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	Relative as age can be in a medieval era, the guard was not a young man, perhaps in his 40’s and having at least a good ten years on Jack. His hair was short, on the redder side of auburn with no real style to it, his eyes were slitted and green, providing a naturally accusing stare, and his features basically matched his body type; broad, thick and strong. Somehow defiant of these brutish features was the man’s recent and surprisingly clean-shaven and rather soft skin, unblemished and void of any visible scarring, which Jack thought was a curious quality for a man in his profession. Either he was very good at his job, or just didn’t get much action. In fact, at least appearance-wise, it would have seemed more fitting for the blacksmith and this guard to have traded places. 

In any case, the guard was likely not the smartest guy around, taking way too long to deliberate on what Jack had said. His initial reply was a long cold stare of his accusing eyes, followed up by a deep irritated groan, and then tempered with a loud grind of his teeth. His hands did not show any signs of leaving the grip of his sword. 

‘You know, work?’ Jack clarified, giving a quick, uneasy glance at the blacksmith who continued to stare on without expression. ‘Money? [i]Coin[/i]? Occupation? Making a living for one’s self. You are aware of this concept, right?’

‘I know of no work in Greenfalls,’ said the guard finally, forcing yet a deeper tone, ‘Ask at the Greenfalls Inn – and watch your behaviour while you’re here! I’ll be keeping a watch over you, [i]stranger[/i].’ 

Jack smiled his reply, slightly amused by the guard’s choice of words. ‘Well, thank you for watching over me, sir. Having a guardian may come in handy.’ 

The guard appeared very confused by this. His hands remained braced to his sword and eyes followed Jack as he walked away.