[ The sound of her laugh catches him off guard – and it clearly catches her off guard too if the speed at which she stifled it is any indication. Laughter is a natural human reaction. Even Imperials did that from time to time as difficult as that was for him to believe. Maybe it's because she had come out all guns blazing, unafraid, unflinching that he hadn't expected bright amusement to spark in her.

Whatever the reason he recovers, backs off in his own way both by taking that step back to give her back her space. Letting whatever edge of amusement he had been teetering on slip away into something a little more serious.

Apparently they're on similar wave lengths. He nods, confirming her guess before tilting his head slightly so they can walk while continuing their conversation. It would be more difficult to be overheard and besides that the merchants had been keeping a wary eye on them thanks to his tentative ally. ]

I haven't learned much. There's no way out of here aside from the one we came through either. The mages in Thorne made that pretty clear.