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Roleplaying (Communitive Storywriting) / The Nature of Crime
« on: February 25, 2010, 12:58:45 am »
The shackles restricted her from performing some of the more elaborate and showy shuffles in her repertoire but considering her audience it mattered little.
Kaisa, after a job gone foul, found herself in jail. The cell comprised one corner of a larger chamber, partitioned off with thick steel bars from ceiling to floor on two sides, the others being the stone walls of the building itself. A similar cell mirrored it on the other side of the room while the rest was given over to...well, it looked like a combined guard`s lounge, interrogation area and armoury. Balconies overlooked the room and all but encircled it to the left and right. Barely minutes after being roughly `escorted` into the cell she found herself playing with the one possession she had been allowed to keep: her deck of cards. Thank Dakkru for that! She would have died without their comforting feel between her hands...not to mention their aid in dispelling or at least delaying the inevitable boredom. Eyeing the prisoner in the other cell and the guards outside she also thought there might be an opportunity to make a some gains, perhaps not monetary, but...
The eyes of the dwarf in the other cell had fixed upon her as soon as she`d swayed her shapely rear into her cell, but now they were on the small rectangles of thick parchment that flowed in her hands. She let him salivate a bit before looking up, as if she`d only just noticed him.
“Fancy a game?”
He nodded and moved across to the nearest cage-like wall of his own cell, just a couple of meters beyond her own, sitting on the flagstone floor. Kaisa stood and tried to pull the rickety wooden cot across for a more comfortable seat but found it bolted to the wall and clicked her tongue. Looked like it was going to be an uncomfortable seat on the floor for her too.
The guard, a hulking ynnwn in full platemail, looked over from his seat, pausing in his work on a broadsword with a whetstone. When he noticed the enkidukai shuffling cards he went back to his sharpening, occasionally looking up.
“So, what`re we playing?” asked the dwarf, running his fingers through his thick red beard.
“Crystal Facets,” she replied and his face creased in a frown to which she shrugged and looked about their spartan cells. “You`re quite welcome to seek alternative amusement.”
He held up his hands, “No, no. `s just that I got robbed blind once. Four of diamonds and three of emeralds and the guy pulls out the seven of rubies and a vig`. Next hand I get that...he gets the Crystal, and I get deep in debt.”
“Sometimes that`s how they fall,” she nodded.
“Well, nothing to lose in here,” the other replied and stretched out, trying to find some measure of comfort on the stone floor.
Kaisa didn`t reply, hoping that, once the guards got bored with watching them, she`d be able to get the dwarf talking. Sure, neither of them had any money or other goods to use as stakes, but there was always information. His name, what he was in for, how he was caught doing whatever it was he`d done. Heck, perhaps he`d be worth approaching after they both got out.
The two played a few hands, each getting their share of luck though she got the Dark Crystal for a loss in the last hand, before the ynnwn guard yawned loudly and sheathed the sword he`d been working on and hung it on a rack to one side. Perhaps he`s going to have a snooze, she hoped but she wasn`t that lucky. Rather he stood and approached the cells, kneeling in the small corridor between the walls of bars, and motioned for her to deal him in.
Kaisa clicked her tongue with mock reproach, to which the guard shrugged, “We won`t be gambling. Plus this way I get to keep a good close eye on you two and make sure there`s no gossiping.”
Cursing internally she rapidly dealt each of them a pair of cards, deliberately dealing the guard the Dark Crystal from the bottom of the pack without him noticing. She did catch an amused crease in the dwarf`s eyes though. He`d seen it. The dwarf won that hand and the next. Her the third and the guard the fourth. That finally loosened his jaw.
“Judging by how you two choose to amuse yourselves while you`re in here, you`re not going to be changing when you get out, are you?” he said, looking from one to the other.
The dwarf`s eyes widened in mock shock, “If I`ve said it once, I`ve said it a thousand times: it`s tragic circumstances what got me in here!”
The ynnwn rolled his eyes, “And what tragedy was this?”
“I got caught!” and the dwarf erupted in bellicose laughter. Even Kaisa could not help but give in to the grin that tugged at her mouth.
Stifling his own laughter the guard motioned for Kaisa to deal again. “Just can`t help yourself, can you?” and reached for his cards...only to find them out of reach.
Kaisa had dealt all three hands, face down rather than up, within her own cell.
The ynnwn frowned at her and reached through the bars, finding his arm just a shade too short. The dwarf studied her patiently.
She calmly lifted the dwarf`s cards so that only she could read the faces and announced, “Two of diamonds and the four of rubies for a six.”
The dwarf nodded.
She then lifted her own cards, again so only she could see them, “Octarch of Rubies and the seven of diamonds.”
