"The way you fought, I figured... You have the bearing overall of a warrior, too, someone dedicated to battle." Or maybe it's just that Avvar thing, who knows? If she's representative of the Avvar in general, then they're a rather strong people.

"That was the most terrible pun I've heard." But there's... a faint smirk... just a hint, under the serious overall demeanor. He's not always as serious as most would believe him to be. "But I'm of the same mind. I'll aid in scouting and fighting, but I'll leave the research for those with an interest in it." Ok, and a lot of the research involves icky magic and... yeah, no. He isn't going to be in on any of that. The other angle would be pouring over books, but he's still learning, in that area.