Rita folds her arms, seemingly giving the woman an appraising look. "You do have the look of someone who's seen a few fights," she observes. Between the equipment and the missing limb, that much is obvious enough.

"Why would anyone pass up the chance to be a mage?" she goes on to ask. Even if magic doesn't happen to be everyone's calling in life, it's better to have more opportunities than less, isn't it? And even non-mages sometimes learn a spell or two to help them along while they pursue other paths.