Given Alistair's usual travelling companions, dragons with a preference for virgins would have been an advantage. As far as the rest of them were concerned that is. He'd have been less happy about it so it's fortunate that's not the case in Thedas.

The explanation is simple enough - the Handler and his type are some kind of professional monster hunters. A little unusual maybe but that's about it.

"Darkspawn? They can be killed just like anything else." He taps the hilt of his sword just in case his meaning isn't clear. "The real danger comes from the taint they spread. It poisons the land and turns people into what we call ghouls. That's why Wardens are important. We're immune."

And that's about all he can part with on the subject. Warden secrets are tightly held and he hardly expects darkspawn to show up here to make that a problem. There's no dwarven Deep Roads underground for them to come from and they only pose a serious threat when controlled by an archdemon. Which thankfully don't appear often. Unless the one currently flying about Ferelden shows up but he can't be that unlucky.

"So, what's the weirdest thing you saw before coming here?" The Handler talks like a man who's seen a lot so he must have some good stories. And it's better than talking about darkspawn.