(Untitled)

[imjustpretty]

Who: Ray Kowalski, Ardent
What: Serious warden/inmate business is serious.
Where: The library.
When: After this conversation.
Warnings: Angry dwarfs?

Comments

[deepdowndark]

Ardent is a little too cocky going to this meeting, as he can't think of a single reason why he's legitimately an inmate. There's possibly a lot he's missing here, but he's a little curious to what Ray is going to try and come up with. It better not be that the stupid humans sided with Bashfullsson. They couldn't have done that, Bashfullsson's ideas were just lies. The Cube was just lies.

He spots Ray and wanders over, pushing himself up onto a nearby chair and folding his arms. "I'd like to hear it, then."

He'd accepted already that this was an injustice, and that humans would lock him up for having done nothing, and that there was very little he could do about it right now. But knowing what they thought he'd done should be helpful. Or at least give him chance to express the injustice.

[imjustpretty]

Ray picks up on the cockiness and the smug challenge in the way Ardent folds his arms at him, and lets out a little internal sigh. This. Isn't going to be any fun at all.

"Before I do this, I'd really like to hear your take on this first." He watches Ardent closely, curious to see his reaction. "D'you think there's anything about yourself that might need redeeming?"

[deepdowndark]

Ardent gives him a long stare. He can't think of anything that wouldn't come from a misunderstanding of the Law, an over confident human assumption that they can judge how Dwarfs handle things.

"No. I don't." He gives him a confident stare, challenging him to say otherwise.

[imjustpretty]

"Nothing at all? C'mon, there's gotta be something." You are one extremely over-self-confident Dwarf, sir. "Like, I do this thing where I forget to put stuff back in the fridge. Small thing, sure, but my wife--I mean, ex-wife--she nearly took my head off about it, 'cause I kept doing it. Is there something like that, with you? Anything about yourself you think could use some work?"

Really, he just wants to know if Ardent will admit to having any mistakes at all. Because if he doesn't, that might be something that needs redeeming in and of itself.

[deepdowndark]

He looked long and hard at the ceiling for a minute, then shrugged, "Perhaps I resorted to using an axe too quickly." Bashfullsson had defeated him with words and words alone. Whilst an axe was important to have and to lose, he regretted losing that fight. He regretted being in a position where they'd think he was wrong, just because he lost the fight.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have gone looking for the Cube at all." After all, it only contained lies.

"That's all I have for you." He wasn't incapable of admitting mistakes, but he did so incredibly reluctantly, and he didn't quite see how either was an inmate-worthy mistake. He'd seen some of the crazy humans here.

[imjustpretty]

"Hm." Ray picks up the file lying on the table next to him and flips it open, taking a few moments to look down at it, his lips pursed.

"What about that whole murder business?" He looks up. "Says here you murdered a guy called Hamcrusher, or at least participated in his murder. And you murdered a whole bunch of other folks in order to create a cover-up. That's not something you'd count as a mistake, then?"

[deepdowndark]

Ardent eyes the file curiously, even though he's sure it's full of lies. He gives Ray a cool, calm, collected look when he mentions the murders. There's a flicker of doubt, but he tries to repress it. This isn't like the situations where he gets angry, because he can talk his way out of this. There's nothing indisputible here.

"I carried out Hamcrusher's last orders. He was killed by a troll. The evidence was all there."

He says it evenly, like this was practiced. He doesn't anticipate the file being... accurate. "If that's what it says there, are you sure it's right? Words can lie, even if they are indestructible. They can lie. That is lies."

[imjustpretty]

"Yeah, words can lie. Like what you're telling me right now, that's one big-ass lie." Ray did not expect Ardent to try that lie on him. He raises his eyebrows at the Dwarf and then looks back down at the file.

"Hamcrusher tried to destroy the Cube. You and your Dwarf pals didn't like that, so you whacked the guy. You killed a bunch of mine dwarfs who'd heard something they weren't supposed to, and then you planted false evidence to frame a troll." Ray squints, finding the relevant paragraph in the file. "That evidence being a troll club that you won off a guy called Helmclever in a game of Thud!. And some dirt."

Ray looks back up. "Does that about cover it?"

[deepdowndark]

Ardent swallowed hard and looked to the side. He knew that was what was happened. He didn't quite understand what was wrong with it, it was what he had to do. But he knew it was the truth. He equally knew that there was plenty that humans would see wrong with it, because they didn't understand.

So he had to stick with saying it was lies, no matter what he knew, because the human wouldn't understand. Even if Ray seemed better than the other, he'd judge him by the standard of his laws.

He looked back to Ray firmly and told him, "It's a lie. I don't care what it says, it's a lie."

[imjustpretty]

Ray watches Ardent for a few long moments, then snaps the file shut and sits up.

"Right. If you're just gonna waste my time, this conversation's over. Let me know when you're ready to talk to me."

And he's going to make as if to get up and leave. He will, too, unless Ardent says something to stop him.

[deepdowndark]

Ardent paused and thought about this. There were a lot he wanted to know, but...Ray walking out didn't help. Even so, he didn't want to admit it was the truth.

"Wait. Why do you believe it? Do you think I'd do that?"

[imjustpretty]

Ray stops upon turning away and looks down, his eyebrows raised. "You? You're the guy who told me you'd hurt people for breaking your laws. And you're the guy who keeps pestering me to give you a weapon so you can protect these books." He vaguely gestures at the surrounding bookshelves. "Do I think you'd do that? Yeah, I do."

He shifts his stance, his tone growing a bit less challenging. "'sides, every inmate on this boat has a file like this. They all tell the truth. No reason to think yours wouldn't."

[deepdowndark]

Ardent looks at him, long and hard, "Are you sure about that? Are you sure they all tell the truth?"

He accepts the fact that Ray would believe he'd do it, because he considers his actions consistent with the Laws, at all times. Now, and before. Of course he'd think he would, Ardent was only acting within the laws. But he's not going to give up on the 'it's all a lie' thing. Just yet.

[imjustpretty]

Ray shrugs. "I dunno. Haven't read 'em all. In fact, I've only read yours, and Bob's. The inmate I had before you. That one was true." He leans against the armchair's backrest, not quite ready yet to sit back down. Ardent hasn't admitted yet that the file is telling the truth, after all.

"I do know, though, that inmates have graduated on this boat. They all had a file, and none of them said anything about the files not being accurate. 'sides, as I said. You haven't exactly given me any reason to doubt your file."

[deepdowndark]

Ah. That was quite difficult to deny. He grimaced and rolled his eyes just a little, "Then fine, there's no lies there. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

He still didn't see a single thing wrong with it, "But you can't enforce your human standards upon me."

[imjustpretty]

Ray's about to sit back down, but when Ardent makes his last remark, he stops, looking up at Ardent and giving a bit an incredulous laugh before he lets himself fall back into the armchair.

"Wow. That's special. In case you missed out on that, you just admitted to multiple murders. D'you maybe wanna take a moment and, y'know, fake some remorse? Or is that just too much trouble? Protip, it'd probably help your defense."