Bed Time Tales (solo)

[sweet_oblivion]

The library was truly a marvel with in and with out. One could not help but look in awe as they gazed upon the magnificent items set through out the building. Dino had spent enough time looking at the artifacts that were on display, and Genbu had no problem reminding him about it. "Come on, we have plenty of other places to go." The tortoise said, prodding him in the back with its beak. "And we would have more time if you didn't make such a big deal about staying outside, and get yourself stuck in the door." It had actually been Dino's fault that Genbu had been stuck, but his large reptilian friend did not really need to know that. Either way Genbu was right, Dino had come for something much more important

Four months of being taught alchemy was all he had ever gotten, from a no less then horrible teacher at that. This was the only teaching Dino had received in the art of alchemy before his masters death, and everything he had learned on the art he had done on his own. Alchemy was not a wide scale practice in Althanas, especially his particular 'brand' but it defiantly existed and was not that difficult for those with the intellect and patience to understand it. According to Genbu alchemy was actually something his father had wanted him to learn, though the tortoise would not or rather could not elaborate on this. He was a reincarnation after all, "A natural process by which the Nephilim were meant to guard..." as had been stated to him, but the former knowledge and wisdom would only come with time.

Of course Genbu had received a few wild stares as a giant tortoise roaming through a library was just a bit out of the ordinary, especially when it began to search through shelves of books and scrolls. "Necromancers, killer plants, demonic swords. Thats all normal, but the reading tortoise is a freak of nature." Dino laughed at Genbu's comment as his companion found something of interest and began to read. Genbu did not share Dino's unquenchable thirst for knowledge, but he did enjoy learning something new every once in a while. Fact of the matter was Genbu was usually the one who dug up information while Dino spent endless nights reading, only stopping for something to eat which was usually stolen due to their need low, or rather none existent income.

Dino lost track of Genbu, not that he was worried, but at least with his partner in sight, he would still be in some state of reality instead of mindlessly searching. The last time this had occurred, Dino found himself snapping out of his search hours later, only because of hunger. Libraries and banquets, thats all it took to make Dino your slave, at least for a time. It was not long before Dino found himself in section on chaos magic. It was not exactly what he had been looking for, but it was an interesting field of magic, one he had thought more then once about pursuing, at least when he became a bit more versed in his other skills.

"Ah, this looks like the one I've been searching for." And in fact it was. Dino had found a volume of literature on alchemy at his masters laboratory, but a few copies were missing, one of which would have been of much use when performing the experiment that took his life, the one Dino now held in his hands. "Poor bastard, but i guess you were a better teacher then I gave you credit for. Final lesson, duck before shit hits the wall." Dino sighed as another book caught his eye. It seemed to be emitting a strong spiritual aura that only recently activated. Though it was strong, it stayed close to the book, which would explain why Dino had not felt it earlier. "One of these days your curiosity is really going to get you killed." Dino told himself, though he knew he would not listen. He could get rather stubborn when such a find emerged.

Plucking the book from its spot on the shelf, he began chocking on decades of dust. No doubt the book was old, and neglected, but it had decided to call out to him, such was the curse of the Nephilim as Genbu would have stated it, and probably had the urge to do so even though it would seem to be for no apparent reason. "Well Dino, lets hope you don't blow up the world this time." He said before opening the book and flinching as if he were awaiting an army of undead to be unleashed upon the planet. Fortunately he would not have to worry about that happening for now, as the books aura seemed to dissipate. "Well, looks like I over reacted huh Genb-" Dino's words were cut short as he noticed the abrupt scene change. The sea breeze and salty air were unmistakable, as foreboding rocks jutted out of the water and along the shoreline, Dino standing a top a small cliff as he looked out to the blue waters. "Still didn't blow anything up, so there's a plus. Now to find out where the hell I am exactly and how to get out."

The two books were still in his possession, so a teleportation could have been at work, or maybe the book was able to telepathically teach the user what its pages held, or maybe Dino had gotten into a barrel of ale, he could not be sure. At this point all he could do was turn his back to the sea and continue through the endless beach ahead. "Don't think your in Ettermire any more Dino."

[sweet_oblivion]

"Oh yes, this was turning out to be pretty damn annoying!" Dino yelled out as he crossed The Never Ending Desert. Opening the book, this was the title of the first chapter, the only words written in the whole thing, that is until Dino started to speak. The book seemed to scribble in everything that happened to Dino of it own accord. He had tried to write in it himself, but the words just vanished from the pages followed by the book slamming shut for a few minutes.

The one good thing about this place was that Dino did not seem to feel hunger or need rest, which was pretty damn good since he had been walking for the span of two days in the outside world. He had decided that he was inside the book, which was the most obvious conclusion, though not necessarily the correct explanation, he just needed to settle his mind from all the possibilities.

