Elsewhere a small light was hovering over a large and luxurious stone bathtub spilling over with warm water. The water cascaded down into a large pool surrounding the raised tub and glittering fish of all kinds could be seen in the depths. Lounging in the pool without a care in the world was the young man, his bronze skin making his grey eyes seem almost white. Short cropped black hair crowned his head, a strong jawline and chiseled torso held vestiges of a god.

Leaning back in the massive tub with his head resting on the edge, the young man flicked a finger and a page turned in the book floating in the air above him. Eyes flicking toward the light that hovered near the edge of the pool, spoke.

"Nia, this book is remarkable."

[Is that so master.] The voice that came out of the light was cool and neutral, seemingly uninterested.

"Yes. It is about a child, Sam, who is looking for his cow all around the city. It would have been utterly confusing had I not read other books to give it context."

With the tiniest pause the light responded, [Quite humorous master.]

"Haha, I know right. Looking for a cow, utterly, that was a joke. A pun."

[Yes master, I am aware.] The light still spoke neutrally, not a trace of emotion in it's words.

"Oh come on Nia, lighten up. You are supposed to laugh when I make a joke."

[Ha Ha master.]

The light was entirely unaffected by the glare that the young man directed at it. Suddenly a low hum sounded out and the light flashed twice.

[Master, we have a guest.]

"Oooh, really? It has been a while. Nia, lay out a feast and prepare some entertainment. They've probably come to congratulate me on finally finishing. I've almost finished my bath so bring them in here."

[As you command master.]

In another room a startled Morgana found that she was no longer in the underground tunnel of a Southeast Asian temple. Instead, she was standing in front of a copy of the door she had just touched in a richly decorated stone room. The door behind her was shut fast as if it had never been opened and around her was a marble room that looked like it came right off the set of a historical movie. Without hesitation she muttered an emergency incantation to send a request for help, only to have the spell fizzle out. Clenching her teeth, her eyes darted to the bangle on her wrist.

She had no desire to interact with the summoned protector that her father had foisted on her, but being stuck in an unfamiliar situation with no clear idea of what she was facing was dangerous. Fortifying her spirit, she tapped the bangle to summon Duke Berith and instantly the tall man in a black suit appeared in front of her.

His dress impeccable, he exuded a handsome, devilish air which was only heightened by the sneer on his face. Looking around with a sniff the demon bowed low to Morgana.

"Are you in danger, Miss Solomon?" His voice was seductive yet detached, like the fleeting glimpse of your heart's desire slipping around the corner.

"I'm not sure, but we have been displaced into a sealed space. I already tried to get a message out but I could not get through. I thought it better to be cautious, Duke Berith."

"So I see." A faint sneer crossed the Duke's face as he looked around. "Very well, Miss Solomon. You may proceed. Just do your best to do nothing foolish. I will only protect you from threats that cause death. You are on your own for threats that cause harm."

Used to the Duke's stuck up attitude, Morgana gave him a nod and then walked past him into the room. There was an understated elegance to the stone decorations, but what truly caught Morgana's eye was the intricately carved motif on the room's floor. Before she could study it, a small light floated through the doorway in front of her and hovered about six feet off the ground. With a short blink it revolved once and a melodious and peaceful voice drifted out from it.

[Welcome, visitors to the tower. My master has just finished his reading and would like to welcome you himself. Please accompany me to see him.]

A thin hand landed on Morgana's shoulder and she could feel the Duke trying to pull her backward but as soon as he started to back up he stopped, his eyes fixed on the glowing light.

The faint trembling of the Duke's hand sent a spike of fear through Morgana.

[Fear not, visitors. While you are here no harm shall come to you. Please, come this way.]

Unsure of what else to do Morgana glanced at her protector whose eyes were fixed on the light. After an uncomfortable moment, the Duke nodded slightly, his expression relaxing, and the two of them followed the floating light. As she walked forward with Duke Berith trailing behind her, Morgana could not help but wonder what she had gotten herself into.

They walked out of the room and into a massive hall completely filled to the brim with books. The library stretched into the far distance, and, unable to see the end of the massive room, Morgana could only stare in wonder. She had always thought that her family library was large but compared to the library she had just stepped into it was like comparing a drop of water to a great ocean.

