The chute is about 3'x2' and you can't see the bottom.

John ponders the goblin's question. "Well, I reckon you could use the grates and manholes out in the streets, if you're thinking of mounting an expedition down there. You'd have to get clearance from the guard, of course. We'd best report back to the lieutenant before you go running off anywhere down below."

John glances up at the overcast sky and stifles a yawn. "Boy, it's getting late out, innit? Looks like a good time to pack up for the day. Are you all done here?"

Kod looks at John with a look of disbelief. "You'd rather call it a day than pursue whatever it is that may have been the cause for this man's death?" Kod looks back at the still form of the baker and shakes his head sadly. "Feel free to do whatever you like." Kod moves away from the chute and out of the room to the entrance of the bakery. Once at the entrance to the bakery, he glances around the immediate area of the street looking for an entrance to the sewers down below.

At the far end of the street to your left is an iron manhole.

Without waiting to hear from his fellow companions, Kod exits the bakery and makes his way towards the iron manhole. Kod walks around the manhole for a moment. Intent on pursuing whatever it is in the sewers, Kod attempts to remove the top of the iron manhole.

Seeing Kod struggle, Finnora moves to his side and attempts to remove the same manhole cover, wrapping her fingers around the inset holes and tugging it upwards with a grunt.

Kod, you don't know what happened. Perhaps the manhole has been greased or Steve's giving you bad vibes, but you can't pull it up. The blue alien bends down to assists you and, with her very feminine and thin arms, heaves it off effortlessly.

"So, there's an alleged hairy murderer in the sewers, the Stormwind guard is already exhausted and the paladin has an imaginary friend called Weedle. What a colorful scenario. Have I missed anything, Steve?" Wedrix uses his arms to pull his head over the trash chute and look down at what all the ruckus is caused by.

"You mean you lot are seriously going to venture into the sewers after dark, just because you suppose there's some sort of rat murderer at large?" John's eyes boggle. "For the Light's sake, lads! I know this is fishy business, but you can't just go turning the city upside down over one dead body like that! I'll lose my job!"

He sighs and hefts his shield. "Look, I haven't had my dinner and Thornton's probably wondering what we've found. Shouldn't we have a short rest, check in with the lieutenant, and prepare for the mission before you all go dungeon delving, or whatever it is you do?"

Kod looks at Finnora with amazement before cracking a huge smile and laughing heartily. "By all that is holy, you sure have a lot of strength despite your appearance. I'll depend on you if I ever get into danger to save me." Chuckling, he pats Finnora on the shoulder before kneeling next to the manhole and peering down into its depths.

Wedrix and all others who look in see a sewer channel about ten feet wide. On either side is a five foot walkway of slimy stone. The walls are also slimy, and the water is filthy and filled with the city's refuse. A rolled up rope ladder on a chain is on a hook just beneath the manhole, and would drop down onto a rusty iron lattice grate that bridges the channel between the two walkways. Here and there, lead pipes emerge from the stonework or spill garbage into the sewers. The platform is ten feet down.

"Of course I intend to go down there. Something killed Mr. Trout, and it wasn't that stove. Seeing as our goblin friend saw something moving about down there, I intend to find it and bring it to justice." With that, Kod lowers himself down into the manhole and climbs down the ladder. Upon reaching the bottom, he checks the maintenance box in case there is something of use to him.

John looks extremely conflicted between his sense of duty and the conviction of the paladin before him. He starts sweating in his armor. He's not an expert on murder investigations, but don't these things usually take more evidence than "it wasn't the stove that killed Trout" and "something's making squeaking noises in the garbage"? Aren't there things in Azeroth that squeak and don't murder people? Does the paladin have some sort of Detect Murderer ability that's informing his judgment!? John doesn't know. He's totally confused.

Finally he says:

"Fine, fine. I'll come along and make sure you don't get into any trouble, but you owe me a good word with the lieutenant for this. I'll riot if this doesn't warrant a pay raise."

John finds another Stormwind guard on the street and asks them to tell Lieutenant Thornton what the group is up to. Once that's done, he climbs down the ladder after Kod, wary of the stench billowing up around him. He suddenly doesn't feel like having his dinner anymore. "Come on, then," he calls up to the other party members as he descends.

While Kod investigates the box, John takes the time to look around the area:

As they begin their decent into the sewers Steve remarks aloud to himself I wonder how many actual criminals the guard catch, with their 'dinnertime and a good nights rest' policies. The night must be terribly crime free in these parts.

Upon entering the shadowy caverns of the undercity, Steve shifts his attention to his surroundings and almost seems to melt into the shadows.

Finnora smiles slightly at the paladin's enthusiatic praise. She didn't really do that much, after all.
***
The Draenei keeps a close watch on the sewer around her, though she feels swallowed by black. Her sight penetrates the physical shadows, yet her true vision is dangerously impaired. The air is so full of malevolence (and that awful smell) that she can hardly focus on the paladin's back before her.

"Should we really be poking around in that box?" John asks Kod. "That's tax money. I sure wouldn't want the next fellow to be caught down here without a light just because we plundered the maintenance kit."

"Why would it be there if all who may need it could not use it?" Finnora asks the guard beside her, her hands pressed respectfully behind her back.

"Uh," John stumbles, lost for words before the blue giantess. "I... I dunno, missus. It just seems like the box is for the maintenance crew, not us. Isn't that how these things normally work? I don't want to get fined for taking something that's not mine. Maybe this is normal for you adventuring types, but I have kids to feed."