Signy took a steadying breath. "Well, what price are you asking?"
She sounded marginally more confident in that question. Haggling was a comfortable, familiar thing, and she felt that maybe she had some understanding of what the topsider wanted. This was offset by the other things that the woman had pointed out: her clothing really did make her stand out, if all the staring around like a lost child wasn't doing the trick. And she hadn't even thought of that until now, so busy had she been worrying about her brand, or tripping and falling into the sky. (Had she not been talking to Imenry, by now she would probably have sought momentary shelter under the awning of another tent. It was emotional shelter more than anything else.)
Perhaps it would have been smarter to insist that she needed no protection. But it was true. She looked entirely unarmed, unarmored, and unready for anything remotely resembling danger. (And it was also true that she had neither weapons nor armor. She did have the capacity to set things on fire with her brain, though, which wasn't a bad way to deal with danger. At least, not in her estimation.) The suggestion that being unarmed was dangerous was an unpleasant truth, though: and 'take advantage, one way or another' was ominous. At least, if Signy understood the tall woman correctly. At the moment, she rather wished that she hadn't.
"For someone heading to…" She paused, and unconsciously tugged on the edge of her sleeve with one hand. How would she even pay this apparent warrior? She could sell the rest of her jewelry, maybe the gown, even, and bite down the distaste at wearing something a bit frumpier. Exiles and casteless mages really shouldn't be so picky about their attire, should they? But aside from the capacity to pay, she would need to decide where she was going. "… Lake Calenhad, say, what would be your asking price? What about Denerim, or Val Royeaux?"
Three options. The mages in Lake Calenhad, and the two nearest surfacer cities. It was a starting place.