. He didn't expect an old, buried door to be trapped or locked, but he had to busy himself somehow. He wouldn't go poking his head in until Tyde's comrades rejoined them.

Investigation 8

"Send the rope back down and I'll get the next one ready." Rubin calls up, not all that concerned with other doors or passages until the kids are up to safety. 

“Firs thing first is the kids,” Jairus shouts as he continued to aid with hauling them up. “We got em all?”

OOC: Let me know when we have secured all the children, then Jairus will greet the new ally once the immediate threat to citizens has passed, and see about investigating the chamber below if they can talk him into it.

You all manage to get all the children and the woman back up to the top.

(Are the rest of you that aren't in the hole going to descend?)

“Looks like that’s all of em,” Jairus says to Kethra. He places his hands to the sides of his mouth and shouts down to the others, “Y’all want us to climb down there?” 

Kethra nods to Jairus.

After hauling them up to safety thanks to everyone's bravery, the cloaked girl will come with the children, helping along any of them who have been hurt or have frozen up. Addressing their parents and caregivers, she speaks up. "I'm sorry. No parent should have to see their child have to go through something like that. But according to those elders it seems like this isn't the first time you've run into these...Delvers? Can you tell us more about them?

"And what did the town do in the past with them?"

Insight if they're telling the truth: 12

"Seems to be more chambers down here."  Rubin would call up as he nods towards the door.  "Guess it depends on if you want to learn more about what is going on with these hidden chambers, that clearly are in use..."  He wonders if it has anything to do with the earth prophet or those cults the others mentioned.  "Probably best at least have a look around, since we have an opening to do so..."  He tells those nearby, but not loud enough to carry to those above.

None of the townsfolk have even heard of the Delvers before.  As far as you can tell, they’re telling the truth.

“Might be the elders know somethin’ the rest of the town doesn’t,” Jairus says. “I know all about oldsters keep in’ secrets from the young, myself. We could go and try to get the elders to fess up more information, but I’m a mite worried about the others pokin’ round down there without us there to back ‘em up. Think we should go back them up, or gather them up to go and speak with the town elders before we go stick in’ our nose in this business more?”

Jairus is speaking to Kethra as most of the rest of the party is in the hole. 

Adjusting her hood, Kethra gives a nervous laugh. "The smart thing to do would be to talk to the elders. But...we're not diplomats, we're adventurers. I can keep an eye on things up here so I can quickly pull people up. You could also perch with your crossbow?"

"Or," she lowers her voice to a whisper, "You could ask one of your friends to do it!"

Kethra turns to Jairus and grins, then she quickly turns away and stares back into the pit. "Um...I suppose I don't really know how your relationship with them is like, so we can just go with my other idea if that makes you uncomfortable."

Jairus runs a hand through his hair, looking embarrassed, and says, “If you mean the Z-H-E-N-Tees, they aren’t the kind of friends I can call on in short notice, and I don’t know if they even have any people in this town other’n m’self. I’d be happy to play lookout while you pull others out, but I think they might plan to poke out more down there.”

Jairus walks to the edge of the pit, and shouts down, “Y’all comin’ up? We’re ready to haul ya up if so! Or you want us to climb down there and join ya? Could get stranded if the old folks come back and cut our ropes.”

"Yeah, you're right! There might be...oh no!"

Quote from DragonDenn >>

"Seems to be more chambers down here."  Rubin would call up as he nods towards the door.  "Guess it depends on if you want to learn more about what is going on with these hidden chambers, that clearly are in use..."

"RUBIN!! Look out! There's been traps in every cave and encampment we've run into near this city! Please take your time and keep your eyes open! Uh...Davian? Please assist him and Mr. Tyde please be ready and tell the others in case we need to use...that plan! (Using Daylight to blind the Delvers if they're bad.)

"Symon, I don't really know what you can do but can you see what you can salvage from the cart? Boards, nails...maybe a wheel?"

Kethra holds her head, a little frazzled from Jairus talking about cutting the ropes. She was thinking about it, and everyone probably was thinking about it...but saying it out loud just made things that much more scary. "Oh God in heaven, the elders are mad at us, the people don't know anything and we don't have any allies..."

Quote from LordShadowthorn >>

More people run from other homes. Calls of “A rope, a rope!” and “Get a ladder!” fill the air.

Kethra does gives herself a bonk to the head for being an idiot. "Jairus, um, watch the ropes for a second!"

Holding up a couple of silver coins she runs after the men who were told to get a ladder. "Hey! There are still people down there! Let me buy that ladder!"

(Edit: DM, using Kethra's color of green for the important text.)

“Watchin’ ‘em, Kethra,” Jairus answers, he does so. Mostly to himself he says, “Thinking ten things at once and managin’ a most logical thing, gettin’ us a ladder. That’s why she’s the leader. I’d’a still been tryin’ to figure out if it was rude to save those kids.” 

 Calling up out of the pit, "Now that the children are safe we were thinking of exploring what this door is doing down here, maybe find some of those Delvers to question, what do you think?"

With the Driftglobe illuminating the pit with it's Light Tyde will look around to see if there is anything else noteworthy.

Perception check: 23

"There's bound to be another way out."  Rubin calls up.  "I'd say you should come down to join us,, as I doubt if we will be coming back out this way."  Rubin figures that, if the elders know about this area, then there is going to be some other way out of here after all.

The ladder man seems confused at first, then chuckles.

"There's no charge to set the ladder down here, lass.  You earned all our gratitude gettin' them kids out, you did."

Jairus' initial reaction is to agree with these more seasoned adventurers.  Though his personal confidence is growing in his skills, his judgment, including moral judgment, is still largely unformed and easily malleable.  He initially calls out, "I'll be right down!"  After a pause, he looks to the more established party member, seeking either approval or rebuke, some confirmation that he is doing the right thing.    "I mean, we are goin' down to help out those guys, right, Kethra?  That's why you got us that ladder an'all?"

If and when Kethra gives him the affirmative, he will climb down with her and begin searching for traps, particularly near the door they discovered.  

(Passive Perception and Passive Investigation  are both 15, if active rolls are preferred let me know.)

Jairus (or anyone else if he doesn't descend immediately) finds no traps on the door, or anywhere else.

Symon watches as the rest of the group begins to follow Tyde towards this mysterious subterranean door.  He backs away and makes room for the others to get closer to the door as they do.

Hearing the young lady shout down to him by name, he gives the cart a skeptical glance.

"I don't think there's anything of use in there, and it belongs to somebody still.  I'd rather leave it be."

(Assuming Kethra did not protest joining the others down here...) 

"I don't see no traps," Jairus says.  "Let me see if it's locked."  He checks to see if the door is locked, opening it carefully if unlocked, trying to pick the lock if locked.