"Well, if I am inside a story book then i should think like an author." And then Dino had an epiphany. In any story, suspense is the key. You have to make the reader want to turn the page, thirst for the next sentence, live off of every word. But how exactly to do that was the question. He had to remember that this was a story, one where anything could possibly happen. To add to that, Dino was probably not the only person to come in contact with this book, so the happenings of the past owner/owners stories could still be present in this world, just Dino had not made it to another setting, or the could just be telling him that his imagination really sucked. That idea made Dino feel some what insulted.

It was not like he had anything to lose, since he was already stuck in a story book, so he decided to go with his previous plan; the one thing a character could say to bring ultimate suspense to any story. "At least things couldn't get any worse."

-and it was then that our hero really screwed up. His thoughts on the story had been true, others had been in possession of the book before himself, and their tales had stayed alive with in its blank pages, waiting for the next adventure to awaken and open it. The sand began to shift and the earth began to quake as this strange new world seemed to be breaking at the seams. Sand began to shoot up into the air like geysers, filling the air as crab like creatures began to show themselves. There were about half a dozen, all except for one about three feet tall and wide. The last towered over the others at six feet by six feet exactly. Our hero sighed adding a distressing grunt as he began to speak-

"This is total BS, I mean come on this way more then just a little suspense!" he roared as another of the crabs popped up just beside him. They were nothing special, the same color as the sand except for their beady Little black eyes and the streak of red on the lower part of their pincers. They looked absent minded enough, but Dino was not going to take his chances and get eaten by some stupid little bottom feeders.

-Just then a number of voices could be heard yelling out in the distance as a cloud of sand began to mover ever closer to him. There was a bad feeling in the air as the six smaller crabs all huddled under the larger one, crouching its legs just enough so its under belly kept just above the smaller ones head-

The sand cloud had finally captured him and the family of crabs as what sounded like a stampede circled them. Dino could hear numerous voices yelling, one finally calling out above the others, enough to be noticed but not enough for Dino to make out clearly. The movement stopped at this voices command, and the sand began to die down until three men ridding atop crabs were visible. These crabs were the same size as the bigger one, though different with pure black shells, minus the same streak of red on the lower claw, and two on the top of the shell it seemed, though from the angle Dino could not be sure.

"Well stranger, it seems like you are messing with our cattle here don't it?" One of the men said. They were all probably no much older then himself, but this one sounded as if he were in his forties, and from the way the others held themselves, he seemed to be the leader. "Normally I wouldn't waste my time with scum like you, but this story could use a little bit of action if you ask me." Dino smirked as he held out his hand.

-A small orb floated from his person and made its way to his hand. The cerulean crystal began to shine as its form began to change into that of a whip. The three men were surprised to see this, but not shocked. It was obvious they had seen magic before, and this did not impress them to much. Even so they kept up their guard, they had no clue how well this new comer could fight, or what he was capable of-

Dino hoped that they would not call his bluff. He didn't think his whip would scare them, but he wanted to at least make them cautious of coming to close, it would put some distance between them having a mid-range weapon that was for sure, but one of them would have to make a move sooner or later. At least he had not been pulled into some sappy drama.

[sweet_oblivion]

-The first of the three men charged at our hero, pulling out a war hammer that had been strapped to the side of his mount. "I'll teach you to make fun of us!" he cried as he brought the hammer above his head and swung it down on the young hero.-

Dino easily had him beat in speed, even with the extra weight of his mantle. Spinning out of the way of the strike, Dino came behind the man and brought this whip around his neck, gripping it tightly in both hands as the hammer slammed into the ground, picking up sand. By the time the other two had jumped off their crabs, the first had become unconscious. Just because he did not know how to use a whip properly did not mean he couldn't improvise, plus they still were unaware of this inability, giving Dino the advantage.

The second one was faster the the first as he rushed in, throwing small daggers with his left hand while holding a larger one in his right. His accuracy was perfect, but it was obvious that he had not intended to kill Dino with his first attack, coming in on Dino's left and bringing the right hand dagger down to wards his neck. With the whip still grasped tight in his hands, he brought it around the mans other arm, constricting and twisting the arm behind him, moving just out of his way. Dino was in position to break the mans arm and was preparing to do so when he was sent spiraling back. He landed face first in the sand, picking himself up as the leader brought his foot into Dino's side, sending him flying a few feet. The guy was pretty damn strong, that was for sure. As he picked himself up, he noticed the book open just next to him as the page turned and it continued to record the story.

