Fresh off the rusty decrepit ship that Shadow has been on, for what seemed like a century, he finally steps onto solid land, in the midst of an unusually windy and cold night with nothing but a raggedy, hand-me-down rucksack containing a couple pairs of clothes and a brown worn-out wallet holding nothing but a dollar and ninety-eight cents. The harbor is dimly lit and Shadow is barely able navigate his way from the dark harbor to the slightly brighter street.

As Shadow continues to step onto the sidewalk, he notices in the corner of his eye, a black figure leaning up against an erratically blinking street light. Shadow then looks over to his side and sees the figure already walking faster and faster towards him. Shadow notices the pace of the man is picking up and prepares himself for a fight. As the black figure moves closer, he happens to step into a spot under a street light. Shadow then recognized a friendly face he has known from childhood.

“Shadow, it’s great to see you my good friend. I’ve been expecting you. There’s a lot we need to catch up on but this isn’t the right time or the place for that.”

Shadow follows closely behind with the wind starting to pick up. His friend leads him to a car surrounded by big, mysterious looking men.

“Don’t worry Shadow, they’re with me.” His friend says.

Relieved, Shadow follows his friend into the backseat of his car and the two, as well as the big, mysterious looking men, speed off. After a fairly long drive, Shadow sees a sign that reads,

“City of Philadelphia”

After a few more minutes, the driver parks the car and Shadow’s friend hospitably says,

“Welcome home.”