He had a pleasant voice. It was an odd kind of realization, and he wondered why it even mattered, but the fact remained: Roland had a pleasant voice. In fact, he had a rather pleasant expression too, at least until the irritation had taken over. Apart from the fact that he'd wandered straight into their midst, there wasn't anything really wrong with him per se, and he hadn't done anything else, as Naberius had followed him like a hawk. Briefly, Mauja's eyes slid over to the stoic, now-silent warrior, before returning to Roland's. At least he didn't back out on wanting to join just because Mauja was suspicious, and in fact, Lena's presence seemed to soothe them all somewhat. If she had thought him decent enough to join them, then it wouldn't be too bad, would it? Still, it depended on what he would say. One ear flicked back at Lena's touch, then forward again, as Roland seemed to weigh his options and his words before committing to a tale.

Their blue eyes met, steadily, and Mauja kept his judgment under lock and key while he listened. Brief, but to the point. Feeling directionless was common when you had no cause, no one you belonged to, no reason to live, breathe, act — there was no shame in desiring a herd, a purpose. But what were these talents he spoke of? What kind of purpose did he desire? Was it something the Basin could give him? After the briefest pause the light dun went on, and Mauja felt his 'brows furrow ever so slightly in confusion. Con man? He'd never come across the term before, but Lena seemed to be familiar with it, placing Roland's talents with the Phantoms. Some sort of spy, then? Or just some type of body guard? Despite the fact that Mauja's home lay far away, he had never heard of his occupation, and he wondered whether it was a lack on his part, or just a regional thing. Did Lena and Roland come from the same place? Briefly he looked between them, before focusing his entire attention on Roland again, light curiosity within his gaze.

"I am afraid I have never come across the term con man before," he said, honestly, deciding to think upon this as a chance to learn rather than a shortcoming. The lands far and wide away from Helovia had always intrigued him, to learn of their different customs, traditions and values. "So, I must ask you: what is one?" One 'brow arched quizzically over a glacial eye as Mauja waited to hear what, exactly, it was that was Roland's area of expertise.. and then to decide, how to best put his talents to good use. He found himself hoping he dealt more with information gathering and spying than some other obscure branch of phantomry, as good sources on information was one thing they sorely lacked in both the Basin and the Plague.