-Things were looking bad for our hero. He was not out numbered two to one, over power and out matched. The second man smirked as he sent a barrage of daggers toward the young hero, planning to end his life right then and their when...-

Dino shot up, and rushed over to grab his whip which he had just realized had escaped his possession, most likely when the leader of the group had first attacked him. Next to it were three throwing knives that had been dropped when he attempted to break the other mans arm. A few more had dropped from his person as he was flung around by the larger grey crab. One of the younger ones had popped out of the sand right in front of him, the blades bouncing off it its shell. He had forgotten all about them and had assumed they had run off. The black crabs did not seem to care much about the fight either though he had to admit he had forgotten about them as well.

-He sent two of the knives in his possession to wards the last man, one planting itself into his leg while the other sliced the top of his shoulder as he moved enough to keep it from planting itself there. The young hero brought the whip back and sent it flying, to wards the ground. It was obvious he was not an expert in the use of the weapon, but any one would be able to at least crack the whip-

The whip it self was of little help as Dino did not know how to use it well enough to apply the necessary force, but he knew what it could do. A sonic boom, one strong then the average whip could produce was strong enough to pick up good amount of sand creating a large cloud around the entire area. When the dust had settled, Dino was face to face with the leader, dagger wedged nicely between his eyes. "That was for kicking me while I wasn't paying attention asshole."

Dino picked up the book, reading through the newly written pages. He had a feeling that the story was trying to insult him when it made the comment about his skills with a whip, but he decided to dismiss it as the whip returned to its usual form and disappeared under his clothing. Closing the book he decided that these guys wouldn't have much use for their rides, one dead, one unconscious, and the other one probably a meal for the grey crabs. Dino jumped on top of one, slapping its side much like he did Genbu which seemed to get it moving pretty easily, though he had not expected it to move so fast, or to walk to the side. The other two black crabs followed just behind him. It was not long before they came upon what grew from a small dot in the distance to an almost obnoxiously large city. "I have a really bad feeling about this."

[sweet_oblivion]

-"I have a really bad feeling about this," the hero said as the crabs suddenly came to a stop, flinging him off the one he happened to be riding. Brushing sand off of his cloths as he stood up, he turned back toward the creatures, wondering if he should even attempt to get them moving again, but soon decided not to bother and walk the remaining distance to the city.-

Chances were that the crabs had stopped for fear of a predator in the area, but Dino had little fear of any creature, and if there was one that scared off the massive crustaceans, and then he wanted to get a glance of it. Unfortunately, he would not get a chance to as after only a few steps and what felt like only a minute, he had crossed what he had originally believed to be five miles of desert and had reached just outside the city walls. Thankfully, the place was lively from what he could hear, the last thing he needed was to wander into a ghost town and then be ambushed by a group of savages, though he could not be sure if he was hearing savages now either.

-The wall happened to be old, or had many major design flaws, as there were plenty of cracks and crevices, one of which he found was quite easy to slip through. The stone the wall was made of was foreign to him, having a texture and color similar to the sand he had been traveling across with a solid form and shape, yet seemed to expand on its own, as if it were allowing him to move through holes that other wise would be too small. He would have to research into this a bit later, but for now his main goal was....wait-

"That’s a good question." Dino replied already within the city as he opened the book back up again and read the newly added text. It seemed the author of this story was just as stumped as he was as to what would be happening next. He closed the book and sighed still a bit annoyed at this predicament he had gotten himself into yet still not very much surprised. He too notice that the buildings were made of the same material as the wall, but what surprised him the most was the high spiritual aura's he was feeling all around the town. In a world ruled mainly by magic and the sword, it was good to be near people who relied on the most basic of all beings abilities, the spirit, and the soul.

He moved from behind the buildings into the main streets, finding himself in a crowded street. The people here were very different from what he was used to, but they broke into three basic categories, the first being a race of obsidian skinned tall and muscular humanoids, the second were a mix of biped and quadruped reptiles reaching no more then four feet in height though the quadruped’s were much longer, and the third were hard to tell as they wore cloaks and odd masks, hiding any visible skin. None seemed to take any special interest in Dino so he made no effort to try to stand out. He would try to get some information around the city, but eventually he would have to take action.

[sweet_oblivion]

-And then the realization set in.-
"This is a horrible joke." Dino sighed to himself, making his way through the crowds of people that wondered the city. It had not taken long for him to realize that not only had none of the citizens paid him any attention, they did not seem to notice his existence at all. One would assume that being the only being looking as he did, aside from the three he had handled so elegantly in the desert, he would attract some attention but to be utterly invisible to these people was confusing. He could sense they all had a spiritual aura, so it would seem as though they were alive, and he could physically touch and obstruct their way, but even if he pushed by someone, it was as if they hardly even realized it. What’s more is that those three he had fought were capable of seeing him, which brought even more confusion.

