There was a brief moment of frustration when the man dodged her question--just as she had dodged his. Well played, sir. But even as she saw that maneuver for what it was, it made her a little more nervous, the usual paranoia gnawing at her brain. He had hooked her with curiosity, and had just revealed his motive to get her to stay longer. But why? He knew she wanted to get away as quickly as she could, and he kept supplying reasons for her to remain.
Part of her reasoned he was just lonely, or just genuinely trying to be a good person, sheltering a thief instead of turning them in, teaching them a solid lesson in the process. But the skittish, cynical part of her feared it might still be a trap, and she just hadn't noticed the snare looping around her neck, waiting to pull tight.
But he was a mage. What motive could he have? Paranoid, paranoid. She needed to stop that. Vigilance was good, but she also knew that too much of it could have the opposite effect. It could make her miss other details.
She turned her from from Arden to the serving woman, and then looked back to him with a raised brow. Was it...okay if she ordered more? Because she was likely going to need it. Getting tipsy was a bad idea, but what he'd had so far had clearly not been enough. She needed the calm. Well, she imagined he'd say something if he objected, and he knew she had no money, so after a pause she nodded. "What he got."
Taking up her mug, she finished it off in a quick gulp. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me where you go," she said quietly. "It's just...only way I know out's through the mountains. It always seemed so impossible."