Allistor used his spear tip again, pushing it between the metal door and its frame where the lever had been.  Prying it open caused the metal hinges to squeal so loudly that they all dropped into a crouch and held their breaths.

Not wanting to have to make the noise more than once, he continued.  Grabbing it with both hands he yanked it all the way open.  The rusted hinges protested but complied.   A look inside showed a narrow metal shaft sloping down at a very steep angle.  Allistor couldn’t see the bottom.  Coal dust tickled his nose.

The group waited in silence for a while, expecting some of the new monsters to appear.  When none did, Sam stuck his head in the door and shined a flashlight downward.  His voice echoed as he said, “It goes down maybe fifteen feet.  I can’t see anything but the floor right under the shaft.”

“We don’t have a rope.  How are we going to get down there?” Sean asked.

Allistor grimaced.  “Never go adventuring without a rope,” he mumbled to himself.

Meg stepped forward and looked down the shaft.  “I could shimmy down there without falling. I think,” she offered.

Sam shook his head. “We don’t know what’s down there.  And we’d have no way to bring you back up.  We need a rope.  Preferably a rope ladder.”

“Hardware store’s across town.  Might find some rope there. I could go take a look?” Robert Edward offered.

Meg smiled at him but shook her head.  “Can’t have you wandering off alone.” She thought for a minute.  “There should be a ton of power cords and extension cords in this building.  Maybe we can find enough to use?”

The entire group moved back into City Hall and began to poke around.  The rooms up against the end walls were partially intact.  They grabbed up anything that might be tied together to make a rope.  In a custodian’s closet, they found a plastic chair and a six-foot folding ladder.  There were also several dozen rolls of toilet paper, which Meg took a few of with a grin. “This might be the best thing we’ve found all day.”

They scooped up a few tools they found on a shelf and a can of spray lubricant.  Sean grabbed that up. “For the hinges.”

Five minutes later they were all back at the chute.  Sam and Allistor began knotting cords together, using their improved strength to pull them tight and test them.  Sean sprayed the hinges while the others watched and waited.

When they were done, they had nearly thirty feet of cord-rope.  The two men played a quick game of tug-of-war to test whether it would hold.  Meg volunteered again to go down.  And again, Sam refused.  “We’re sending Sean.  He’s armed, and he knows how to clear a room.”  Sean nodded, and there was no argument, even from Meg.