After floating along for a few minutes the light turned and made its way through a wide stone archway and toward a massive stone tub. Curious she followed, only realizing after she was ten steps in that the marble she thought she was walking on was actually the surface of a large pond. Despite the fish slipping through the water underneath her the pond's surface felt completely firm under her feet.

Cautiously approaching the stone tub Morgana's curiosity turned almost immediately to raging shock and embarrassment as a young man who would strike the gods green with envy sat up, then stood up and then stepped out of the tub. Morgana felt like her head was about to explode as she turned bright red.

The young man had gotten out of the tub to greet his guests when the young woman in front of him turned bright red and crouched down, covering up her face. Confused he looked at the grinning man in a suit that had accompanied her who gave him a big thumbs up.

[Master, you are naked.]

"Ah. Right. Clothes." The young man looked down at his still wet body, chiseled muscles glinting in the light. Looking at the suit that the smiling man was wearing he blinked and then snapped his fingers. Instantly he was wearing a perfectly tailored three piece suit.

Dark blue material and a white shirt with a subtle silver tint covered his now dry body. Another blink and snap and his close cropped hair grew a few inches on the top and slicked back over the top of his skull in a hairdo that, while mirroring the Duke's, was decidedly younger looking. Coughing to get the still blushing Morgana's attention, the young man bowed low.

"Greetings esteemed guests. Thank you for taking time to come and greet me. It has been," here he paused as if waiting for something.

[2,951 years.]

"Since I have had any visitors," he continued smoothly. "As you have undoubtedly journeyed far and braved many dangers to find me let me offer to you some small refreshments before we proceed to business."

Again he snapped and the pond beneath their feet hardened into pale blue marble. The air shimmered as the surroundings changed in an instant to a room full of tables piled high with all sorts of food. Fresh fruits and fluffy cakes, entire tables of kebabs and grilled meats, fountains of foaming beverages and countless other delicacies surrounded them. Morgana simply stared.

Duke Berith on the other hand stepped forward and plucked a fruit from the table taking a crisp bite from it, his sharper than average teeth crunching easily through the soft skin. Shock appeared in his eyes as he stared warily at the young man in front of him.

"It is all real and all delicious. Please, eat to your heart's content. I insist." With another snap a table with three place settings appeared in between them and the young man sat at the table after selecting a few pastries.

The Duke, in a manner entirely unlike his normally haughty self bowed his head and silently took up his plate, indicating with his eyes that Morgana should do the same. After each had filled their plates they sat down and ate for a moment in silence. Morgana, still unable to get the image of the young man's naked body out of her mind shot furtive glances at him in between bites only to see he was looking at her with undisguised curiosity. Duke Berith on the other hand wasn't doing anything. He simply stared at the various fruits he had put on his plate.

Finally, unable to bear the silence any longer Morgana firmly dismissed the dreamy body from her mind and looked him square in the eye.

"Thank you for your hospitality to us, sir. I am Morgana Octavia Sylvanus Bartimaeus, Mage of the Sixth Order, Heir of Solomon. This is my aide, Berith, Great Duke of Hell."

"Welcome Morgana Octavia Sylvanus Bartimaeus, Mage of the Sixth Order, Heir of Solomon. And welcome to you as well Great Duke Berith."

[Master, Mage of the Sixth Order is a rank in the current age. Heir of Solomon is a family position.]

"Ah, my apologies Morgana Octavia Sylvanus Bartimaeus."

[Master, in this realm it is not customary for the full name to be used except in introduction or other formal occasions such as but not limited to receiving an award, getting married, dying or getting in trouble with one's parents.]

"Hmm. It would seem I have committed an error. Nia, what year is it here? And where are we?"

[The year is 2020 and we are in the Terra Realm master.]

"Update current knowledge to include all Realm knowledge exclusively and omit anything beyond the current date."

[Yes master.]

The young man blinked his grey eyes and Morgana felt as if a massive change came over him.

"Ah, better."

The young man rose from his chair and gave Morgana a half bow.

"My most sincere apologies, Miss Bartimaeus, I sometimes forget myself. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am."

Despite Morgana's best efforts, she could not actually hear what the young man said. She could see his mouth moving and knew that he was speaking, but as soon as the words entered her ears they evaporated. Trying to hold on to them was like trying to grasp mist. The young man noticed her difficulty and flashed a smile.

"A more familiar name to you might be Babel, but you may call me Bel."

