II.  Chosen cue:  Tedious, routine work

From a Guardsman’s Letter Home

            You ask, Naneth, what duty I have drawn.  I tell you--I guard a tree--a dead tree!  Can you imagine a duty so absurd?  I stand there for hours at a time, dressed in archaic armor with pike in hand, and keep watch on a tree that has been dead so long its bark has fallen off!  I admit that even in death the White Tree is shapely.  But I ask you--would you think it a necessary task?  I may not move whilst on guard, nor may I speak with my fellows.  I am oft bored to tears.