So I made my way back to that suspicious part of the other route - examining the door (as you would in ST1) doesn't do anything but if you hit it the whole thing comes crashing down! :O
Swapped out my weapon for a baselard I'd picked up earlier and cleared out the insects - at one end of the corridor are a few husks of something, and at the other is a gap that seems to lead further in but I can't get through...
I was able to break through this crack in the wall and do a little exploring but the cave system seemed to end soon after, even if I can still hear monsters nearby. I might pop back here in a bit.
These larger variants throw fireballs from a distance and they ~hurt~! Luckily one of the others dropped a healing potion so everything came up Kimimi in the end :D
It was tough because the cave was a little more populated than I expected, but I did it! These monsters are not great fans of you cutting off their eyeballs :S