Xavier got his first lesson in just how cheap life was in this land as the man seemed little concerned with something as serious as murder.  Still he sensed no real malice from the man, just a rather shocking level of indifference.  While somewhat unsettling, Xavier shifted his focus towards safety for their small band, especially Esperanza.  Seeing the guard's reaction to his companions confirmed in Xavier's mind that it would be best to let them do most of the talking.  Not that he faulted the younger man for his heightened interest, he had been a young man once, and even now he would readily admit to the physical attraction of his traveling companions.   Despite any misgivings he might have towards Katya, she wisely kept her cards close to the vest and gave a passingly vague answer as to their business.  Clearly a request to warm up would be received much more readily from the pretty lips of such a fine looking young lady.  Though as good as it would feel to be warm once again, he thought the barn an unnecessary delay in finding suitable quarters for the night.  It would be all the harder to set back out into the cold dark rain once they felt the warmth of a fire.<br/><br/>In contrast to Katya's streetwise response, Xavier had to fight from rolling his eyes as Esperanza jingled her purse in front a total stranger.  Yes money could open many doors, but he had found it best not to flaunt it too early or obviously but it was hardly the first piece of his advise that the young lady had decided to ignore.  Of course money and beauty were not her only assets as she offered a small sample of her charm, a smile that was nearly powerful enough to beat back the overwhelming gloom of such a miserable day in an equally miserable land.<br/><br/>At first it seemed that Esperanza's offers would only secure them a single name of the barn guard and a not particularly promising description of the lone inn.  However a call from the barn seemed to settle matters for them.  What appeared to be additional guards more or less dismissed their new friend just before securing the barn fortress for the night.  If a single guard had seemed odd for such a humble barn, an actual detail of guards seemed to border on paranoia.  The roughness of this Bucren's dismissal led Xavier to wonder if he was some sort of outcast or if it was the others that were somehow defective in their sense of camaraderie.  Xavier had been in his share of guard details and though he didn't like everyone, there was at least a sense of cohesion.  This was indeed a strange land with strange customs.<br/><br/>With the decision more or less made for them, they proceeded towards the town.  Xavier listened to the howling of the wolves which was becoming disturbingly coordinated, like a pack on the hunt and he shuddered to think what they might be hunting.  Their new friend did little to endear himself to Xavier as he made a comment about backstabbing.  He gave Esperanza a puzzled and somewhat offended look.  "I can assure you I am not a backstabbing highwayman."  He replied somewhat stiffly in contrast to the the other man's expression of mirth.<br/><br/>As they reached the securely barred door to the inn, any hopes the encounter at the barn was a solitary and isolated oddity were soundly dashed.  Though still tense as to their circumstances, Xavier did concede sharing an amused smile with his traveling companions at the rather unusual dialogue and negotiation taking part on their behalf with the unseen 'wee shit' of a doorman.<br/><br/>The warmth of the fire went a long way towards mitigating the otherwise disappointing quality of their rather limited lodging options.  Instinctively Xavier's eyes scanned the room assessing everything in sight as to possible threats, opportunities for defense, and escape.  In his travels he had learned it best to always have a plan for the unexpected.  The card playing gypsies were the most immediate threat, hands on hilts as if expecting trouble.  Xavier gave them no reason to feel alarmed but he doubted that would matter much to them.  He leaned his spear against the wall as it would at least appear disarming though in reality the long weapon would be of limited use indoors and would only interfere with his sword if it came to that.<br/><br/>A lone figure in the distance was not as obvious a threat, though that hardly ruled out any possibility of trouble.  His gaze returned to their erstwhile guide as he would want to gauge the local for any sign of concern about the clientele this night.  Not that this Bucren was in any way above suspicion, but he was about as close a thing as they had to a friend at that moment.  As Esperanza had been so eager to jingle her coins, he decided to leave it to her to arrange their accommodations for the night.  He had never heard of a door fee just to enter an inn, but it was hardly the most distressing bit of bizarreness he experienced so far this day.