Today Ragnar had been posted at the southern trading post for guard duty. It made no difference. Rarely did anything worth his time happen, so all he did was stand, almost motionless, and stare at the calm waters of the lake which made it all the more monotonous. He seemed to be the only one with that particular opinion, though. Time passed by quickly and when the day's work was done, he retired to the barracks to rest. As he lay there, he began to remember the day when a peasant attempted to kill him. Ragnar easily defeated the man, but refrained from killing him so that he could be arrested and publicly tortured. He never found out what compelled the peasant to do so, but the memory was almost enough to bring a smile to his face anyway as he drifted off to sleep. Almost.
The next day he was assigned to the docks. During his break, he headed off to the silver silver tavern to drown his sorrows as he usually does. He made a habit of coming in hopes of hearing a tale that would spark his interests from the local bards and storytellers, but to no avail.
"What will you be having today?" asked one of the barmaids.
"The usual," Stated Ragnar in his monotone voice, paying her 2 silver mizas. He was, of course, referring to his daily serving of common wine. It arrived shortly and, taking a long, refreshing drink, he sighed. After hearing a couple stories, he had decided that there would be nothing interesting here today.