Griff couldn’t sleep. He was so exhausted from moving all that equipment from storage all the way to the lab he should have just passed out. Instead, Griff felt restless, like something key was missing that would allow his brain to rest. In the bed that had the stuffed creature previously in it was Nick, dead to the world. Turning to where his back was to his boss Griff was now trying to make out the objects on the workstation. Still unable to get comfortable Griff got out of bed to walk around for a second.

Normally the library closing for the night would not have bothered Griff since he was locked inside with all his books. Looking for the various supplies Nick had brought in Griff tried to remember when was the last time he slept outside the library.

The table was worn with various burns and scratches all alone the surface. Picking through the sealed jars of herbs it was difficult to identify them in the low light. Picking at the thinner portion of sealing wax on a jar containing what looked like dried beans he noticed some of the deeper scratches on the table. With his free hand he ran three fingers along a set of deep parallel scratches running off the edge of the table. Trying not to remember the creature from earlier he moved further alone the table. Sitting in the middle of the table pushed near the back wall was a leather wrapped parcel. The leather was well-oiled but the fluid inside still oozed out between the stitches. Several hours ago he stopped smelling whatever it was but the sight of the foul liquid still made his lip curl.

Quills, ink wells, and rolls of vellum where piled ready for use. Reaching the end of the table were the books they picked up earlier that day. Grumbling he already read these particular ones already, he wanted something new. There was a much thinner unmarked one leaning up against the stack. Thrilled for something to read he grabbed it without a second thought. Padding back quietly to his bed Griff made himself comfortable.

In the gently burning flames from the enchanted fire created a warm soft orange light to read by. When he saw the carefully penned words neatly written Griff knew the writer wanted the reader to clearly understand what was written. Messy handwriting should be punishable by flogging in Griff’s opinion.

A few pages in he realized this was not a book like he originally thought, it was Nick’s research notes. Flipping through several more pages without really reading them he grew a little annoyed. There was no coherency what so ever. Nick’s drawings could only be described as ‘sad’. Just when he was about to put the journal back he found something interesting.

The words, ‘The Hall of Records’ where written in bigger letters than the rest of the text. Thrilled to finally find something of substance he began to read about a library hidden in the vast desert.

“Glad to see you are taking the work seriously,” Nick said causing Griff to jerk awake. Trying to remember why he was in the cold lower labs Griff looked up at Nick.

“What?”

Nick pointed to the book Griff had slept with stating, “Those are my notes. If I knew you were that interested I would have let you read them sooner.” Not looking into Nick’s eyes I handed back the journal to Nick.

“Right,” Griff muttered. Nick was already across the room flipping to the pages he wanted. A heavy silence fell over them. Feel like he didn’t really needed to be here Griff wandered over to where Nick was to see if there was anything he could help with.

“What was all that stuff about a library where everything ever was written was kept?” Griff shuffled over to the workstation where Nick had actually brought food to eat. Grabbing both their food Nick indicated for Griff to follow him to sit back down on their beds to eat.

“Don’t want to get your food mixed up in the experiment do you?” Nick asked rhetorically before taking a big bite out of some oatmeal.

“I guess no. But what about the library?” When Nick gave him a blank look he added, “You know the one you wrote about in your journal.”

“Oh, you mean the Hall of Records. According to the locals near the great pyramids down south, there is a roaming sphinx in the desert that guards the entrance.” Nick waved his left hand trying to act mysterious. Griff gave a genuine chuckle that Nick took as a sign to keep talking. “The locals say you have to solve a riddle to prove your worthiness and if you fail the beast will gobble you up in one bite.” Nick gnashed his teeth to emphasize the word ‘bite’. When Griff laughed Nick positively beamed.

“That’s incredible. More books and scrolls to last a hundred life times. That sounds just like heaven.” Griff drifted off for a second to imagine what a library that big would even look like on the inside.

“Alright let’s get to work on that Dragon’s stomach.” Nick clapped his hands together eager to get started. Breaking out of his daydream Griff wondered if he heard his Master correctly.

“Dragon stomach?” He thought he remembered the Alchemist from yesterday mention dragon’s stomachs.

“Right. I guess I never did tell you what we are doing did I?” Nick slipped on some gloves indicating for Griff to put on a pair himself. Untying the leaking bag Griff was hit with a much stronger smell than what was leaking before. While Griff tried to keep down breakfast Nick was already pulling the organ from the wrapping.

“Eugh. What could you possibly want to do with one of these? I thought you said you’re not interested in making weapons.”

“That’s right. I have no intentions of making weapons. No I’m trying to make something that will actually get results without the pointless bloodshed.” Nick gave a big smile. Griff glanced over to the dragon’s stomach now dropping on the floor.

“How?”

Nick’s smile slid off his face at Griff’s tone. Not breaking eye contact Nick reached over into his bag to pull out a sheathed knife. All Griff could do is stare as the blade was unsheathed. Nick broke eye contact to pull the dragon stomach closer so he could cut a rough hole in the top portion.

