The driver was true his word that he was only hired to take the Duke to the library and nothing more. Leaving Nick to drag the heavy luggage to where they were staying. There was a man waiting for them to arrive to show the Duke around the area.

"Only one servant for your Dukeship?" The man eyed Nick's appearance. The man was accessing the Duke's monetary worth based on his servant's state of being.

"My father wanted to send a few of his but this one is my own." The duke gave a grin. Nick paused in trying to move the luggage to question why the young sounded so smug. Then he realized, the Duke was using Nick to show off how wealthy he was as an individual rather than how wealthy his family was. Cursing everything from the Duke's pride to the wealthy class in general Nick went back to tugging on the trunk he was supposed to be moving.

"Very good, Duke Laurent. Come, there is much to see." The man led Laurent away but not before snapping for two nearby servants to help Nick take the luggage where it needed to go. Wordless the servants took most the luggage before leading Nick where it needed to go.

The servants seemed nice enough. They quickly talked Nick through the schedule for him and showed him where everything was. Apparently, it was lunch time as Nick was given a tray with two plates on it, to serve to his master. Remembering the route back Nick managed to navigate back to their sleeping quarters without spilling anything.

Duke Laurent was already in the room looking cross. All his possessions were strung about the room. When Nick entered the Duke barely gave him a glance.

"Finally, while you were off lazing about I was forced to unpack my own things!" The Duke complained about pulling more items out of the trunk to string about the room. Holding back his annoyance Nick just set the food on the workbench shoved up against the wall furthest from the only bed.

"Is your Dukeship hungry?" Nick asked hoping to change the subject. The young Duke grumbled but sat down to eat while Nick began to tidy. All while Nick put clothing away the Dukeship kept whining about how tired he was from his long journey. The room seemed nice enough; it had a bed, a small burning area (against the harsh desert night perhaps) and a clearly European wardrobe. Once the dishes were clear and the room was presentable the Duke announced they were turning in for the night. Not going to argue with his new ‘Master’ Nick didn’t say anything.

Nick was graciously provided a woven reed matt to sleep on. The matt smelled musty and loose pieces poked uncomfortably at his sides. Taking off his cloak he used it as a barrier between him and the matt. Slight more comfortable he tried to relax. Though the pitch black a small bar of light managed to peak under the door. Straining his ears he waited for the Duke's breathing to become heavier with sleep. Waiting for his change he laid in the dark timing the space between breathes to make sure he wasn’t heard sneaking out.

"Sleeping in while your Master rouses is a sign of a poor Servant." Cut the voice of the Duke through Nick's dream. With a start, Nick tried to get to his feet as fast as he could. The Duke was sitting on the edge of his bed with arms crossed glaring at Nick. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before the Duke cleared his throat again. "This is what I get for hiring someone off the street." He muttered to himself before speaking loudly and condescendingly. "Servants are supposed to dress their masters."

Nick gave a jolt before hurrying over to where he had put the Duke's clothes away yesterday. He pulled out a shirt and a nice looking pair of trousers when the Duke spoke out again. "You are not serious."

Blinking Nick looked at the Duke getting up from his spot on the bed. The Duke elbowed his way to pick out his clothes himself. "Make yourself useful and go get some breakfast instead. You think you can handle that?" Slightly embarrassed the Alchemist set down the clothes to exit the room quickly.

The rest of the day did not get better. Forced to follow his master like a dog Nick could feel his soul crying in boredom. After eating the Duke went to the library to learn about ancient political issues forcing his servant to standby. As he was forced to stand in one place he was able to observe the people around them as they went about their business. There were a few people reading on their own but they all looked much older. There were teachers bent over their students walking in hushed tones not to disturb the other people around them. Even watching the dust particles was more interesting than watching his master read. The Library was nothing like had originally thought it would be. For starters, he found out that the dragon they were supposed to be kept for research was nothing more than a blasted mural. When he went to pick up their breakfast all students attending where required to pay a hefty fee just to be allowed inside the walls.

Thick dust collected on the shelves reflecting how Nick felt at the moment: full of knowledge yet forced to stand and rot in place. Back home no matter what walk of life you came from as long as you had the gift of magic they wanted you. Seeing the stark difference in priorities between the two establishments made him appreciate the Academy just a little bit more. At that moment he remembered how the High Councilman was pocketing gold pens and trying to steal all of Griff’s research.

