"Hold still," Nick instructed wedging a chisel under one of the many scales on Griff's forehead. Striking as hard as he could he managed to pop off the scale halfway. Using his hand he pried it the rest of the way off leaving a bright pink spot.

"How can something so small sting so badly?" Griff asked.

"No talking. It'll be over in a minute. “Barked Nick after regaining his balance. Every ounce of his focus was on making sure the gem he was replacing the scale with was snug.

"And now for the finishing touch." Nick placed the Philosopher's Stone on top the recently synthesized 'Maeva Stone' (no one could come up with a better name). There was a new purple light that everyone hoped was harmless. When it faded the Stone fused to Griff's forehead.

"Ok. Give it a try." Urged Nick climbing down. Griff shook his head a little to try and get used to the new weight on his forehead. "Maybe this piece of paper." He pointed to a paper on the table. The gem glowed purple as Griff concentrated on the page. A corner of the paper flittered a little before the entire table went flying.

"Ok. That's enough. I'll take over from here." Mel stopped sorting books to come over.

"What about the sorting?" Griff noticed the pile of unsorted scrolls and books growing larger by the minute. The fire from the library of Alexandria created a flood of new additions. The piles were starting to reach the tops of the bookcases with no sign of stopping.

"At this rate, there won't be a library left." Shot back Mel sitting down near Griff's front claws. "Alright first off you need to change how you are thinking. We do not go through life just shoving recklessly about to get what we want."

Realizing he was no longer needed Nick started to pick up the scattered papers around the room. In the mess, he found his Stone among the pages. So much was still unknown about it despite being the one to invent it. Maybe he would spend the rest of his life trying to unlock its secrets.

"I did it!" announced Griff that dropping the book was levitating.

"Ok, let's work on not dropping it now." Mel picked the book back up for Griff to take. Looking back at what he was doing a new thought started to form. It was a travesty that life-saving research was lost to the world for all eternity. Too bad he was forbidden to take these pages outside.

"Hey, Mel?" Nick called out still picking up papers.

"What do you want? We're busy."

"Is it possible to take copies of what is in here out without breaking the rules?" Nick asked stopping to gauge Mel's reaction. The cat looked over at Nick.

"As long as you don't take anything out of the Hall The Sphinx has no reason hurt you. The reason the rules are so strict is that if anything is taken from the Hall and destroyed, it is lost forever." Mel explained turning back to training Griff.

Clicking his tongue Nick turned back to his own work. Or at least figure out what was going to be his work from now on. He no longer needed to appease any council or government for funds anymore. Griff was happy as a dragon now that he could read again. Picking up the Philosopher’s Stone he rolled it around in his hands thinking. Without the burden of money, he could go anywhere. Where would he go through? And more importantly, what would he do when he got there? Closing his eyes he leaned back in his chair crying, “WHAT SHOULD I DO?”

While he was looking up at the ceiling there was a flutter of movement around him. Curious he looked back around him to see he was now surrounded by a neat stack of books and scrolls. Shuffling through them he noticed it was a collection of stories and maps. There was more noise behind him as the library provided plain rolls of vellum and full inkwells.

"I don't understand," Nick admitted. Fluttering from the ceiling was the handkerchief embroidered with the copying circle. Growling he was still at a loss about what to do. What do lost tales and maps have to do with copying magic?

"You want me to spread the legends of old in hopes to rekindle mankind's fascination with the Gods," Nick stated aloud. Materializing out of thin air a new bag with a note on it. Setting down the stone he detached the note from the bag. In inhumanly neat writing the note read:

'Give our tales without monetary gain or by drawing attention to yourself all the Gods have agreed to give you safe passage wherever you may go. As long as you carry our works this bag will never grow heavy.'

The note was signed with an array of symbols Nick assumed belonged to various Gods.

From the bottom of his heart, he knew this wasn’t a request. If he were to turn away the Gods from this task there would be consequences. From the looks of the unrelated symbols, there would be nowhere on for him to escape to. Remembering the last time he failed to properly think something like this through he set the letter in front of him. Rolling the Stone on the table he thought about what kind of life he was going to be agreeing to. When asked what he should be doing it was more geared to his research. Looks like figuring out the mystery of magic will remain just that.

