You would think there were enough real stories out there that even junior reporters wouldn't get assigned to chase down obviously false rumors, but apparently today is a slow news day and so Lucien's boss has sent him to chase down an escaped creature of some sort in the basement of a university dorm. Really this is Lucien's fault for seeking out a position as a junior reporter under Francis Duranty. Not that he regretted his choice - he stood a fair shot at inheriting the Times and Duranty had the advantage of actively making his life harder about this, rather than easier, which was what Lucien needed if he was going to do this right. 

Still, he wished this didn't result in him walking in ankle deep in cold sewage water, holding a lantern as he squints into the darkness for any sign of a strange animal that he knows isn't th-HOLY HELL WHAT.