And then repeated the procedure for the guard`s cards, “Two of rubies and two of emeralds for a four.”
The guard scowled, “how can I believe you? Play fair! Show us our cards.”
This time it was Kaisa`s turn for the innocent expression, “You`re not suggesting that I`d cheat, are you?”
“Well, pardon me for accusing a thief of being dishonest, I`d hate to cause offence,” he retorted in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I`ll take my third,” the dwarf said, ignoring the guard, and she dealt him his third and final card.
“Three of rubies for a final score of two. Bad luck.” She looked to the guard with raised eyebrows, “Get the Crystal and you beat my straight seven.”
He folded his arms, “If I can`t see the cards you`re dealing then I can`t trust you. No game.”
She then scratched her jaw with the pack in her hand, “You`re suggesting that, given the power to hide something from you, I`d automatically cheat when I usually – believe it or not – play fair?”
The guard nodded.
“Is that because I`m a criminal?”
Another nod.
“You`d never do that? You wouldn`t be tempted to cheat given the opportunity? If there was enough riding on it?”
The guard`s nod was shallower.
“You asked if, as soon as we got out, we`d go back to lives of law breaking? Well, why do people obey the law?”
“Because it`s right. It keeps the peace. It keeps us safe.”
The fenki nodded as the ynnwn spoke, “All very noble but people don`t obey the law because they want to...but because they have to. Break the law and we all know what happens.” She motioned to herself and the dwarf, who was sat with an amused smile, watching her lecture the guard.
“But people don`t want to follow it. The law is just. Actually the law`s the law, justice is another thing, but my point is that injustice is profitable to the individual. Take this game of cards. I remove your ability to see your own cards: you can only trust me that I`m not cheating. I can cheat all I like, laws be damned, and I`m sure most out there would do the same.”
“But for the law,” the guard added.
“But. For. The. Law,” the fenki gambler repeated, “And as long as there`s you lot, there`ll be people like us here to test the balance. To take that risk, follow that primal urge to take what we can when others aren`t looking.”
The guard chuckled, “So...is this a confession to your crimes?”
Kaisa snorted and shook her head, " Of course not," flipping the cards face up...
The two of diamonds, four of rubies and three of rubies for the dwarf...
The two of rubies and two of emeralds for the guard...
And the Octarch of rubies and the seven of diamonds for herself. A winning hand. Just as she had said.
“Because I don`t cheat.”
THE END.
[With thanks to Plato for inspiration and Porridge for a line]
Kaisa, after a job gone foul, found herself in jail. The cell comprised one corner of a larger chamber, partitioned off with thick steel bars from ceiling to floor on two sides, the others being the stone walls of the building itself. A similar cell mirrored it on the other side of the room while the rest was given over to...well, it looked like a combined guard`s lounge, interrogation area and armoury. Balconies overlooked the room and all but encircled it to the left and right. Barely minutes after being roughly `escorted` into the cell she found herself playing with the one possession she had been allowed to keep: her deck of cards. Thank Dakkru for that! She would have died without their comforting feel between her hands...not to mention their aid in dispelling or at least delaying the inevitable boredom. Eyeing the prisoner in the other cell and the guards outside she also thought there might be an opportunity to make a some gains, perhaps not monetary, but...
The eyes of the dwarf in the other cell had fixed upon her as soon as she`d swayed her shapely rear into her cell, but now they were on the small rectangles of thick parchment that flowed in her hands. She let him salivate a bit before looking up, as if she`d only just noticed him.
“Fancy a game?”
He nodded and moved across to the nearest cage-like wall of his own cell, just a couple of meters beyond her own, sitting on the flagstone floor. Kaisa stood and tried to pull the rickety wooden cot across for a more comfortable seat but found it bolted to the wall and clicked her tongue. Looked like it was going to be an uncomfortable seat on the floor for her too.
The guard, a hulking ynnwn in full platemail, looked over from his seat, pausing in his work on a broadsword with a whetstone. When he noticed the enkidukai shuffling cards he went back to his sharpening, occasionally looking up.
“So, what`re we playing?” asked the dwarf, running his fingers through his thick red beard.
“Crystal Facets,” she replied and his face creased in a frown to which she shrugged and looked about their spartan cells. “You`re quite welcome to seek alternative amusement.”
He held up his hands, “No, no. `s just that I got robbed blind once. Four of diamonds and three of emeralds and the guy pulls out the seven of rubies and a vig`. Next hand I get that...he gets the Crystal, and I get deep in debt.”
“Sometimes that`s how they fall,” she nodded.
“Well, nothing to lose in here,” the other replied and stretched out, trying to find some measure of comfort on the stone floor.
