Ordhan had expected a simple thanks, maybe just a nod; she'd likely heard such praise quite often, with much more clever words at that. He was far from clever with words. Not many saw through his painfully simple statements to the earnestness beneath. But she beamed in response, sparking a hint of warmth in his chest. He lowered his eyes and tilted his chin down in a half-nod in answer.
The song and smiling had cheered him, though an onlooker would have never guessed from his still-solemn expression. For the moment he allowed the memory of the song's melody to ramble through his mind, giving his musings from earlier leave to let him be for a moment. Ordhan looked back down to his drink. Even if in better spirits than a few minutes earlier, he still planned on whiling away the rest of his time in the same reserved silence as he had been.
The scraping of chair legs against the wooden floor made him look up to see the selfsame dwarf girl scooting her bar stool towards him. By the Maker, she was talkative. He never minded it, though. As taciturn as he was, he enjoyed being spoken to; it was always a rare occasion when someone did so on their own free will. And the more inclined to talking the other was, the less he would be expected to speak.
He straightened, no longer half-hunched over his mug with one elbow on the bartop. Now he had the posture of a knight on duty, yet sitting on a stool. He listened with polite regard until she had finished speaking. "I am a knight from Denerim. It is my first time through Gwaren," was his answer. "My company has business in the Brecilian Forest; I am afraid my stay will be short." Ordhan pointedly avoided the dreadful word of Darkspawn in the reply. No need to plant fear into the citizenry.
The ghost of a smile passed over his lips as Ordhan lowered his eyes. "I appreciate it very much," he said. Quite the understatement. But Ordhan could no more describe his love for music than he could sing or play, himself. Accustomed to taking everything quite literally, he tilted his head at the mention of a tussle. "I would not do that. Are there fights here, often?" If so, he could help stop them if one broke out this evening. Hopefully it was not as bad as it could get in Denerim's taverns.