“Welp, you heard the them. Let’s get on the road. I never like to be too relaxed.” Tex will take his tinker’s tools to the dragon toy, make a couple turns and suddenly the toy shines an ice blue light brightly out of its mouth. He’ll then toss over to Iri. “Hold onto this for me Iri. Might come in handy

TOWNMASTER'S HALL
As you pass by, the townmaster’s hall has sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. The job board next to the front door features a sparse number of notices, all written in Common and in the same hand.

HARBIN WESTER'S HOME
As you approach the Harbin Wester's home, you knock, and hear a plea on the other side of the locked door. “If you’re a dragon, know that I’m far too thin and bony to make a good meal!”

“No sir. We intend to take down the dragon, but to do that, we need to gather intel, and resources. Can you help with that?”

"We're going to talk to the dwarves for money! How do we get there?"

Harbin sounds very nervous. The new dragon neighbor must have really spooked him good. He spits out the following information in a hurried tone: 

"Ok! Ok, here! Dazlyn Grayshard and Norbus Ironrune are dwarven prospectors and business partners. While looking for gold in the mountains, they decided to explore a nearby canyon and found evidence of an ancient dwarven settlement buried by an avalanche. They’ve spent the past several months clearing the rubble and scouring the ruins for treasure, but have found nothing of value so far. They haven't been back to Phandalin, and have no idea a white dragon is in the area! Someone's got to warn 'em! It's about 15 miles southwest from here."

“Thank you kindly, now, could you also point us I. The direction of the gnomish settlement, and maybe the windmill as well? We’d be much obliged” Tex tips his cap at the nervous man

Lanarial stands to the side, in the deepening shadows, listening to the talks. Seeing the locations of the three tasks, he comments,  "Yes, we could handle all of these in one trip, getting paid the full amount at once. Excellent. Is there anything else we should know about these people?"

I concur with my brooding compatriot, we don't like to run into surprises, (Tex raises a hand in Lanarial's direction, then grabs out a quill and a small leather-bound journal)  I might add on to his query and ask if there are any problems out in the wilds, excepting the dragon of course. Magical beasts, orc war bands, etc.?

Vi looks over the map and nods slowly. "Yes, we can do that." The half-elf waits to hear Harbin's appraisal of the dangers outside the town, although privately she has her doubts about his level of expertise on such things, given his shut-in status.

"Ooh! We also get to meet gnomes? This is such an exciting day!" Iri says, following the rest of the group. As she follows them she plays around with the little device Tex left her, fascinated. She doesn't seem very interested in the questions the rest of the group is asking as she is too distracted by her new toy. 

"Well, besides the wandering white dragon, not that i'm aware!" he says in a nervous manner, clearly spooked by the whole situation. You figure that's all the information you're going to get out of him, and decide to set off.

17

QUEST ONE - DWARVEN EXCAVATION
- Warn Dazlyn and Norbus of the white dragon

The dwarven excavation lies due east of Leilon, 15 miles southwest of Phandalin, at the eastern end of a canyon. The canyon’s rocky walls rise to a height of eighty feet. At the end of the canyon, a twenty-foot-high wall of black stone has a broken gate carved into it, with one stone door hanging precariously by a hinge and the other door missing. Beyond this open gate, in the shadow of a great mountain to the east, lies a ruined settlement. All is quiet. You guys find yourselves at the "X".

Tex will adjust his hat up as he gazes in wonder at the impressive stonework, wondering aloud: "Well tan my hide. This is a wonder. How old are these ruins do ye reckon?" He walks calmly toward the gate, placing a hand on the stone gate before looking back to the party. "Let's warn some archaeologists about the impending dragon danger." Tex will be trying to keep a keen eye inside the gate, looking for any movement.
PERCEPTION :16 

With the little dragon toy on her shoulder, Iri looks at the gates. "This is so pretty! I hope the dwarves have really big beards." Hurrying to catch up the Tex, she hums a slight tune. 

Vi glances at the broken gates and draws her sword wordlessly, glancing at Talav on her shoulder. The raven caws and takes flight, zipping between the broken gates and into the first room, telepathically relaying whatever he sees back to Vi.

The canyon floor is strewn with rubble and bereft of vegetation except for a few tough, scraggly weeds. Beyond the gate is a ruined settlement, destroyed by what appears to be an avalanche. It is clear that 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. All that remains are crushed dwarf bones and signs of recent campfires.

Gareth-Wyn approaches the door, and takes a moment to see if its state of disrepair is the result of decay or damage, and if damage, from within or without. Satisfying his own curiosity, he lightly taps the precariously hanging door to see if it will still move, or if it has rusted shut at this point.

Investigation: 5

(From the map, it looks like the door is busted inwards.)

Afterwards, he moves forward to the rest of the team as they push inward, noting the crushed bones and signs of recent ransack. He readies a long shafted glaive.

"Is it like dwarves to leave their camp unwatched?"

The door is indeed busted inwards - most likely from the excavation team. The door does still move, it's not rusted. However, it is difficult to tell whether it's wear is simply time, or damage. Perhaps both? So far, there are no signs that would give overwhelming evidence of attack.

As the party makes their way inside the first area, Tex will give a sharp whistle and call out "Excuse me! anybody home? We were sent here by the townmaster of Phandelin!" Tex is going to look around for recent signs of habitation: SURVIVAL 8 (If it is investigation, the total would be 22)

Gareth-Wyn moves to the front of the group, facing the path that leads further into the ruins.