Kaisa didn`t reply, hoping that, once the guards got bored with watching them, she`d be able to get the dwarf talking. Sure, neither of them had any money or other goods to use as stakes, but there was always information. His name, what he was in for, how he was caught doing whatever it was he`d done. Heck, perhaps he`d be worth approaching after they both got out.
The two played a few hands, each getting their share of luck though she got the Dark Crystal for a loss in the last hand, before the ynnwn guard yawned loudly and sheathed the sword he`d been working on and hung it on a rack to one side. Perhaps he`s going to have a snooze, she hoped but she wasn`t that lucky. Rather he stood and approached the cells, kneeling in the small corridor between the walls of bars, and motioned for her to deal him in.
Kaisa clicked her tongue with mock reproach, to which the guard shrugged, “We won`t be gambling. Plus this way I get to keep a good close eye on you two and make sure there`s no gossiping.”
Cursing internally she rapidly dealt each of them a pair of cards, deliberately dealing the guard the Dark Crystal from the bottom of the pack without him noticing. She did catch an amused crease in the dwarf`s eyes though. He`d seen it. The dwarf won that hand and the next. Her the third and the guard the fourth. That finally loosened his jaw.
“Judging by how you two choose to amuse yourselves while you`re in here, you`re not going to be changing when you get out, are you?” he said, looking from one to the other.
The dwarf`s eyes widened in mock shock, “If I`ve said it once, I`ve said it a thousand times: it`s tragic circumstances what got me in here!”
The ynnwn rolled his eyes, “And what tragedy was this?”
“I got caught!” and the dwarf erupted in bellicose laughter. Even Kaisa could not help but give in to the grin that tugged at her mouth.
Stifling his own laughter the guard motioned for Kaisa to deal again. “Just can`t help yourself, can you?” and reached for his cards...only to find them out of reach.
Kaisa had dealt all three hands, face down rather than up, within her own cell.
The ynnwn frowned at her and reached through the bars, finding his arm just a shade too short. The dwarf studied her patiently.
She calmly lifted the dwarf`s cards so that only she could read the faces and announced, “Two of diamonds and the four of rubies for a six.”
The dwarf nodded.
She then lifted her own cards, again so only she could see them, “Octarch of Rubies and the seven of diamonds.”
And then repeated the procedure for the guard`s cards, “Two of rubies and two of emeralds for a four.”
The guard scowled, “how can I believe you? Play fair! Show us our cards.”
This time it was Kaisa`s turn for the innocent expression, “You`re not suggesting that I`d cheat, are you?”
“Well, pardon me for accusing a thief of being dishonest, I`d hate to cause offence,” he retorted in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
“I`ll take my third,” the dwarf said, ignoring the guard, and she dealt him his third and final card.
“Three of rubies for a final score of two. Bad luck.” She looked to the guard with raised eyebrows, “Get the Crystal and you beat my straight seven.”
He folded his arms, “If I can`t see the cards you`re dealing then I can`t trust you. No game.”
She then scratched her jaw with the pack in her hand, “You`re suggesting that, given the power to hide something from you, I`d automatically cheat when I usually – believe it or not – play fair?”
The guard nodded.
“Is that because I`m a criminal?”
Another nod.
“You`d never do that? You wouldn`t be tempted to cheat given the opportunity? If there was enough riding on it?”
The guard`s nod was shallower.
“You asked if, as soon as we got out, we`d go back to lives of law breaking? Well, why do people obey the law?”
“Because it`s right. It keeps the peace. It keeps us safe.”
The fenki nodded as the ynnwn spoke, “All very noble but people don`t obey the law because they want to...but because they have to. Break the law and we all know what happens.” She motioned to herself and the dwarf, who was sat with an amused smile, watching her lecture the guard.
“But people don`t want to follow it. The law is just. Actually the law`s the law, justice is another thing, but my point is that injustice is profitable to the individual. Take this game of cards. I remove your ability to see your own cards: you can only trust me that I`m not cheating. I can cheat all I like, laws be damned, and I`m sure most out there would do the same.”
“But for the law,” the guard added.
“But. For. The. Law,” the fenki gambler repeated, “And as long as there`s you lot, there`ll be people like us here to test the balance. To take that risk, follow that primal urge to take what we can when others aren`t looking.”
The guard chuckled, “So...is this a confession to your crimes?”
Kaisa snorted and shook her head, " Of course not," flipping the cards face up...
The two of diamonds, four of rubies and three of rubies for the dwarf...
The two of rubies and two of emeralds for the guard...
And the Octarch of rubies and the seven of diamonds for herself. A winning hand. Just as she had said.
“Because I don`t cheat.”
THE END.
[With thanks to Plato for inspiration and Porridge for a line]
