Snippet #1194304

At Caim's accusation, Vinsces looked up with slightly enlarged eyes, serious for once.
"Oi, brother, that's not even funny..." He mumbled as he looked at Jack Highwind, and then back at Caim.

Highwind, however, didn't lose his posture.
"It's a fair question considering the circumstances." He said. "And I shall strive to answer it to the best of my abilities." He held out his hands calmly. "First of all, I am many things illegal - pirate, smuggler, bandit even, but slaver is not a word that holds place on my repertoire. I do not condone such actions, for they are unworthy of a gentleman. There is an exception, of course. In Sarife, many criminals are sold as slaves, as a form of sentence to repent for their crimes. I have, admittedly, been known to dabble in this in limited scale, by providing transport for such transactions." He lowered his head in a slightly apologetic nod.

"And as in regard to the lady, it is as she says." He added with a respectful nod to the beautiful woman. "She was a stowaway of sorts, and my men saw it necessary to lock her in the brig until we could confirm that she was no agent of the law, or an enemy searching to plot our undoing. There are many such people seeking to sneak on-board the Batavian to destroy us. As Her captain, I must do what it takes to safeguard Her, and Her crew." He added. "Even if it means behaving in such an un-gentlemanly fashion." He gave another apologetic lowering of his head towards the woman.

"I hope this have satisfied your curiosity, Sir Knight." He said to Caim. "It might not be an ideal answer, but then, what in this world is?" He studied the group, and then, after eying the orc, the giant human, and the knight in particular, said:

"I have answered your question, Sir Knight. I hope you will indulge me a question in return. You're a very interesting band of friends. A noble knight, a wizard if my eye does not lie to me, a deadly spearman from Vorst - I can tell, for I myself once called the region home - and a proud orc warrior from Sarife. What brings such an odd gathering of fine warriors together?"