The heavily cloaked man picked up his traveling bag and cast a wistful glance back to the ship from which he had just disembarked. It was good to be back on home soil after such a long sabbatical in foreign lands.
The trip was necessary, as many years had passed since he was last able to peruse the manuscripts of knowledge with a consortium of his peers. Admittedly, there had been some meetings with other practitioners of the darker arts. Those had been fulfilling in many respects. Men of science were apt to seek out all the nuances of their art, bonifide, unsavory, illegal or not.
He wondered why his hand maid was not at the docks to greet him. A dark foreboding passed briefly through his mind as he made his way up the hill to the University.
He arrived before the great doors of the University and flung them open. He called out for the girl. No answer came from the dark and gloomy interior.