[center][h2][b][color=20B2AA] Jandar Varan [/color][/b][/h2][h3][color=20B2AA]Root's Teeth, Dhemlan Terreille[/color][/h3][/center]
Jandar observed the mulish blonde boy as he struggled in wain against his hold, his gaze sharpening when he saw the child sneak one hand into a trouser pocket, the lad's body tensing for action. Jandar tightened his hold on the boy’s shoulder in a warning not to do anything foolish, and pocketed the leather pouch. [color=20B2AA]“If I was wantin’ to toss you anywhere, no way was I standin’ here chattin’ you up,”[/color] he noted with an impatient growl.

With an eye-roll, he released the boy. [color=20B2AA]“’Ave it your way, lad. And if you change your mind, I’m stayin’ ‘ere for the night,”[/color] he said, offering a short explanation as to where his room could be found. [color=20B2AA]“Knock four times, like this, so I know it ain’t no stranger,”[/color] he demonstrated by clapping his hands, first a soft clap, followed by a short pause, then two quick successive claps, and a louder clap a second after. [color=20B2AA]“See ya or not,”[/color] the Warlord added dismissively with a shrug, descended the ladder, and headed back into the inn. 

Honestly, he’d given the knocking hint to the boy more of as a lure to come than something he'd actually require. The Warlord hoped the blonde would see it as an interesting little tid-bit, and would be intrigued enough to pay him a visit. This was an endeavor to draw attention from a potential source of information that cost Jandar next to nothing. Even if the boy forwent knocking in the specific manner Jandar had shown him - even if the blonde attempted the more reckless thing and tried to sneak into his room - Jandar was confident he could recognize and intercept him. But conversing with the lad when he was so obviously hostile and frightened seemed like a futile attempt, and so Jandar had left the decision for further contact to the boy. And the child likely didn’t know it, but he’d already given the Warlord some information – the fact that apparently, the innkeep, the Queen’s guards, and so-called collectors were all collaborating in a scheme that involved…capturing people?

Jandar didn’t know why the blonde thought [i]he[/i] (a child of dubious value) would be worth collecting, however. More importantly, whoever the innkeeper was, the boy thought he or she was likely to sell him out. Had Jandar already seen the innkeep without knowing it? Or was the owner keeping out of sight? There were mysteries within mysteries even in such a small part of Terreille. They were all connected, and Jandar was sure they all originated from the Queen, and all lead to her as well. He’d prefer not to follow the leads he was discovering just to end up in [i]her[/i] domain, but he was afraid he might eventually have to do just that, if he wanted to find SaDiablo and free the Warlord Prince from whatever was keeping him occupied in this rotting Realm.

As he entered the inn’s main room, the Warlord kept a lookout for the shady group he'd seen before with his peripheral sight, and if they were still there, Jandar would enhance his hearing with Craft to eavesdrop on them. He also kept an eye on any obvious distressed people – if there was someone looking for an lost article already, he might have to part with the bag straight away somehow. The foolish lad – Jandar wouldn’t put it past the boy to try and pin the blame for stealing the satchel on him out of spite. Though if the little thief attempted a direct approach such as that, Jandar could probably weasel out of it. The longer he had the satchel with him, however, the more risk he was under. If only he could find the owner and return the belongings to him unobtrusively. He had to admit though, with such prime opportunity within his grasp, a part of him dearly wanted to seclude himself and read through all the letters. But he could afford to do such a thing only if whoever was the owner was unaware of the theft.