The desert sand was scorching with the noon sun. The outcove that Ryan had taken refuge from after the sun began to rise was almost impossible to walk. Especially when all you had was a towel and robe. He said that on top of his robe, sweat beaded off his forehead and dripped down to his face. He wiped it off with the towel.

From what Ryan remembered, he had been in his room and was reading his books. He had read an incantation in his mind to not activate it. The next thing he knew, he was bare-naked from the waist down and lying in hot sand. He ran to the outcove for shelter after the sand began to shoot little hair like fellers. One had attached itself to his left leg and was pulling him under the sand. He used a stored-up mana that he started to keep on a ring located on his middle finger on his left hand. The ring was silver, and on either side it was decorated with metal rope and metal studded balls. The balls on the ring began to emit blue light, and he pointed his arm toward the tentacle and shot the manna ball at the thing. It erupted in flames and left his leg unharmed. The tentacle let go and sank back under the sand. Ryan ran for the rocky alcove and waited.

Ryan was seeing the sun set and was starting to cool off way too fast. He started to walk around the rocky terrain and found some drift wood that had been left behind for centuries. He found about ten big chunks and pulled them together. He lit the wood on fire, and the pink-red flame began to burn the wood.

He sat next to the flame and looked up at the stars. He didn’t recognize a single star. He would have drawn the stars, but since he didn’t have any paper, he just tried to memorize as many star positions as he could.

Alex had fallen asleep when the sun hit him in the face. He woke up, and his right side was covered in sand. He got up, walked over to the sand, and let it go. An audible slouching sound came as it hit the now-soaked sand. He finished, sat cross-legged, and meditated. He felt the world around him begin to slow; even sounds were starting to get distorted. He counted to one, then breathed in deeply. When he trapped the air in his lungs, the blood circulating in his body began to slow. He let the air slowly out through his mouth, and the world around him began to morph. He felt his body go through an electrical field that made his muscles cramp. Four, he let his empty lungs stay empty. He opened his eyes, and the world around him changed. The alcove was now slowly moving; it almost looked like each face was extending and stretching. Five rhetorical alcoves were gone; he looked like he was in complete darkness. Six he breathed in a huge lung, then another image came into view: a bookshelf that looked way too wide. The same extended view and warped sense came in. Seven he breathed out his lung and held his lungs empty; the bookshelf was now beginning to look almost normal. He breathed in a huge lung, and the world was now different. He saw that the spell had worked. He let go of the air and looked around his room. He saw that the book had black text written on the pages.

Congratulations on surviving, though next time you will spend more time in the book.

The letters began to fade, one by one. He saw the last letter disappear, and he closed the book. He was still covered in sand and sweat. He walked over to his closet, grabbed a towel, and toweled off the rest of the sand. He then got his toiletries and went to the bathroom. He walked to the door across from his and went in. He closed the red oak door and locked it. He turned the water on and stepped into the shower, cleaning himself off the best he could. A red mark on his leg was starting to become noticeable, and he felt an electrical shock from the reddened area like a jellyfish sting. He screamed in pain and turned off the shower. The shock came again, and he fell to his knees. He managed to get to his room, though he did get the floor wet, and the bathroom was a miss now. He went to the book, and the book was already open to the section where it read about the creature that uses its tentacle-like tongue to paralyze its prey. The toxin is that of a jellyfish sting, but if stung, paralysis is sure to follow. The paralysis lasts for 24-72 hours. He felt his whole leg just give up, and then his leg was gone. It was still there, but any feeling he had was gone for the next two days. He managed to get dressed and called his master.

“So I went into the book and was attacked. I didn’t get hurt, but my leg is paralyzed.” Ryan admitted.

John Dee looked over the leg and had his medical equipment on his old black leather doctor's back. He held the femoral artery, looked at his gold pocket watch, and counted the seconds. He then added it by half, and then he finished counting his breaths just seconds after finishing counting the breaths. He wrote them down on paper and helped Ryan sit up. He placed the stethoscope in his ears, and the bell on Ryan’s chest heard his heart and sounded good along with his breaths. He placed everything back and then sat on the chair next to him.