Money.

It was always about money. Money was nice but hiding all away like a dragon was foolish. Speaking dragon he hoped Griff was ok. Maybe he found a nice cool place to stay safe. A sneeze nearby jerked Nick out of his daydream.

There were other servants also standing patiently waiting for their masters to need them. None of them looked as fidgety as Nick though. Trying not to scream he choose to look around the room to see if get a sense of the layout. If he was going to sneak in here he should at least have an idea what it looked like during the day.

Scrolls appeared to stacked haphazardly on shelves. A proper bound book could be spotted at random standing out stark against the rolled up parchments. Squinting he could almost make out the wording on the bindings. While he was trying to read a person in plain but nice clothing stepped in front of his line of sight. His annoyance was short lived when the person started to climb the shelves using handholds built into the bookcase itself. With the grace of a monkey, the person easily climbed to almost the top. With one hand the person grabbed a scroll to then slip it into a side bag draped over his shoulder. The person did this two times before climbing back down just as graceful as before.

The Duke gave a scream of frustration causing everyone in earshot to jump. Forgetting proper decorum Nick glared down at his master, "What’s wrong with you?"

"What is wrong is that I can't concentrate. The seats are too hard and there is TOO MUCH NOISE!" Those last three words where shouted so loud it echoed slightly through the library. A nearby group glared in their direction before grabbing their materials to move elsewhere. A middle-aged man appeared to have materialized from around a nearby book self his hands clasped in front of him wearing the same outfit as the person getting the scrolls from before.

"Is something the matter," was what the man had asked but his tone stated, 'Either be quiet or leave.' Utterly oblivious to the threat the Duke had the nerve to stand up and face the man head-on. Not one for confrontation Nick held his breath hoping the whole incident would pass quickly. If the Duke got himself kicked out after only one day he too would be expelled out of the facility.

"Nothing is the matter. Just my Master was so engrossed in his text he simply forgot where he was. My apologies." There was a brief silence when Nick realized that he was the one to speak out first. Under both men's stares, Nick felt his whole body shutter cold.

"My servant," spoke the Duke first, "is right. I forgot where I was now if you excuse me I need something to eat before I keep working. You," the duke was now pointing to Nick,” will continue to copy this text while I'm away."

The man, with his hands still clasped in front of him, followed after talking to the Duke very quickly. Trying to see if the Duke's family would donate more money or even literature to expand the library no doubt. Making sure he was indeed alone Nick took his master's still warm spot to pull the text closer. Shaking his head he realized his master had only written three lines the whole time they had been there. What was copied looked so messy it was mostly illegible. With a scoff, Nick pushed aside the poorly written notes to pull a clean piece of papyrus to start over. Since he did not have a change in clothes he still had the Philosopher's Stone and the copying circle still tucked into the same pocket.

Smoothing out the embroidered handkerchief Nick's smile faded a little. The scroll was written on parchment while all he had was blank papyrus. Nibbling on his lower lip he decided to take a chance anyway. He placed the blank papyrus to his right and the scroll he was copying off of to his left like he'd seen Griff do before. The inkwell was placed at the top edge of the handkerchief. The gently placed his hand on the lower edge of the circle to activate it.

'See in your mind what you want your magic to do.'

Controlling his breath he thought of the ink in the well forming the words on the scroll to the left. Words from the past flow into the present ink to the future where the finished copy lie. The whole processed happened in a flash of blue light like before. When Nick's eyes adjusted he was left with a perfect copy of the text on the papyrus. Positively beaming he knew this was going to make his life a lot easier.

Griff and Mel had fallen into a steady pattern over the last few weeks. For the most part, the two of them kept to themselves. True his word Griff only read what Mel placed in front of him. Ever curious Mel did allow Griff to ask questions about the library especially from time to time. Like the first time, he felt hunger pains. He asked if was possible to leave and come back for food when there was a clattering behind him. On a platter as large as soldier’s shield was a finely roasted pig.

“Thank you, Mel!” With one swipe he had the whole pig in his mouth.

