Teric watched the boy leave and did nothing to stop him; he had no cause to bother the young man any more than he had already. If anything, the mercenary was almost glad to see the bloodied, nameless figure of the man he'd just laid out on the cobbles disappear into the crowd. With the boy gone, Teric was finally free to drop the stoic facade he'd worn since he first began rubbing his knuckles, taking on a look of abject disgust that better reflected his mood.

What's gotten into me lately? The veteran posed the question to himself as he turned and went on his way. With his anger quashed, Teric was free to assess the situation in a different light, and he didn't really care for what he saw. I wouldn't normally let something as trivial as that fisherman turning me away get under my skin. It's not like there aren't a hundred other ships and boats tied up alongside the docks. Why let one captain irk me so badly?

The ugly answer was that Teric's little outburst after being turned away for passage to Corone was just one amongst a growing list of similar tirades - all of them triggered by the slightest perceived insult or dismissal. A week ago the mercenary had berated a waitress until she fled in tears simply because he felt she was ignoring him when he tried to order a pint of ale. After that there had been a similar incident with a cleaning woman at the Slumbering Whale Inn when Teric had returned to his room and found no clean towels. Then after that a scuffle had broken out with a street vendor when he'd presented Teric an overcooked kabob. Three trite, meaningless exchanges in a matter of days, and now this most recent incident made four.

I must be having a bad week. Teric placated, trying to justify to himself all the uncharacteristically boisterous behavior. If there was one thing the veteran had learned as a mercenary, it was to never needlessly draw attention to oneself, and yet of late Teric could seem to do nothing but draw that attention. It's those damn monks at the Pagoda. It's this gods-forsaken island! The sooner I get out of here, the sooner I'll be able to straighten myself out.

Teric took a deep breath and steered his path towards the closest boat he could find that looked to be busily preparing to leave Scara Brae. While outwardly the mercenary tried to assure himself that he had found the reason for all his recent outbursts, the man's innermost thoughts weren't quite so convinced.

I'm turning into my uncle. Those thoughts whispered darkly. I'm turning into just another crotchety old man that the world's left behind.