-within the shadows. They watched slowly, waiting, biding their time as the hero held a puzzled look upon his face.-

Needless to say, these words were disturbing for Dino to read, and yet kind of funny. Here he was, trapped inside a story book, being stalked by some group of creatures, reading about the occurrence as it took place, without his pursuers being aware of the knowledge he held. It was rather ironic.

-They were ready. Having surrounded the hero from all sides, the creatures halted their movements, each looking to the other then back at their prey as he stood within the sea of civilians. The time for them to strike was growing ever near.-

"The hunters have become the hunted." Dino spoke quietly to himself, closing his eyes and feeling the chemicals within his body. This place was too crowded from him to even attempt tracking his unseen opponents: sight, smell, and sound, useless.

-Eyes upon the book within his possession, if their opportunity was not now then it would be never. A shrill cry escaped one, and then many as it echoed throughout the streets. They sprung....-

Muscle hypertrophy, or to be accurate, hyper muscle hypertrophy. The act of increasing ones muscle mass at an accelerated rate. This was what the second book had helped him achieve. The ability to do so was not beyond Dino's reach but the manner of which he had done and the speed was defiantly due to the text. By the time first creature had moved close enough to slash at Dino's face, it had been plucked from the air by an arm that was at least twice as big as it had once been, and fluidly smashed into the ground. The skull was crushed before Dino could take a good look at the creatures form, but there were plenty still left for him to analyze.

They were no more than a foot tall; their bodies’ thinner then would seem possible to balance their oversized heads. Their arms were relatively short, while the hands fell to the ground, three long claws shredding the earth as they stepped with similarly over grown feet, just as razor sharp. The dark blue skin was covered in small brown spots, and while they seemed to have no eyes to speak of, their jaws were reminiscent of a Venus fly trap, albeit one with a wickedly looking tongue. They were quite interesting specimens. Dino rushed toward the closest to him, slamming his new right arm down upon its seemingly frail form.

-The creature was able to evade the strike, but was met with a knee to the face. As the creature flew back its tongue shot out, piercing a nearby wall and slowing its flight until it came to a stop. The creature would then swing itself up upon the wall and dig its claws into the stone before launching itself back at our hero, busy fighting off the remaining swarm.-

[sweet_oblivion]

These creatures were quite interesting specimens. Being a scientist and all the battlefield was not Dino's preferred environment; nevertheless he had spent much of this 'hunt' toying with the creatures, even if he was technically losing. As they were creatures who obviously hunted in packs, a head to head conflict would only put him in their trap. Running would probably be much worse in the long run, but Dino wasn't a coward either. To properly test these things however, running would be the first choice.

They were indeed quite fast.

-He had managed to give his pursuers the slip, escaping into a building and immediately heading up the stairs. A couple of the beasts had followed him through the door, while the remaining force scurried up the outside of the structure. He made a left turn, dashing when....-

Still pumped thanks to the knowledge he was able to exercise in this book world, his right arm was ready to swing when he was met by the shrill cry of one of the creatures. Its tongue had been shot forward possibly waiting for him or just as a natural response if it had been just as surprised as he was to find it. With his right, he grabbed the spear like muscle and tugged on it, pulling the body toward him. Pivoting off his right foot, Dino brought his left elbow down into the creatures head, driving it straight down upon a raised right knee and then followed with a powerful punch with his right, straight off the knee. The scene was almost comical when the creature's tongue still grasped in his enlarged fist, caused it to shoot bad and slam straight into the knuckles a second time. He dropped the creature, aside from what of it had been smeared across his knuckles and pants.

They were quite fragile. Quite possibly the price they paid for such speed and quick reflexes as their limbs seemed capable of turning in almost any direction. He would have liked to examine the deceased a bit, but the cries of its comrades was enough to make him think twice about waiting.

-...one of the creatures appeared in front of him. That was actually kind of cool how you killed that thing. Oh, you might want to watch out for the two coming through that window.-

"You know, even I'm having a hard time-" another cry echoed out as two more jumped through an open window and began to attack. Dino abruptly closed the book and run full speed toward the little devils. The first slashed at him with its legs bit he decided best to just evade the cretin and ducked under its range, side stepping and kicking off the wall. Dino would fly over the second creature as the first twisted its body around i mid-air and shot its tongue toward his position. Using his free hand, the right one of course, Dino grabbed hold of the second creatures head, keeping its jaws shut and using it as a shield, allowing the others tongue to pierce through its frail body. Landing on his feet he continued to run, bringing the creature in hand to his face and with out a second though bit into what would be its shoulder and clean through.