“You should be thanking Artemis for that one. Probably thought it appealed to your European tastes I’m sure.”

“Artemis? I thought the Gods where no longer allowed to influence the human world.” Mel paused in his work to look over at Griff. “My friend Nick was telling me about the Gilgamesh and the competition between the Gods.”

“Did he tell you why the Hall was created then?” Mel asked jumping on the railing outlining his area. Griff shook his head no.

“I guess there is no harm in telling.” Mel seemed to be speaking to himself rather than Griff. “Centuries, after the new rule was instated there, was a flurry of song and stories dedicated to the Gods. It started with a single house fire. A poet who was too lax in his cleaning when his entire studio went up in flames destroying all his work. Seeing this Hestia gathered the ashes to remake the works. Unable to take items from the human into the Divine Realm The Hall of Records was created just to house the destroyed manuscripts. This entire collection lies in the space between not quite in the Divine nor the human realm.”

“That’s amazing. So are you a God then?” Griff asked peering at Mel.

“No. I am no. All my magic comes from this charm on my collar.” Explained Mel craning his neck up in an attempt to show Griff how run-of-the-mill the charm was.

"So how are you talking then? I thought it all the charm's doing."

"No this was made by my human, Maeve. She made it since her husband lost his arm in an accident. She ended up making one for herself after she became too broken to mix her potions as well as she used to." Mel looked pleased as if he was the one to have invented new magic.

"That doesn't explain why you have it or why you can talk." Griff brought up again. Mel looked away for a second.

"I...don't want to talk about." Was all he said going back to his cushion.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I've just never met someone nearly as interesting as you before." Pleaded Griff causing the cat to stop short.

"You really are interested, aren't you?" Asked Mel out loud more to himself than Griff. "You know what? I will tell you." With a swish of his tail, he levitated to the top of Griff head, right between his horns. Griff felt the kneading of claws before the cat settled in.

Its hard for Melvin to talk about his life before he changed. Before he was just as ordinary as any cat you would find anywhere. He knew his name, where he lived, and the names of the humans who loved him. Art would leave the house and return smelling like the earth. Maeve would stay in and work over the ever-burning fire.

It was Art who named the strange vagabond cat Melvin. The seasons came and went until one cold white season Art went to sleep forever. Still, the season went on. It was a damp night when everything changed. Mel woke to the sounds of a flaming object crashing through their window. To his horror, the fireball quickly caught everything in its path aflame turning the inside of their home into an inferno. Mel tried to call out in distress but the damp wood created too much smoke causing every breath to burn. Coughing and gasping Mel felt his world fade to black.

When he woke up again he was in the Between Plane. Mel had no idea why he knew that exactly. Looking around he noticed he was on a bank on a river mostly shrouded in mist. Maeva was arguing with a man on the shore as a hooded figure sat patiently near the water.

"Do you know what you are throwing away?" The man shouted to Maeva. "Eternal life. You could spend eons perfecting your spells. The countless people who could benefit from just that trinket on your wrist alone. You could change the world!"

Maeva stood quietly allowing the man to run out of energy. Even though they needed to breathe the man was panting as if he ran a mile. Silently she carefully removed her bracelet to hold it out to the man. When he didn't take it she let the trinket fall to the ground.

"If it means so much to you, here, take it. I spent too long as it is alone in this world." At that moment she noticed Mel. "I see you didn't make it either." She knelt down with the grace of a much younger woman. Mel approached her looking for comfort. She stroked his face for a second smiling kindly. Her kind smile faded before lifted him up over her shoulder. "Let's go see Art now."

"Wait. Please." Begged the man outreaching his hand to grab her arm. "If not for yourself do it for the good of humanity."

"Humanity?" She asked. "The same humanity that felt it necessary to burn me alive? No, I think not." Maeva approached the hooded figure sitting on the bank. "I'm ready." The figure stood up to take her hand when the man let out a frustrated sound.

"This is why you humans don't deserve a choice, you don't have the capacity to appreciate it." Behind her, the man's hand began to glow a gold color as he reached out to touch her. Mel hissed to strike the hand before it could touch his friend. The second his claws contact with the glowing force the scenery changed again.