Hooflepoof heads back upstairs to the dining area. On the way, he sees Leosin, still on the balcony, pretending to smoke his pipe, and watching whatever is going on in the central area of the roadhouse, which right now, is nothing. The crews have gone to work on the road, and the day's delivery from Waterdeep isn't expected until later in the day. Leosin doesn't see Hooflepoof, of course, because he is invisible.

Arriving back to the dining room, Hooflepoof tells the adventurers about what he saw in the secured room, about the crate and the cabinet. Elbolin suggests that there must be some other way out of there, maybe there is some sort of trap door in the crate?

So Hooflepoof goes back down there, again creeping quietly, invisibly, and leaving the doors in the same way he found them, to avoid suspicion. The secure room is still empty. He lifts the lid and crawls inside the crate and carefully examines the sides and the bottom. He pushes and pries at everything, but nothing gives a millimeter. The crate is of very solid construction, without any suspicious cracks or panels. He climbs back out, scratching his head.

But still, there has to be something. Otherwise, why is this empty crate even here, and why is it affixed to the floor? He tries pushing it from every side, and most give nothing, but from one certain side... the crate tips up slightly. Aha! He pushes it harder in that direction, tipping it further. The crate lifts on a hinge on the opposite edge, opening up to reveal a square hole in the floor, and a staircase leading down into the darkness. He can't see further in the candlelight (the secure room having no windows, he has had to light a candle every time he comes in here), so he descends the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs is a tunnel, leading off roughly northward. The ground is soft and muddy, and in it he can make out prints from heavy travel; most of the prints appear similar, a larger heel-pad, and three smaller toe-pads, arranged in a semi-circle. Judging by the freshness and quality of these tracks, there must be creatures traveling here often and recently, perhaps daily. The tunnel is just barely large enough to stand up.

Hooflepoof follows the tunnel, which is nearly straight but forms gentle S-curves, just enough to make it difficult to see further ahead than a few meters. After about 15 minutes, the passage ends with another set of stairs, heading upward, but blocked at the ceiling with what appears like a plank of wood.

He hears the murmuring of indistinct voices, but he can't locate them. They don't seem to be coming from directly above, or any particular location, more like swirling around. He can't understand the language, but it sounds like draconic. He waits, listening intently, for a couple minutes, until he notices the darkness starting to come closer around him, and he hears his heartbeat in his ears. He is getting scared.

Concerned about losing his rationality, and wanting nothing more than just to get away from there, he hurries back through the tunnel. Once he is back up in the secure room, his breath eases, and he makes his way back up to the dinning hall. The adventurers are still hanging out there, and Leosin has come down to talk.

"So, have you guys figured out anything?" he asks, quietly enough that Gristle Pete can't hear above the steam he's using to clean the grills. "I heard some strange noises last night, and I snuck into the storage room, but it looked like just food and grain for the horses. There is a locked door in there, but I haven't had a chance to get in there and see if there is any way past it."

"I've been there," says Hooflepoof, which startles Leosin at first because Hooflepoof is still invisible, but he quickly remembers the Cloak of Invisibility (after all, he borrowed it for a while). Hooflepoof continues: "Behind that locked door is a room that's almost completely empty, except for a cabinet where Bog seems to be storing some valuables for the workers, and an empty crate. But the crate is actually a trap-door to a tunnel."

"Oh that's awesome!" says Leosin. "That must be where they're taking the loot! When I was watching them unload, I noticed that certain things were being carried back there. We have to go see where the tunnel leads!"

"It leads to stairs and a door," says Hooflepoof. "But I suspect a dragon may be protecting it."

"Did you see the dragon?" asks Leosin.

"No, but I could sense it, somewhere on the other side of that door."

"Is it hard to get down there?" asks Leosin.

"Not for me," says Hooflepoof. "I've picked the lock like six times now, it keeps getting easier."

"Well we have to follow that loot! Is the tunnel big enough for a dragon?"

"No, definitely not a full-grown one, anyway." says Hooflepoof. "He must have come in a different way."

"We have to see what's at the end of the tunnel! Why didn't you check it out while you were down there - weren't you invisible?"

"I was getting scared. I think it was the dragon's Frightful Presence."

"Oh, Frightful Presence isn't so bad. I mean, if you're fighting a dragon it can be deadly, but fighting a dragon is probably deadly anyway. If you're not in a fight, just use your Wisdom, and the effect wears off after a couple minutes."