Chapter 2 - Red Larch, continues

Alyx's lights reveal a dark chamber that is about thirty feet below the level of the ground. It looks larger than the hole and extends into darkness on all sides. A heap of loose earth is piled in the middle. The children who first fell in are sitting on the mound of earth, coughing in the dust and sobbing with fright. "My boy, my boy!" a worried parent shouts, peeping over the edge. "Somebody do something!"

More townsfolk hurry up from all sides, staying clear of the edge. Among them are a few town elders, who pull people away from the edge and order the others to stay back. "Leave it to us!" says one of the elders. "We will tend to this matter! The children won't be harmed by being down there a little while, but no one must go down there. Keep back!"

Balak should totally make a Stonecunning check.

As Balak tries to get close for a good look, a town elder tries to shoo him away, saying, "The delvers must not be angered!" Another elder shushes him saying, "This isn't too be discussed before strangers!"

Still, Balak can see that the sinkhole was caused by undercutting and poor bracing. There are tunnels beneath the town, and one has given way.

Balak can't see any walls from the top, but the cave floor is about 30' down.

Defending? No. Descending? Yes, you are ready to start doing that. The elders are vocal but do not actually block your rescue.

The two lower down on the rope, revealing a very large cavern. The children are crying on top of the dirt pile and seem unharmed.

This cavern has a pile of dirt in the center and a gaping, 20-foot-diameter hole in the 30-foot-high ceiling. This wide, irregularly shaped cavern has a floor of smooth bedrock. Damp dirt and stone, with tree roots protruding here and there, make up the walls. A five-foot-wide tunnel leads off to the north, and a stone slab—a door with a rusty pull-ring—stands to the east. By the stone door, a couple well-used cloaks and a waterskin are on the floor.

It should be quick work to fashion a harness from the rope end to assist the children up (which is the suggestion being held from above) by means of those on top pulling them up. Xella should make a Wisdom (Survival) roll for rope harness tieing.

On the surface, three elders are nearly apoplectic. These are Ilmuth Waelver (male Tethyrian human), Albaeri Mellikho (female Tethyrian human), and Ulhro Luruth (male Chondathan human). The rest of the townsfolk are immediately concerned with the rescue effort and are aiding the party as best they can.

Dazzle and Felicia confuse and distract the elders, and once Sorgrimm and Xella get to the bottom, the fight goes out of them. They wring their hands and confer with sullen glances, and eventually skedaddle.

Balak has a firm grip on the rope, and feels the weight come off when his companions get to the bottom.

Excellent work, Xella. You fashion a sturdy harness and coax a guinea pig, er, feckless victim, er, brave child into it. At your signal, the surface dwellers begin hauling up the first child.

The rescue proceeds without a hitch, and the villagers cheer wildly with relief when the first child reaches daylight.