Even though Nick was wearing the thick gloves that stretched hallway up to his elbow Griff gagged a little when his master plunged his arm into the opening. Then a new smell hit him: hot, rotting meat mixed with cow dung.

Next thing Griff knew is that he was waking up in his bed. Looking around he was trying to remember why his back was hurting so bad. At Griff groaning Nick stopped writing to look over at him.

“For some reason I thought you’d be tougher this.” Nick commented drily.

“Reading about something and actually seeing it are completely different.” Griff grumbled. “Not to mention, no book can really prepare you for the smell.” He made a noise as his stomach remembered the stench.

“The only way you’ll ever get over this is if you keep exposing yourself to things that make you uncomfortable.” Nick held out Griff’s gloves for him to take. Knowing he was right he took the gloves to put on.

“As I was saying before you fainted, using this stomach as my starting point I plan on ending several pointless wars.” At Griff’s blank look he continued speaking. “We both know that dragons will eat anything they can get down their throat. How they are able to do so is the acid in their stomachs is so powerful it can melt hooves and bones.”

“Wait, if dragon’s stomach acid so powerful it can digest bones and hooves why does it need to eat rocks like a bird?” Griff asked pressing the cloth wrapped around his face to block out smells. He read about dragons doing that before but never really questioned why. Come to think of it, he never wondered why after reading something.

“Plants don’t like to be eaten no more than a goat or any other animal but since plants can’t run away they’ve developed methods to deter animals. Spines on a cactus, or this,” Nick pulled out an oval object dripping with stomach acid. Griff tried not vomit as his boss rinsed off the oval in a nearby bucket on the ground.

“What is that?” Griff managed to choke out. Maybe his handkerchief would help block the smell.

“This is a seed.” Nick showed the pod to Griff. “When a dragon eats seeds,” Nick pulled another rounded object from the stomach. “These smash the pod, like so.” Nick used the still mucus covered object to break open the pod.

“Interesting,” Griff commented poking at the broken open seed pod.

“Not as interesting as this.” Nick washed the object off properly to reveal a lovely looking ruby. Ignoring the fact that until two seconds ago the gem was covered in dragon stomach acid Griff took the ruby.

“Amazing, “Griff looked over the ruby for imperfection. “How is this even possible?”

“Something about a dragon’s stomach can change everyday stone into precious gems. Whatever it is, I plan on figuring out how to recreate it.” Nick swirled his fingers in the stomach content of the dragon causing Griff to make a face. Burrowing through his pockets he eventually found his handkerchief. He went to wrap it around his face when Nick grabbed the end of it to get a better look.

“What’s this?” He asked stretching it out to get a better look at it.

“A handkerchief. Don’t worry, there isn’t anything on it.” Griff was referring to using the item to remove phlegm from his nose.

“I meant, what is this design?” Nick traced his hands over the stitched in Alchemic Circle.

“Oh that. See you use it like this,” Griff took back the handkerchief to lay it flat on the work bench. He opened Nick’s journal to a random page to then set on the left side of the circle. Then he placed an inkwell at the top, with a blank set of vellum on the right. With a small nod of satisfaction Griff placed his hands on bottom edge of the cloth to activate it. There was a spark of magic flowing from Griff’s hand crackling to the left lighting up the book before going to the ink well. Finally it went to the blank vellum in the time it would take for lightening to strike.

When the light faded Nick was able to see the open page in his journal copied perfectly on the previously blank vellum. Picking up his journal and the copy he glanced between the two looking for any differences.

“You even copied the smudge stain.” Nick exclaimed looking back at Griff as if seeing him for the first time. “This is amazing. How did you even come up with something like this?” Setting the items down Nick picked up the stitched circle to better appreciate the craftsmanship.

“Most scribes can’t read so when they found out I was reading instead of just copying I kept getting into trouble. So I snuck into a few places, stole some supplies and sewed this to save time.”

“Seems like a lot of work instead of just drawing on some spare vellum.” Nick noticed some parts of the cloth where stained with ink.

“Yes, but cloth makes less noise when you have to put it away quickly. Also, no one really pays attention when you put a handkerchief in your pocket as opposed to some folded up parchment.” Griff pointed out taking the cloth back from Nick.

All Nick could really do is mull over Griff’s logic. Griff was supposed to be unambitious as he was unremarkable. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, seems the Gods weren’t punishing him after all.

It took overhearing several apprentices discussing winter celebrations for Griff to realize how much time has passed. While Griff would be in charge of going to the library and running other errands (laundry easily was the worst), Nick was responsible for all the supplies sold outside the Academy. It had been almost three seasons since he last left in his spot in the library. Making a mental note to go check on his nest next time he visited the library he picked up their breakfast to head back to the lab.

Thinking about it Griff never felt so at ease with another person before. Sure he had his family but it felt they more tolerated him than was interested in his life. Nick would send him off to go retrieve a book only to have Griff bring back several non-related texts come with him as well. The first time this happened he froze when his master shuffled through the pile to spot a book on cobbler. With the same blank expression as ever he placed the relevant books aside to hold up the stowaway for Griff to see.

