Durin nodded to the girl when she set the food down in front of him, asking what drink he wanted. "If you've got any Dwarven ale, I'll take it. If not, your strongest ale." Durin gruffly replied. He didn't care too much for what the other races called "ale", but Dwarves liked their drinks strong, anyway. As he ordered the ale, he passed the girl 20 gold pieces. "Do what you wish with what's leftover." Durin told her. After all, the reward from the Jarl had replinished his coffers easily enough, plus he had more coming on the way with the upcoming bandit hunt.

As Durin started on his stew, the shield maiden gave her approval as well, even being nice enough to give Durin some tips on how the girl would be useful. [i]Best to have her as a forward scout. I'd better be right behind her, though. Never know when unexpected trouble could come about.[/i] the Dwarf thought to himself. It was shortly after that when Arielle pulled the two Drows away from the rest. Durin heard the muffled sounds of conversation, but didn't really care what it was about. Shortly after, the elf maiden came and told Durin that she'd be heading back, and that he was fully in charge of the hunting party. The Dwarf nodded respectfully, though his mouth was too full of the delicious stew to properly thank her.

Durin watched as the human girl practically inhaled her stew before rushing to get her gear. The Dwarf sighed. First sign of a newbie adventurer was how much they tended to rush things. By the time the girl had gotten back, Durin had only just finished his stew. As he spotted the human, he waved her on over. He wanted to get some idea of what he was dealing with...

"So, according to Lady Arielle, you know the lay of the land quite well. List of things to keep an eye out for, natural or otherwise." Durin said to her. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew the dangers they'd be dealing with, besides the obvious bandits. Durin glowered at his empty stew bowl. Bandits were a sore spot for him. They tended to be wily and desperate when backed into a corner, which is when the got unpredictable. And unpredictable meant dangerous in Durin's line of work.

Durin glanced over at the centaur, paying attention to anything Alice told him. The centaur certainly didn't have the look of a fighter. Perhaps she was a healer of sorts. If so, she'd be invaluable in the upcoming hunt. Healers were always nice to have around, as they generally kept people alive. 

In the meantime, the Dwarf turned his eye to the Winter Elf that had spoken to Alice. He knew it was her that had expressed interest in the hunt as well, as Durin had seen the wink. As he studied her, he gave a curt nod to indicate his approval. After everyone had finished eating, he'd announce the start of the hunt.