Something accumulated over years on the watch told him that something was wrong. An imperceptible change in the situation that weighed heavily in his gut. He wasn't going to let some boy-faced barfly hold him away from his job, especially not if the man didn't look like he was from these parts. The guardsman reared back, looking to his fellows and nodding. One of the men drew his sword and the other produced a length of slim chain to serve as a restraint. He himself turned back to Soah and advanced on the man. The other guards seemed rather relaxed, given the situation, they had no intent to pursue the man if he ran and felt they'd only be dealing with a bowled over tavern patron come the fight. There was no point starting a bloodbath in the streets but he need into the inn before whatever brigand they were really chasing could slip away out, if by some stroke of luck he was actually at the Mast. "Warned you," he growled, and with one last step forward brought his sword arm back and forward, making a sharp swing with the pommel at the side of the man's head.

John continued to smile as the group affirmed an interest in traveling together. Griff called attention to Crom's blade and he found himself noting the ornate nature of the sword for the first time. He hadn't an eye for weaponry, so he wasn't sure if Griff was complimenting it or if all that decoration made it a show piece. Either way, the man was built like a castle, and he felt confident, rather dearly hoped, that his new guide would have been effective if armed with a twig. An inconvenient truth was that the mountains would soon be swarming with more banditry than usual, and if they got all the way into the heartlands, well, those were just myths. They could avoid the deep woods anyway.

The bartender appeared when called, cleaning a recently used mug with a ragged looking cloth. "Door eh?" He cocked his head, looking up and thinking primarily about how to answer the patron. It was no secret that something was afoot, half his customers had just run out and now there was some altercation taking place at this doors. The store room did open to the alleys through a set of heavy double doors, all the better to wheel in kegs with. He didn't know what had happened outside, but between lying to the guard and lying to someone who just might be the reason the bells were still ringing there was one clearly safer choice. "The ale room goes into the alleys, yeah. It's not my head, though. If the guard gets in here asking questions... well, I've got a family to look out for y'know?" He jerked his head towards the dimly let passage behind the bar in a simple gesture: Get out.