“It looked interesting,” Griff offered as an excuse. Nick gave a small smile tapped him on the head with the book.

“Just put it back when you’re done. Don’t want to clutter the lab with your light reading.” Nick gave back the book and that’s all he ever said about the subject.

If Griff was being honest, even though he couldn’t read as much as he wanted to, he was still happy. He found himself enjoying talking about the research as well as the books he read. Nick even hinted if things went well he would try to remember all he knew about the Hall of Records and write it all down for Griff. It would be the first book Griff would ever have personally owned. Not that Nick would know that. It was a quiet existence right up until one night while Griff was drifting off while reading about aqueducts.

“I did it.” Nick sounded surprised before yelling in full confidence, “I DID IT!” In a flurry, Nick was kneeling next to Griff to thrust a solid bar of gold under the man’s nose.

“Is that?” Griff sounded skeptical hoping what he was seeing was legitimate- “Gold. Pure, one hundred percent gold.” Nick finished Griff’s sentence.

“How is that even possible?” Griff tried to scratch the surface of the bar to see if he could flake off any of the metal.

“With this.” Nick held out a small blood red stone for Griff to see.

“What happened to your hand?” Griff noticed the strip of clothe wrapped around Nick’s left hand.

“That’s what you’re focusing on?” Nick chided hiding the limb behind him. “I need you to look at this!”

“What is ‘this’?” Griff peered at the stone lying in his friend’s palm. The sheen looked like nothing Griff had ever seen before.

“I call it, The Dragon’s Bezoar.” Nick proudly held the tiny gem-looking object. Griff made a face that caused Nick to ask in an offended tone, “What?”

“That name sounds vile. Like a kidney stone.”

“I least I’m not as vain as to name the stone after myself.” Nick huffed crossing his arms. Griff could not contain his chortle, ‘The Flamel Stone. ‘

“Wait, I got it!” Nick paused to be dramatic. “The Great Philosophic Alchemist Nicholas Flamel Stone.” At that point, Griff could not contain his laughter anymore. Even Nick started to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of it all. They agreed to give it a better name before presenting it to the council.

Two days since the initial discovery did Nick already start drawing up plans to improve his creation. Griff was making his way back from getting breakfast when he heard voices coming from their lab. Noting was unusual about that; a member of the upper labs would come down regularly to check on their progress. What struck Griff as odd was that one of the elites actually entered the room with the strong smell rather than have their usual talk outside in the corridor.

Using his foot Griff nudged open door to see a tall woman standing over the work table as Nick pointed to various part of his research. She was wearing all the symbols adorned by the upper-level laboratory mages showing everyone that she was to be respected. Fearing his assistant would say something stupid Nick was quick to place himself between Griff and the woman could end his career in an instant.

“Griff, this is Madam De Maupartruys, she sits on the High Council and is very interested in our work.” Nick was smiling so hard Griff wouldn’t be surprised if the man’s teeth broke.

“Yes. Well, I’ve seen enough here.” Madame De Maupartruys looked unimpressed at the room around her. “Report to the High Council immediately.”

“What?” Nick stammered. The woman stopped walked out of the room to give Nick a withering look.

“Immediately, means now. You are to report your research to the High Council now.” At Nick’s horrified look she faced the man fully. “Unless, of course, you are falsifying your results in a desperate attempt to curry more funding for your lackluster research.”

Nick managed to untie his tongue to sputter, “No Madam.”

“Good. Do not keep us waiting.” A few sharp steps later the woman was gone.

Nick bounced on the balls of his feet for a minute before motioning his hands about. Frantically he looked around the room in a panic. Spotting Griff Nick pointed both index fingers directly at his assistant.

“Griff,” Nick addressed his eyes wide with hysteria. “I need you to gather some objects to change while I get all the notes.”

“Right,” Griff agreed. He sat the cooling oatmeal on one of the only clear spots on the table. Reaching over to the bag Nick uses for shopping Griff felt a jolt of pain. Instinctively he drew back his hand to survey his wound. Sticking out of the side of his hand was a piece of broken glass. Too much in a hurry to ask why there was broken glass on the table in the first place, he picked across the table to find a strip of cloth as a bandage. Picking off the shard Griff used his teeth to help secure the cloth around his bleeding hand.

“Got everything?” Nick asked fumbling to organize his notes into a neat pile. Noticing the bag Griff was loading up Nick snatched the bag to shove his notes in. “Good idea, makes us look more organized.”

“Let’s see, notes, things to transmute,” Nick patted the pocket on his breast where normal people kept their money, "and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

“I can’t believe we kept that name,” Griff muttered trying not to crumple the pages of their research. Nick gave a small chuckle despite himself.

“Ready?” The Alchemist asked. Griff nodded mustering up a small smile to help encourage his boss.