"What are they talking about?" 

He looks down to Toot who is floating next to him.

 "No clue." she admits.

 "What do you mean... Dragon?" Norbus asks.

"I think she means a large flying beasts that burns people alive before eating them." Dazlyn cuts in. They are speaking in common now.

 "Freezes them actually."

 "A young white dragon has moved into the region."

Thomas tries to keep the edge from his voice when he talks about the beast, "We have been asked to warn you and escort you back to Phandalin if you wish it."

 "Oh out of the question we can not leave yet." Dazlyn replies.

"Sadly I agree." Norbus says, "We are on the verge of a great discovery and we can not leave now."

 "That's two for two wont budge."

Feldoran shakes his head and looks away, "Starting to feel like we are wasting our time."

 "As long as we get paid who gives a toss."

 The two dwarves start whispering between themselves.

Then of course they start arguing until Norbus turns to the group with an apologetic smile.

"If you are looking for work we might have a job for you."

 "What does it pay?"

 "Fifty percent of what ever you find." Norbus replies.

"Twenty five." snaps Dazlyn which earns him a thump in the arm from Norbus who repeats; "Fifty."

He explains, "We have opened up a new area of the tunnels back there and the place is lousy with slimes. We have cleared what we can but there are a few difficult buggers we just cant shift. So yeah, shift them for us and we share the loot."

 "Sounds like a fair trade to me."

 "If there is any loot in there."

 "Well we had best be about it then."

Elandra marches past them all and walks deeper into the excavation.

 "Great to see she learned her lesson with the Manticore."

 "Piss off!"  Elandra shouts back.

Ruined Settlement

 As they walk in Norbus explains,

"All knowledge of this settlement, including its name, vanished along with its original inhabitants, who were killed by an avalanche."

The rubble that once buried the settlement has been hauled away, leaving the outlines of stone buildings visible as collapsed walls. A stone well on the far side of the ruins is filled with rubble. The settlement has been thoroughly ransacked. 

 "It looks like you have already cleared the place out."

 "Not us no." Norbus replies.

"Goblins." Dazlyn spits.

"We cleared them out months ago. Since then we have cleared more of the settlement and found new areas." Norbus explains.

 Courtyard and Temple Facade

The dwarves lead the party through to a newly excavated area where a partially collapsed, ten-foot-high wall separates the courtyard from the settlement west of it. Three heaps of rubble are piled high in this area. Hewn from the canyon’s back wall, a thirty-foot-high temple facade features steps rising to a stone platform. Cut into this facade is a ten-foot-high open doorway flanked by crumbling, life-sized granite statues of cloaked dwarves. Evil grins can be seen on their weatherworn faces.

 "They don't look very friendly."