[Even awkward sympathy is better than none at all, or at least it's enough today. Some people don't even have the decency to try for that much, and Bard is used to taking what he can get.

And hey, he's getting options for the head-of-Smaug thing, which is also nice.]

So something strange about the house or the land it's on, rather than something unpleasant specifically seeking me out.

[His scientific knowledge isn't exactly up to date, but "that thing's not right" is an easy enough concept to grasp.]