"-trying to figure out why you talking directly to me is not big surprise." Dino finished his sentence with a mouth full.
-Eww...I don't think your supposed to eat those things ya know.-
"Its fine, it kinda tastes like fruit any way. Plus its pretty high in nutrients and minerals. A few of these things a day would probably keep my body running rather smoothly."
-Uh huh.....so you eat the things that are trying to eat you?-
"You sent them after me. What did you expect me to do, let them eat me?"
-Your the one making me go all haywire. Besides, I can't really do anything I just see kind of see all within the pages. Whatever, just take the next right go up stairs and jump out the window.-

There was no point in him not believing the book now, it had kept him alive so far, even if it had a bad sense of humor. He followed the directions, not running into any of the creatures and rushing out the third story window.

-One could only imagine the heroes shock when he found himself plucked from the air and raised high into the sky away from the city-
"You can quit the the narrator thing, its getting annoying. Now, explain to me how this is my fault again?"

[sweet_oblivion]

How a carpet was flying, much less supporting his weight, Dino would not bother to ask. Truthfully his interests were still on the creatures who had attacked him within the city, but he did not have time to be day dreaming of the scientific studies he could perform to bend them to his will.

-Its your fault because you woke me up-
"Reasonable. Still, whats the point? I would have just gone back to sleep."
-Not that easy. Plus you being here was more of a reaction then anything else-
"Right. Care to explain Mr. Book?"
-Tome of Mammon works. My previous traveling companion and I parted ways and he put me to sleep so no one could steal his secrets. You got lucky I guess and broke the seal and were sucked in as one of his many traps placed inside my pages. Currently, I am involuntarily scanning the text around me and its being added into this particular trap.-
"So your some magical book that can store information, and your ex-owner is an ass who wanted to keep whatever information you retain a secret?"
-Traveling companion, but thats about the gist of it. I'm starting to regain control so I think this spell of his is about done.-

Sure Dino had peaked within an enchanted text before, but he never expected to actually find himself within its pages, especially not literally within its pages. Magic was not really his forte as is had little to do with science and hardly helped with his interests, but this Tome of Mammon could possibly be of some use to him. A book that can hold information and communicate with him was defiantly something a scientist could use, especially if it could understand the knowledge within its pages just as well as he could. A portable lab assistant was defiantly worth keeping around. That and Genbu was not exactly the able to go everywhere with him and Dino preferred to talk.

"So, how do I get out of here again?" Dino asked the book, setting it on the carpet open wide as he looked over the edge while waiting for the words to appear. They seemed to be moving in one direction but they were still within the city limits. It seemed that while Dino had entered and been chased by the creatures the city had expanded with the knowledge the book had been absorbing.

-It seems that nothing around here is of any set interest, but I can't really help it so your just going to have to wait until the reading process is complete and I can get rid of all this useless information. No clue how long that will take so don't ask."
"Whatever you say Mr. Book."
-Its Tome of Mammon-
"I think I'll just call you Mr. Book, or what about Mammon, its a lot easier to say than Tome of."
-Do not affiliate me with that ungrateful bastard, I would much rather prefer Mr. Book-
"Doesn't Tome of Mammon already affiliate you with your ex-master?"
-For the last time he was a traveling companion-
"And your named after your companion? Sounds more like an object owner relationship to me."

-This was the point of the story when our hero learned the number one rule of being trapped inside a magical Tome. Do not, no matter what you do, ever, and I mean never ever piss off the book.-

[sweet_oblivion]

Dino found himself, plummeting into what was no longer a city a dense jungle. Mr. Book was kind enough to place him closer to the ground than they had been when over the city but falling through a sea of leaves and branches was not something Dino looked forward to. He held left hand out, the Ceruleo Orchestra made its way from under his clothing to palm, extending into its whip form. Dino knew he would eventually regret studying instead of practicing with this thing, but now was not the time to complain about laziness. Dino brought his arm up and swung with all his might, aiming for the thickest branch he could spot. He could have been surprised when he not only missed but smacked himself in the face with the end of the whip, the enhanced sonic boom from the whip adding to the sting as he was sent flying into the trunk of another tree.

Ignoring the pain, and the blood leaking from his forehead, Dino reacted as fast as he could. He took hold of one end of the whip and tossing the handle over a branch. He quickly took hold of the handle before it slid of and kept himself from falling. It was apparent now that he had lost the book at some point during the fall. He would definitely have to find it as it was more than likely his ticket out of this place. After that he would be free to burn it, and its ashes, and the ashes of its ashes to his heart’s content. He moved his foot around searching for something to press against when he heard a menacing cry of some sort. Letting go of the other side of the whip, Dino balanced himself on the limb he had found just under him and swung the weapon, successfully wrapping it around a lower branch.