“Look good. Now open it.” Mel instructed causing Griff to balk. Nick looked up from his brooding to watch the two. It was amusing to see such a large creature hunched over an object no bigger than one its back scales. The front cover of the book shook for second before being completely ripped off.

“Uh oh.”

“It's fine,” Mel said as the cover shot back to connect to the rest of the book like nothing happened. “Good as new. As long as it’s in here no harm can come to it. Now try again. Imagine using the same amount of energy as if it was your own hand.

“Right,” said Griff focusing back on his task. This time the cover flipped open gently.

“Finally,” complained Mel. He meant to sound annoyed but Nick could hear a note of pride in the old cat’s tone. “Now hold the book front of you while turning the page.”

“What?”

“You can do it. Just remember all you need is a light touch.”

Levitating the book at the end of his snout Griff’s eyes went cross trying to focus on the book.

“Stop that!” Mel barked using his own stone to snatch the book away. “You’re not a human anymore. If you keep reading like that you’ll hurt your eyes. Try holding the text up a little higher up.” Mel suggested showing where exactly would be the best place to keep the text steady. Nick couldn’t suppress his smile. It was heartwarming to see two creatures making the best of their situations. Thinking on it Nick began to wonder if there was a way he could make the best of this whole spread-the-tales-of-the-Gods situation.

“If I were to say ‘yes’, could I still work on my own research?” Nick asked quietly.

Before you leave for your next venture leave as many tales as nights you slept.

Did the Gods always speak in this manner or did they do it to mess with human’s heads? Nick knew what they were asking though, one book or scroll for every night he stayed somewhere. Gave him greater incentive to keep moving, leaving a year’s worth of book would be a little hard to explain. Thinking on it he tried to see where he would somehow be tricked into a terrible deal. It would be wise to leave books and stories about Gods from the region he was traveling through.

“When you’re finished with that text state the genre aloud so it can be sorted properly,” Mel instructed before getting back to his own work.

A trip around the world protected by the heavens themselves? Setting back down the note it was an easy decision to make. Using his Stone as a paperweight Nick went to work copying, there were some lost stories that needed to be 'found'.

“I accept your gracious offer,” Nick announced towards the ceiling. A clatter in front of him made him jump in his chair a little. It was a bronze shield on a chain. Picking it up he noticed the symbols on it shifted from Hermes to others he did not recognize.

“What are you doing over here?” Mel complained before jumping on the table in front of Nick. “Is your research always this noisy?”

“Well no, see I got this call from the Gods and they gave me this thing.” Nick held up the changing shield for Mel to see.

“A protection charm. Looks like every travel God has blessed it.” Mel commented before washing his face.

“The Gods sure do love their trinkets,” Nick grumbled aloud.

“If you like I’m sure they would not mind branding you instead,” Mel said as he continued to wash his face. “Of course each God would have to have their own specific insignia-“

“I will take the charm as is.” Nick insisted going so far as to hang the charm around his neck.

“Good. Now try to keep it down, the sooner Griff learns to use his stone the sooner he can help me sort through this pile.” With that statement, the cat went back to work.

Figuring no time like the present Nick pulled the closest map closer. Instantly he noticed it was completely different than the other maps he’d seen. It appeared to be a trade route map through several provinces with names he was having a hard time reading. There was what appeared to be a detour around an area that had an elongated lizard drawn on it.

“What’s this?” Nick asked out loud. When no answer came he leaned in to get a better look at the picture. If he didn’t know any better he could have sworn it was a dragon. Looking up from the picture he compared the drawing to Griff. Long bodies with long tails, both even had two jutting horns on their head. Except the drawing had what looked to be flowing whiskers and no wings. Is that even possible? A dragon with no wings?

That flicker he felt years ago began to bloom in his chest. The same feeling he felt what seemed like a lifetime ago when he learned about the riches dragons hoarded. Back when he asked what would a dragon want with bits of metal and shiny rocks. That burning desire began to build into a roaring flame as he began planning his trip to the Far East.

With a new, a land comes new mysteries. Besides, he has divine protection on his side. What could possibly go wrong?