"Well, you sound good, and everything seems fine.” John said, “I did tell you that the book would challenge you, didn’t I?"

“Yeah, but I didn’t know it would literally suck me into the damn thing.” Ryan tried to argue.

"Well, then you need to work harder to survive.” John Dee said, “Because next time the book challenges you, it might be the end.”

“So tell me, how long will I stay in bed?” Ryan asked.

“The toxins that were introduced into your system will flush themselves out in three days.” John Dee said while he put everything back into his bag, “You should rest until then. In three days, I will test your skills and your resilience in mana consumption, but that’s it for now. I’m off to Los Angeles to talk to a friend. I’ll see you in one week.”

John Dee latched his back closed and carried it to the door. He walked out of his room. Ryan looked out the window and laid in bed. The book lifted itself and floated to his side. It landed on top of him, and Ryan looked it over. The book flipped two-thirds open, and an orange letter began to glow. The room grew gray; the sound was beginning to distort; the room was stretching. The feeling of spaghettification felt extremely unnerving; he knew he wasn’t going to die, but I just wanted to throw his lunch up. His view went black for three seconds, and a stretched version of the jungle loomed into his vision. His body was spat out, and again, his clothes were gone. This time, he got to keep his pants, but his socks and underwear had vanished.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

He tried to get up, but his leg was still paralyzed. The howling chatter of monkeys was prevalent throughout the jungle. He couldn’t hear himself think that the lapse in judgment almost cost him his life. An eight-foot snake was slithering behind Ryan; its green body was camouflaged against the jungle foliage. It opened its mouth, and its hyper-dermic fangs were exposed. Venom was building up in its hollow teeth. It was waiting for the perfect moment for Ryan to drop his guard.

Behind the snake, an older woman with black and gray hair was sneaking up on the snake. She had on green foliage that was native to the area; it was woven into a cloak that was three times her size. She had a small green lizard that was on all fours. The small lizard had red diamonds, each connecting them from top to bottom. The design went from its tail up to its body and up to its nose. Its ires were orange, with red outlines. It was almost like a small dragon without any wings. It crept from her satchel and looked on at the snake. It licked its scaly mouth and snuck out of its place. Using its magic, it teleported to her feet. The small pop was muffled by Ryan’s groans at falling to the ground. The sudden pop of the air being pushed aside was also muffled by Ryan’s groans.

A stick was about six inches taller than her and was three and a half inches thick. The top had an amethyst crystal. That had three branches coming from the top and intertwining with the roots of the staff. The amethyst actually acted like a living spring of water. She let a small acorn form from one of the small branches that were forming and extending. It dropped into her right hand, and she examined it. She placed the small acorn close to her lips and chanted a small Enochian prayer. The acorn glowed green, then white, and with her hand holding the staff, she reared the wooden weapon and swung it forward.

The snake saw that Ryan had let his guard down and, with all its might, let the explosive attack. It had its mouth opened and was so focused that it failed to sense the wooden staff hitting it on its head. A loud thud exploded through the jungle, and Ryan looked up to see blood splatter all over his face. He saw the old lady, and she dropped an acorn into his lap. The white, glowing seed fell and tumbled; it hit him on his stomach and rolled down to his lap and on the jungle floor. It planted itself in the soil and began to rapidly grow. A small root grew from the seed and rapidly sprouted; the trunk grew and grew. It stopped, and the trunk grew one small branch that curled back around itself, and small green foliage was growing on it.

"Hello, my lad. Let me guess the book sent you here because you have been injured.” She said, "Well, you’re probably wondering what the acorn and tree you see? Well, it’s your staff; now let’s see.”

She held her hands over his body and immediately honed in on his leg. She grabbed a pin from her pouch and poked his leg.

“Let me guess you were in the desert lands of the book.” She asked.

