[b][h2][color=889194]Captain Argus Fellborn[/color][/h2][/b]


[hider=Memory Lane]
"I've cast an illusion on the crate, there should be no more accidental discoveries.  But why are you [i]still[/i] playing this charade with him, Captain Gallow?  Just kill this nosy sailor and be done with it!"

[i][color=889194]I knew someone on this ship couldn't trusted.  It turned out to be the one person whom I was sure I could trust.[/color][/i]

"I'm the one who runs this ship, not you.  If I were to simply kill a subordinate without cause, it could inspire disloyalty or even mutiny.  No, this must be done delicately, and the crew must approve."

[color=889194][i]Captain Gallow talked a lot about honor among rogues.  He didn't actually believe a word of what he preached.[/i][/color]

"Delicately?  You could have just gutted him when he walked in here and told the crew that he attacked you."

"Do you truly think my crew to be that dull?  The fact that we are having this conversation at all is proof that they're smarter than you think!  If we want them to be on our side, we need to do this properly, in a manner that assures the rest of them that this one's death is just and warranted!"

[i][color=889194]The harbormasters thought he was being honest with them.  The crew thought that he was being honest with them even as we helped him to deceive the harbormasters.  I still wonder whether his officers believed he was being honest with them even as they helped him to deceive the crew.[/color][/i]

A knock came at the door.

"Ah, that should be him, which means the pieces should be all in place.  Now, my magical, well-compensing friend, you're about to see how dishonest thieves are handled on the [i]Silver Swordbill[/i]..."

[color=889194][i]Fortunately, there was one person on the ship who kept his word to me...[/i][/color]
[/hider]


Argus was in disbelief.  All of his efforts to avoid frightening the humans with the knowledge of his true nature, and Kordelia just blurted it out.  He had heard that the self-proclaimed "Princess" wasn't the sharpest cutlass in the armory, but he had hoped for just a little subtlety.

Aleksiya attempted to shut Kordelia up and cover for her oratory blunder.  An admirable effort that [i]might[/i] fool Gilles for a time, but only for a while.  Sooner or later, the vampires would need to feed, and there would be no hope at hiding their true nature, or the motivation behind protecting these humans.  And the longer the vampires conceal the truth, the more the truth will upset the mortals when it inevitably comes out.  Such a perceived betrayal might compel them to fight back or escape, resulting in almost certain death for them.

The village headman, in particular, would surely take particular offense if they were to lie to him to his face after he explicitly requested the truth.  Argus couldn't be sure if Gilles was a man of his word when he spoke of working together, but if he  Any hope of a partnership or a mutual agreement would die.

Argus was no stranger to the power of fear.  It was precisely for this reason that he feared the consequences of furthering this deception.  These people were no doubt frightened and traumatized, having just watched their entire pitiful world turned upside down and their loved ones slaughtered by the beasts they wrongly believed they had some measure of safety from.  He believed that this would be the optimal state of mind for them to learn the truth.  Any earlier and they would have had enough confidence to resist.  Any later and the reveal would come as an act of treachery.

Besides, in all of his piratical career, Argus was not one to fly false flags- when the []iSilent Swordbill[/i] appeared, her crew's intentions were worn plainly upon her mast.

[color=889194]"I appreciate the cover, Miss Aleksiya, but the longer the truth is delayed, the more damage it will inflict upon us all,"[/color] he spoke to the vampire, then slowly turned back to Gilles, looking the mortal man square in the eyes.

[color=889194]"I agree, Mr. Gilles, if we are to work together, there must be some trust.  It will inevitably come out, and it is best that it does so on our terms.  I am more than a sailor.  My strength, my inhuman power, it is because I am a vampire."[/color] he revealed.