He frowned, softly, furrowing his brow at the off handed request. "We're returning to Herzland, surely you aren't serious in thinking I have any plans of smuggling you out.  No matter the promise I see in those hands of yours, the calm in your eyes, I'd never dream of trading my loyalty for your neck." That pretty neck, strong like the rest of him, Luitwin enjoyed too much how he could trace his hands over each muscle and bone if he wanted to. Ardnt almost reminded him of exaggerated, anatomical sketches, drawings of faceless men with excess bulk that allowed for detailed cross sections... His own body was too soft, and flat, there was no curve to his arms or chest, he barely used more than his hands during the day to day labor at the monastery.<br/><br/>"Of course, this is a joke of yours, so I don't have to worry about a criminal attempting to sway me into his walk of life do I..." A rhetorical question, Luitwin let his words trail off, thinking about all Ardnt had said. It was little surprise to hear that the boys of Alriah were pushed to service, not with the number of conflicts that were waged between it's fractured settlements. Herzland was different, a unified heart at the center of God's table. The towns and villages were Herzland's veins, their fields his nerves, fingertips stretching far along the continent and surrounded by foreign kings and queens they blessed with conversion many times in the past. What a different life Ardnt had lived... It was truly the opposite of all Luitwin had ever known.<br/><br/>"Change will happen.. slowly, that is fine. I merely ask that you refrain from passing off your sins as trivial mishaps. It's not a kind habit, is it? Or would this be your method of admittance? Does it bring you more comfort, if guilt should be learned." The monk smiled sweetly, again, pushing their few tumbles behind. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't believe you could change, or even have wanted change in the past... What the future has for you, I can't say exactly, but to see you doing good would certainly put me at ease. Even if not for god, for the people, those you greet on the street. Charity is a powerful tool, Ardnt." Luitwin gave a nod, looking particularly sentimental. "Do you have any reason to flee...? Would going back to your old ways be so tantalizing? Or is it simply because that's how it's been. The cruel mountains, getting stabbed and thrown out at sea, do you miss these things, Ardnt?"<br/><br/>He remembered the knife, hidden away and out of sight. Had the man wanted it? Surely letting a criminal keep a blade on his person while on the same ship as an ambassador would be out of question. But Luitwin's smile dropped with a little revelation. "The knife, it was quite lavish, wasn't it..? It's not a weapon exactly.. I would be making assumptions, and you've every right to correct me, but I'd not like to think that him stabbing you was in self defense." Luitwin appeared trouble for a moment, before taking a breath and shrugging it off. "I suppose, you did call it murder though, didn't you?" The topic of death was troubling, the monk sighed finally with "What a waste, a shame.."<br/><br/>Luitwin was about to stand, feeling he should call their meeting to a close, at least until the lingering tensions died down a little. But he stopped in his seat and curiously glanced Ardnt's way. "You know, besides a bath, I'm sure I could also offer you a haircut, or a shave. I imagine with hair as coarse as yours, at least having someone to help with brushing would be good enough? You shouldn't be raising your arm over your head for anything, at least for a few days."