Nortsa answers "As near as I can tell this individual was soul trapped within the gem that was used to form the eyes, then his body was skinned and used to construct the book, he definitely is evil, and my guess is he was a spellcaster of some sort, and this was done as punishment, but that is only a guess. Along with that several permanent spells are placed on the books from several schools of magic, but to find out more will take some time, at least a couple days. Meanwhile, I think it best not to put much trust into whatever this book may say."

With that the book says "Nonsense, I am not evil, what you detect as evil are the magics that bind me here, and not my essence, but I do know some secrets that can make you all very rich and powerful people!" The expression on the book seems to show a sly grin "All I need is a new body prepared, and I will reward you all greatly!"

Aldyne

Recovering from the sudden surprise, Aldyne ignores the book's rambling and asks, "How come the Mage at the inn had you in his possession?"

The book looks at Aldyne and smiles, the eyes close and the brow furrows for a few seconds, then the eyes open and the smile ruturns.

"My dear boy, my life story is long and boring, nothing you would be interested in, I am just a poor victim of circumstance looking to undo the crime perpertrated upon my person." The book sighs. "As to where I have been, whos hands, I don't know much, while my lips were sealed I only had a fraction of cognizance, and much of that was spent inside a pouch."

Captain Merlo looks at the book askance, not sure what to make of it.

"Nortsa, do you have any suggestions on what to do with this... thing?"

The old wizard strokes his beard for a moment. "I am not familiar with the spells that would be used to make a person into a book, or undo it, and I am not sure it would be wise to release this soul until we know more about him. Research will take time, I cannot say how much, perhaps a day, perhaps far longer. We could question the thing."

The book speaks up "What kind of people are you? I need to be released, it is the right thing to do, all I need is a suitable soulless body!"

"Wait. We need some answers before we decide to release you. Answer the questio.?" after a small pause, Ransel continued "And we may give you his body to.. inhabit."

"What questions do you want answered?" says the book

"The mage was involved in finding information about a cult. What do you have to dowith that cult?"

"Cult?" "Mage?" The book gets a quizical look on its cover. "Perhaps you need to put things in perspective, fill me in a bit, and then I will have some framework to answer questions from. Who was this mage and what is this cult and how am I connected?"

After thinking about for a second, Captain Merlo decides to fill the book in on some details. "You were found in the room of a mage who was assassinated while investigating a cult. The cult appears to be a cult of assassins that has been building a powerbase somewhere around here, we feel that, given the circumstances you are somehow connected."

The old mage cuts in. "This book is not to be trusted. I think I should exam in for a few days to find out as much about its history and the spells that made it as I can, then we lock it in a heavy lead lined strongbox and toss it into the deepest part of Dragonmere."

The book atually looks scared. "Wait, I can help you, I really don't know much, but if you take me with you I know I can lead you where you want to go."

Merlo turns to the party. "What do you think?"

"We're not doing a thing untill you tell us how you came to this form you're in now. Who made you a book?"