At this point the Duke fell off his chair.

The normal attitude the powerful Duke displayed showed his grand pride and disregard for other powers yet now he seemed almost terrified. Practically cowering he crawled back onto his chair and sat quietly, a slight tremble in his hands betraying his fear. Morgana couldn't wrap her head around what was happening since she was not aware of anything that could scare a demon, especially one of Berith's caliber. She could only assume that a force that could cause a demon to be afraid must be so powerful that the demon had no possible hope of fighting it.

Her gaze swung back to the smiling young man sitting across the table but she couldn't see anything but innocent curiosity and welcome in his face. His eyes held not even a hint of danger. Her father's words ringing in her head, she resolved herself to be cautious. If Berith was frightened to this extent it could only mean that the being before her was an existence far beyond her power. Her brow furrowed slightly.

"Babel? As in..." She trailed off, her gaze searching his.

"As in the Tower of Babel, yes. Genesis 11:1-9. The story leaves some things out but the reference is to me. Or at least, to my tower." Babel waved a hand to encompass their surroundings. "The short version of the unbelievably long and boring story is that mankind learned much from me. That knowledge resulted in humanity being spread across the world into different tribes and tongues."

Again silence reigned as Morgana tried to wrap her head around the idea that this young man in front of her was actually an ancient being, far older than anyone else she knew. The story of the Tower of Babel was over four thousand years old, which would make the young man who was smiling at her even older. Since walking through the door she had experienced some truly fantastic sights but a part of her refused to believe his story.

"I thought that the Tower of Babel was just a really tall building. And isn't it supposed to be in the Middle East?" Morgana asked.

"Technically, my tower is pretty tall. Obviously, it is not the tallest thing in existence, but it is up there. And that is the part of the story that they got wrong. My tower is an attempt to reach the heavens, not through height but rather through knowledge." The young man took a bite of his pastry and gave his mouth a dainty wipe. "As for the location, technically it is fixed in a pocket dimension. We connect with entrances in the various realms according to the schedule that Nia figures out so that we can answer questions for our visitors. Though," he paused, frowning, "we really haven't had anyone for a while."

"2,951 years wasn't it?"

"Ooh, good memory!" Bel looked very impressed at Morgana's ability to recall the exact number.

"Hold on, you expect me to believe you are over four thousand years old, and that you've been alone for three thousand? Even putting aside the absurdity of someone living for four thousand years, you would be too old to move!"

Staring at her for a moment, Babel blinked, "Oh, yes. Sorry. I understand your confusion. This realm has not yet unlocked anti-aging magic."

"You can stop aging!"

"Yes, but I will not be doing that." Amused at the shock on Morgana's face Babel laughed. "Rather I use magic that allows a great degree of control over my body. I am able to set my age at a given date in my life and my body will maintain it's form relative to that time. If I were to stop aging I would cease learning and that would be terrible. Anyway, I'm not really sure what is happening. We should be getting at least one visitor a year. Nia, analysis please."

[Analysis commencing. Estimated time to completion 9.7365 seconds.]

The next ten seconds passed in silence as Bel munched unconcernedly on his pastry, Morgana stared in wonder at the floating ball of light and Duke Berith tried to appear as small as he could on his chair.

[Analysis done. Master, there is a 98.7963% probability that since your last realm rotation knowledge of you has been intentionally suppressed by an outside source.]

"Based on my personality, what course of action do you recommend?"

To Morgana, Bel seemed completely unconcerned with the fact that he was asking a small light to tell him what to do. Rather, she got the impression that she was listening in on some sort of internal dialog. Admittedly, the internal dialog of a crazy person.

[Given that you have approximately 3000 years before the next rotation you would find a vacation most enjoyable.]

"Yes, yes I think I would." Bel's face broke out in a smile, but it faded a moment later. "Nia, why have I not gone on a vacation yet?"

[You require a host, master. The rules are very specific about this and you agreed not to breach the rules again until the next rotation.]

"Bah, I hate rules." Tapping the table glumly with his index finger, Bel sighed. "But the rules are the rules."

Abruptly Babel rose to his feet, an excited gleam lighting up his eyes. Morgana flinched at the sudden action and Duke Berith fell off of his chair again.

"Miss Bartimaeus, thank you for your timely visit. If it would not be too much of an imposition, could I request of you a small favor?"