Dino jumped off the branch he was standing on, kicking off another so as not to run into it and yanked on the whip, causing the branch it was wrapped around to snap and causing Dino to fall. This was planned however as Dino jumped on the limb and rode it about half way down before using the whip again to wrap around another branch. Successfully he was able to hit his target, unsuccessfully it broke immediately causing Dino to plummet yet again.

He fell to the ground hard, using his right arm to cushion the blow before it returned to its original state, as another cry howled out through the thick jungle. Dino rolled over onto his back, his hand falling on something which was familiar to the touch that he picked up post haste.

“You dirty little rag!”
The pages flew open without Dino so much as lifting a finger
-Hehehe, sorry about that one. I switched stories by accident, but it’s your fault for breaking my concentration-
“If you could switch stories from the beginning why didn’t you do that in the first place?”
-I can’t control which story I go to, plus they are all pretty jumbled up. Some of these are informational text, others are journal logs, remember we are in a library-
The cries from earlier had become more numerous and much closer than before.
-Your pretty banged up there. We should probably go-

“Shut up!” Dino shouted closing the book and rolling until he came to a crouch. He sniffed the air heavily, finding something that smelled faintly of blood moving in on his position. “So it’s a predator, eh? “ Dino smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes. Even if this was a book, it seemed the information was as accurate as it would be in the book, and if that were so he could learn something valuable about the creature coming for him. “So, let’s see what you are than shall we?”

[sweet_oblivion]

"Ask, and you shall receive." The words unexpectedly entered Dino's ears as leaves and twigs snapped under numerous footsteps. "But fear that which you do not understand, for you may receive great things, but at what cost?" This voice, with every word sent an ominous chill throughout his body. A unnatural darkness spread throughout the trees, as three figures surrounded Dino from behind, and to each side.

To his left was a small gnarly looking beast. Its canine build was covered in an exoskeleton of battle worn bone; chipped and cracked in many places, as well as scorched. Under this layer of bone was what appeared to be bare tendons and muscles, the beast sinews visible? Upon closer inspection one would find that a thin layer of barely visible skin separated these inner workings from the exoskeleton. Thanks to Dino's interest in such a rare beast he was able to realize this after a few moments of inspection, barely. A small talisman seemed to be affixed to the skull; white two glowing green orbs seemed to be sunk within the eye sockets.

The teeth affixed to its exoskeleton were vicious looking, curved in multiple directions. One would wonder how it could open such a maw until they witnessed the action in which the beasts’ mouth opened into four different sections. The blades that could be called 'teeth' slid from each other perfectly, revealing a muzzle as one would expect of a canine. At six feet in height, with just this creature’s appearance, a fight was not something Dino wished to participate in.

To Dino's right was yet another monstrosity. Two serpents danced together, hissing softly, their eyes burning holes straight through him their jaws unhinged to produce two more snakes. Their scales went from a dull brown to a shimmering black. This process continued many times, changing from black to a blazing red, again to a shocking yellow, and once again to a clear blue.

"There is more to it than just those heads." Dino looked, trying to figure out how this illusion was working. The fact that it changed its colors so sporadically is what tipped him off that what he saw was simply what the creature intended him to see.

"Not bad kid, you pick up fast. Unfortunately not fast enough to survive, but that is still a note worthy feat." That same chilling voice surrounded him yet again as a figure seemed to form ahead of him from the shadows. With a hand floating in the air, the wrist and arm still being constructed, the figure snapped its fingers as dozens of serpents shot out from the ground, surrounding Dino in an orb like cage. It took all he had not to flinch.

Sadistic laughter echoed out across the entire forest. "Well well, even without your heightened sense of touch you expected all of that?"

One of the snakes just in front of his face seemed to grin as they all began to slink away back into the earth. Dino responded by kissing at the snake and then spitting at the ground, only bringing a larger grin to the serpents head. Dino watched as it disappeared, with a smirk of his own before looking toward the figure ahead of him. The creature was intelligent.

"If you were going to kill me you would have done it by now. A set up like this is not for torture, and I had a feeling something like that was going to happen when you totally cut off my senses. Along with the fact that I have yet to feel my normal hunger or exhaustion-" Dino turned while in mid sentence to face the creature that had been watching his back.

A large wingspan that could easily engulf Dino two times over kept the creature aloft as it flapped its powerful leathery wings causing a light gust, while a smaller pair was wrapped around the creature. Smooth lime green shown on the face, inner arm and possibly the chest though it was hidden by the lower wings of the same color, while black fur covered what was left. With flowing black hair and matching eyes, this creature was obviously female.

