You enter the nearby cellar and head across. The three freed slaves accompany you.
"That's not our work. It wasn't here before" one of them says, pointing to the disturbed earth in the cellar.
You notice that all of the scraping or digging noises have stopped.
You enter the other tunnel and proceed past the intersection you came from before, to another intersection. Down the tunnel to the left (east), you see some flickering light.
You find a dug-out cave dimly lit by torches, with wooden support beams. There are several small tools, such as small shovels, and a bag of what smells like spoiled food. There are no creatures here now.
ooc: You can go back where you were earlier (to the first cellar you entered) or continue down the tunnel. If the kobolds escaped recently, they could have taken either route while you were occupied with the hobgoblins.