Reasons to Suspect

Ceriden continued to examine the slave as he thought about his reply. The pieces began to click into place as he pondered what little information he had about the man. His reticence to speak, the fact that he had been muzzled, and the unearthly hunger in his eyes painted a picture for Ceriden, though it would be nice to get the truth from the horse's mouth before he jumped to conclusions.

Answering the man's questions honestly would open a can of worms, but Ceriden didn't want to lie to the man either, as he sensed that gaining the man's trust would be far more beneficial. Instead, he decided to continue with his inquiry and hope the man continued to be responsive.

"Sorry to be so direct, but are you a vampire, perchance? We won't harm you if that is the case, and knowing who you are will help us take better care of you."

Ceriden was very familiar with vampires and vampirism. During his travels, Ceriden had taken an interest in immortality, particularly acquirable immortality, an interest that also was influencing his desire to learn necromancy. However, during his travels in Aelmere, Ceriden met a bounty hunter who specialized in hunting vampires. Ceriden had expressed a desire to learn more about vampires, and ultimately ended up accompanying the bounty hunter on several of his expeditions. Together, they had killed several vampires, and Ceriden had gotten the opportunity to dissect them to better learn about their anatomy. Before they parted ways, Ceriden and the bounty hunter co-wrote a book on vampire physiology and how to hunt them.

Given that experience, Ceriden suspected that this slave was indeed a vampire, but he didn't want to look foolish to his new employer by potentially jumping to an incorrect conclusion.