"It is pretty obvious you control this world. Mammon I presume?" The book flew upon once again, floating in front of Dino so its text could be read.

-Kill that bastard! Even if it’s just inside me, it’s some sort of spiritual imprint if you kill him then he can’t activate any more of the traps!-

“You are in no position to make threats on my life you silly little book.” A slight agitation in Mammon’s tone as the hound opened its jaws and let out a monstrous growl. Mammon raised a hand in its direction and the growling quickly ceased.

“The man has a point, besides I’m not much of a killer if it’s not for eating.” Dino said while grabbing book out of the air.

“That is smart of you boy, now on to business. You are going to be working for me from this point on.” Mammon spoke as if there was no doubt Dino would oblige.

This was a person who was comfortable with overwhelming power, one who used fear to get what they wanted and controlled those around them to accomplish their own goals. This was the kind of person Dino hated.

“I will do no such thing. Dino Asakura works for no one, even if they have interesting pets. Besides, you really expect me to take orders from some cliché story book villain?”

“I am sorry to hear that. I was hoping to finish this as quickly as possible, but it seems I might have to bend you to my will.” Mammon raised his hand once again, preparing to snap his fingers in an obvious order for attack upon his pets. “You Nephilim are always such a pain to deal with. Let’s hope Genbu is able to recognize you once you escape my little corner of hell.” He smirked snapping his fingers as all three creatures under his rule attacked at once.

-Do something!-

“You’re a terrible host Mammon, how about you make sure to fix that next time I come to visit so I can kill someone with decent manners.”

[sweet_oblivion]

From a distance Dino could see himself through the trees, and parts past them. The three creatures had pounced upon him almost in synch with the sound produced by Mammon's shadowy fingers sliding against each other. Dino could hear his own screams of agony, muffling the snarls and growls of the beasts, matched only by the sadistic laughter produced by Mammon. Dino could almost feel his joy as he watched. He was far from the squeamish type to which watching a pack of hunters feast upon their live pray would bother him in the slightest, but watching as he himself was the lower creature on the food chain was uncomforting; coupled with a vile essence that fought its way in and out of him, it was nothing less than a horrific experience. One that would not end for some time....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Dino awake just outside of Ankhas, holding back a startled cry of sudden pain only to cough out a mass of black bile. I had tried my best to help him out but the after affects of Mammon's influence were quite a terrible sight.-

It was a pretty simple answer when Dino thought back on it; he hated himself a little for not thinking of it sooner. He probably would not have realized it in time if the book had not referred to Mammon as a 'spiritual imprint' upon its pages. The spirit and soul was Dino's natural domain, and since he had been drawn to the Tome of Mammon originally via the strong spiritual aura it had produced, it only made sense that using Hypo Essenza to send his own soul into the core of the book.

It should be noted that that strong spiritual aura likely belonged to Mammon, and a being that was able to leave a portion of his own soul tied to an object over great distances or possibly even death was definitely a strong one. Because of this, Dino's use of the Hypo Essenza was quite literally a single ant charging against the wrath of a mighty dragon. Dino's soul however was not that small, and Hypo Essenza was only a second generation technique. Mammon's spirit was definitely not weak, and a forceful use of the Massimo Spirito Corrente was probably due to this, as well as the only thing that saved him. It also had another effect that Dino was no sure he would like all too much.

-Dino wiped the bit of bile that was left on his lips with his hand and flung it down into the puddle of ooze. He coughed a little, possibly in an attempt to clear his throat before reaching for me. Like I would allow that disgusting goo to spill onto my pages-

Reacting to Dino's action, the book moved out of his reach, levitating in front of his face. It was not until now that he realized the drastic cosmetic change it had undergone. Once a scraggly out dated looking text bound in what Dino could only guess was once leather, it now was something that could possibly be recognizable as a tome. He had little time to marvel at its outward appearance as the book opened, revealing a single line of text strangely written text. Though he could not recognize the symbols as anything he had seen before, he could sense a familiar and vile spiritual residue emitting from the characters, and was able to understand what had been written.

-There is a gift for you in Fiorair, if you wish to risk my hell once again.-

And the words vanished from the page, forming a dark miasma and raising into the sky.

"Have a good nap?" Genbu's voice was a pleasant one on Dino's ears. He immediately rose to his feet, only to fall on a knee. "Easy there bro, you've been out of it for the last couple days." Genbu continued changing to a worried tone and chuckle as he places his head under Dino's arm and helped him up. "Straining my spirit so much didn't help to much either." Dino sighed, coughing up a bit more bile and spitting it out.

-You should probably take it easy for a while. Mammon wreaked you up pretty badly. - The words appeared with a certain glow not unlike the message that had been left by Mammon, though it was of a more familiar aura. They vanished from the page in the same fashion as the last line.