“Yes, but you live in my book?” Ryan asked

“Yes, for over twenty-five hundred years.” She said, “I’ll explain when the time is appropriate.”

“So do you know who the author is?” Ryan asked.

“Like I said, I’ll explain everything when the time is appropriate.” She said it sternly.

Once the pin entered the leg, Ryan whelped and pulled his paralyzed leg back. He noticed that he could move the leg again. She took the pin out, and the leg dropped, and he felt his leg go through what felt like pins and needles. She stuck her pen back in, and he felt his leg again.

“It seems your leg has seen the worm that lurks in the desert lands. Your luck to be alive.” She said while adding, " Just leave the pen in the leg for the next thirty minutes."

"Ok, and what about his tree in front of me?” Ryan asked while pointing at the tree.

“That’s your new staff. Here, take this.” She said that and handed him a trowel.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Asked Ryan, holding up the small shovel.

“You dig out your new staff. Be careful; don’t cut any of the roots. I’ll be back before you leave.” She let the small dragon out, and it snuggled next to Ryan. “This is Dagron; he is a small dragon; he will watch after you.”

The small dragon just curled itself in his lap and slept. When Ryan lifted his head back up to see, the old woman was gone. He looked around and saw no one there. He looked at the small trowel and back to the dragon; it didn’t look like it would give him a small budge. He scooted close to his new staff and began to dig. The dirt was firm but seemed to give away to the trowel, and he dug most of the roots out. He saw an intricate design and a knot just after the roots began and before the trunk. There also seemed to be room for another crystal. He gently felt that the tree was beginning to give away, and he gently pulled out and found the tree.

He saw next to him a wooden bowl filled with water, and a sponge had appeared. He began to scrub the roots, and the water began to get dirty. He went to throw out the water, but I was magically clean again. He continued to scrub, and once the dirt was cleaned off the staff, he saw the old lady walk up to him.

“So you have finally finished.” She said, “So what question is it you need answered?"

"Well, I did want to know about who made this book and who you are.” Ryan asked.

"Well, for the first time, it was Merlin’s master. For the second question, my name is Neithhotep.” She said, “And I’ve lived in this book when they were just scrolling."My body has since decayed, and my spirit just haunts a minority of pages. I mostly help new owners of this book.”

“And what about this dragon?” Ryan said, pointing to their small lap dragon, now exposing his belly.

"Mmm, it seems my pet has grown fond of you.” She saw that the dragon was having fun. “Tell me, Dagron, would you like to live with him?"

The dragon was excited and jumped into his lap. He ran in an infinity sign around his body, stopped on his left shoulder, and nuzzled his head to his cheek.

"Well, that’s that then; just make sure to entertain him every once in a while.” She said.

With an ear-splitting headache Ryan closed his eyes and felt his body burn. He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn’t on fire. He and the dragon had shifted to his room. He looked around, and a cat tree was in the corner. A small note in the book reads:

This is a gift from me to you; it’s his favorite place to sleep. Take good care of him. His is older than mine and is just a baby. Maybe he will grow more in the next hundred years.

He saw that his leg was now healed, and the pen was gone. He walked all over the room and brought the small dragon with him. He went down the stairs and walked to the kitchen. He went to the refrigerator and got some food and began to chop, cut, and cook a meal for him and the small dragon. He made pork chops and mashed potatoes. He sat at the table, and the small dragon sat at the table next to him. He placed the plate under him, and he immediately dove face first into the food. Ryan picked up the fork and knife, cut his pork chops, and ate his potatoes. He looked over at the dragon and sighed.

"Well, I hope you don’t stand out too much.” Ryan said, "Maybe, I can say you’re a very unique reptile.”

He took his hand and petted the Dagron, and he let out a small chitter. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep. Ryan grabbed both plates and walked to the sink. He washed them and thought long and hard about what it meant for the book to be older than Merlin himself. He just washed the dishes and decided he would go to the library once the dragon woke up.