[ he doesn't think he's ever been called surprisingly gracious, but maybe that should be more of a shock considering how much of an ass he can be. ]

Hardly. [ ... maybe? it's true he doesn't actually know much about geir or vern, but they made an effort to resolve an unfavorable situation and do as little harm as possible. ] You minimized damage done and furthered our understanding of the situation. It would be discourteous to act as though you've caused nothing but trouble.