"Mammon huh? Sounds like he spanked your ass something fierce." Genbu chuckled as Dino climbed onto the tortoise shell.
"No thanks to you. You recognize the name by chance?"
"Bout familiar as a Dino who can stay out of trouble, why?"
-Hey ladies, shouldn't we get going? I mean you guys did sort of steal me from the library-
"So the floating diary is coming along too?" Genbu turned his head looking back at Dino who lay on his stomach, looking as if he were ready to die.
"It's probably best. Besides Mr. Book here is the only way to keep in contact with that Mammon bastard and I got a bit of a score to settle with him, after we see this little gift of his."
-For the last time, do not-
"Fine." Dino cut off the book, the unfinished sentence vanishing as it waited for him to finish. "Tome of Knowledge strikes your fancy?"
-It's a start. Oh and if you’re wondering about that book you brought with you...-





Tome of Knowledge-
Notably small for a tome as it is meant for travel, the book once went by the name Tome of Mammon but has dropped the title as it is now on bad terms with the being from which it was named after. The book has its own personality and is quite short tempered. Though it cannot speak, it can imprint text of many different languages upon its endless pages, and is able to translate any language that has been in moderate use since the last century. It also has a habit of narrating things that are taking place around it or Dino.

Bound in black leather, it is equipped with an iron lock that has no key. In the center is a small black crystal in the form of an eye, surrounded by a ring of seven slots that fit Dino’s Anima Ampliamento set perfectly. The reason for this, Dino believes is due to forceful use of Dino’s spirit when trying to escape the spiritual trap set by Mammon within the world of the book, binding him to the Tome of Knowledge. Mammon also seems to share a similar connection to the book and it is possible that he is able to pull Dino’s spirit within the text. It is unknown if this is at will or not, but he believes that this is only when certain requirements are met. On the back protrudes a strap of leather that allows the Book to be worn as a a belt of sorts, on the users side, the lock acting as the buckle.

The Tome of Knowledge is capable of:
* Levitation
* Copying the text of any book it comes into direct contact with that is not of magical nature itself (meaning that if a book is itself magical, the Tome cannot normally copy what is written within, and if by some chance it were able to, no magical properties of the second book would pass on to the first) This takes a few minutes, varying from the size and complexity of the book. Pictures are also possible but the crystal eye must be facing the image/object/person.
* Knows of every action Dino makes, and what he senses. The reason for this is the connection to his soul the Tome of Knowledge has. In turn, Dino is able to sense what direction the book is at all times.

So far the Tome holds information on how to speed up muscle growth within the body, as well as a few notes on minerals and enzymes within the body but any experience from this knowledge shown in this thread were simply due to Dino being within the world of the Tome, where the normal laws of Althanas do not apply. Dino will have to do a lot more studying to even attempt applying this knowledge.

[Lord Anglekos]

Bed Time Tales
First of all, I'd like to say that I'm very impressed with your dedication to this. I can see that you started this in December of 2007 and finished it the 17 of March, this year. To work on a solo for that long...well, as I said, I'm very impressed. I hope you get farther here, we need members with that kind of dedication.
Anyways, onto the judging! As you said you had no preference, I took the liberty of using the short form to judge this; it's been sitting untouched for too long, and I'm guessing you'll be wanting your EXP and GP, eh? If you would like any other comments or have questions, please contact me via PM or if online on AIM at blackdecadence19.

STORY: [7/10]
Needless to say I found this solo very entertaining to read. The idea was pretty original, although I did find myself asking a few questions as to what had happened before this story, and you left the ending very cliff-hangerish (which I hate). Otherwise the material inbetween more than made up for it. I look forward to reading the next part of Dino's adventure with his new companion.

CHARACTER: [4.5/10]
Your characters were interesting at first, especially since I had read nothing about them or of them beforehand, but as the story progressed I felt like I was reading just another adventurer's tale at times. The dialogue was hampered by your writing style, not helped, and it felt like I was reading a tale more akin to modern times than Althanas. Some refinement is under advisement, although I did enjoy the book and the tortoise.

WRITING STYLE: [4/10]
There were quite a few grammar and spelling mistakes, and I felt that at times you were staggering along, just trying to get the post done. Take your time, read your material over, and you're sure to catch those mistakes. This hurt your Clarity as well, as I had to read a couple of your posts over again just to find out what was going on.

TOTAL VERDICT: [15.5/30]
sweet_oblivion recieves 530 experience points and 200 gold pieces.
They also recieve the Tome of Knowledge, under the condition that it cannot, at this time, levitate anything heavier than itself.

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!