The once busy rustle of papersheets and scratching from fountain pens gliding over paper fell into quietness as nighttime ensued. A chill breeze gently blew through the window left ajar to ventilate the office chockful of study implements. And atop the fine oak desk, one grey-haired man snored loudly like a drum.

Such peaceful calm was disturbed when a sharp knocking on the door echoed throughout the room. There was a beat, and then the door creaked open. A figure made opaque by the dark room maneuvered its away across the furniture in front till it stood besides the man asleep. They carefully poked his shouder, "sir?" a boyish tone inquired.

Adraman's face scrunched up. He cringed awake. "Wha-- What are you doing in here--?" He asked groggily. "It's Robert, sir. Your, um, your secretary?" Robert lit an oil lamp.

"Ah," Adraman came back to his previous spot across the so-comfortable desk. He yawned, then eased his eyes shut once more to return to sleep. "It's been three days, sir." However, he could [i]not[/i] let that slip. Adraman jerked back into his seat in disbelief. "THREE DAYS?!"

Robert stared at his superior with a look of mild amusement. Adraman cocked an eyebrow annoyingly, "What?" before he rubbed at his face, and found there were traces of ink smeared on it. He deadpanned while he reached over the desk to don his glasses. "Why wasn't I woken up sooner?"

The secretary rolled on his heels awkwardly. His boss had a tendency to be a little unreasonable sometimes. "Because... You put a Do Not Disturb sign on the handle. And explicitly told me to avoid disrupting your workflow, sir." Adraman rolled his eyes irritably, and wiped his face clean with a hankerchief. "Whatever. The damage has been made. What is it, Robert?"

Robert smiled amused. "Actually, it is funny you say that, because," he passed his superior a newspaper article from the Caledon Gazette. "The dockside factories south from here were alledgedly sabotaged by a mysterious source today's morning. They don't know why the machines aren't starting up, despite the mechanisms being seemingly in prime condition." The physicist read through the article thoroughly, then shrugged. "Perhaps if they shifted their focus towards the causation of it, and not the culprit, we'd be miles ahead by now."

Adraman cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms to the front, then abandoned his desk to make a beeline for the door. Robert followed, confused. "Sir? Where are you going?" The researcher pressed on without a break in his gait. "To the dock. Where else?" Robert continued to protest, "but you haven't even eaten in three days, sir! You aren't presentable to make an appearance either!"

He would've continued, if not for the grumble in his stomach. Adraman sighed in defeat. "Very well. I'll indulge your uncalled for concerns. Now, excuse me."
[hr]
Once the researcher returned home from his workplace, he showered thoroughly, dressed for the occassion, and ate a decent meal, he frequented the central train station in the northeast. He stashed his shoulder bag with only the necessary items for the trip, not particularly interested to run into a thug and lose something of real value. Adraman stared at his reflection on the window, and cursed at himself for forgetting the miniscule detail of shaving off the fresh stubble over his features. Oh, well. It added character.

[@Red Wizard]