"If y'were underdressed I'd say."
A brusque answer, the halfbreed's capacity for good humour somewhat limited at such an hour, and in such a condition. All the answer he offers for the moment, and it's only when a mug of ale and another of sweet tea have been consumed that he begins to brighten. The conversation finally resumes once he's had a chance to make a start on his breakfast, steadily shovelling forkfuls of fried meat and egg into his mouth.
"You're lookin' a'right.
Practical. No point you havin' anythin' heavier. 'S what
I'm there for." He raps a knuckle against his chitinous breastplate. "You get close 'nough to anythin' that what
you're wearin' makes a diff'rence, that means we've fucked up.
Any trouble, my job's t'get in th'way. Got it?"
---
"...
stand aside, oaf, I'll skewer this varlet m'self, he says, an' next moment he was tryin' t'push his guts back in."
It's been a steady hike from the tavern, a journey that's taken them through Myrkentown's bustling streets and out into the countryside beyond. Along the North Passage Down, the wheatfields to either side harvested a month since, alternating between stalk-bristled earth and blackened char where the stubble has been burned off. Carts and wagons rattle past the pair, their drivers casting sidelong looks for the brute in his strange armour and the young woman at his side. As the sun reaches its zenith the half-orc leads them off the main road, turning onto a rutted track that points them in the direction of the looming Sikasoons. A mile or two ahead of them, though, the East Weald spreads like a rumpled blanket up into the rugged foothills.
For much of the journey thus far Murrukh recounted tales of adventure and endeavour, all sharing a common theme of
what happens when people don't listen to him. Apparently the most frequent result is a grisly and unpleasant demise, closely followed by an entirely avoidable maiming. A lesson of sorts, even as they've paused at the roadside for food and a brief rest.
"So," Preface to a question now tediously familiar to the healer. "when I say
get b'hind me, you...?"