Question the Imp

"Who... or what are you?" Ochaco said as she crossed her arms and kept her gaze on the imp, "And no tricks."

"Very well. Now to begin with..., err," the smaller woman tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, "This... may take some explanation. Would you mind if I supply some..., informative materials?"

Ochaco thought for a moment before agreeing. Rinia waved a lightly glowing hand and the vines formed into a square above her desk. The lights it gave off coalesced into a picture. The smaller woman even put on some glasses and got out a long pointed wooden rod. She gave a few taps on the 'screen'.

"Welcome to Imp 101 then Mistress." She said, with a sly grin on her face and a hint of excitement in her words, "I am Rinia, your instructor. Sae will be out to lunch for awhile." A slight muffle came from the book, but Rinia whipped the book close with her pointer. "Now then to answer the first question."

"We are Imps. Demonic like beings but unlike the Imps you may or may not know from real world experience, OR works of fiction; we follow only our own whims and desires. Well that and whoever owns the book. So in exchange for new powers, a nice home, an enticing new body...," Rinia ran a hand down her side, slowly taking in the feeling of her own skin, "Along with other perks all we have to do is just, semi obey the one that the tome is in the possession of."

"Also that would be you deary." Rinia said, pointing a finger at Ochaco, "The bonding doesn't take terribly long but long enough so that you can't just swipe the book and order us around. Does break connection a bit soo...."

"The book is bonded to me?" Ochaco blurted to interrupt.

"Quite." Before the hero could speak again, the imp held up a hand, "My dear, it's not as if the book is..., attached to you." No tricks might have been the 'order' Ochaco asked but all Rinia had to do was carefully word it right. "Honestly if you want nothing to do with us, just go pitch the book into a dumpster or river then wait maybe an hour or two. It's that easy to break it. May I continue?" She asked, her face softening.

"Yes...," Ochaco said with a nod before pausing, her face tightening up in thought. She looked back at the imp and asked, "So how did you..., come here? And become like this? Also can you be... um..., freed? I don't feel right about commanding people."

"That is the rub isn't it, I don't rightly know. I have an idea though, if you would allow me to explain." Not an outright lie. Rinia was pretty sure what caused them to Warp but not why it was drawn here. Random chance more than likely. She tapped the plant screen and an image of a book and three small figures around it. Two of them looked familiar but Ochaco didn't recognize the third. It all looked very water colored in it's tone.

"If you would Mistress, a term we use for whoever holds the book so don't worry too much about it, please with-hold questions till the end. Now...," Rinia took a breath before going on, "Long ago, time is weird when you're like this, we lived freely working for each owner that crossed our path. Some for a long time, others breifly. In fact I held the book myself before my turning, yes, I wasn't an Imp by... birth." Rinia explained as she saw the mouth open on the hero, "Tragic really."

The screen shifted to showing a taller figure with a reddish color flowing out of them and two imps with wide eyes around the figure, tears at the edges. It didn't look human, far to wispy and the ears were longer. "Wait..., an..." Ochaco thought before Rinia spoke up to answer.

"Yes, I was an Elf, if you know what that is from your own tales. I used the book for my adventures but was mortally wounded. My friends, as by that point we were friends, pulled me into the book and turned me, as the magic would gift me a new body." She patted her side again, making sure to make a show of it."A nice, healthy, and not currently bleeding out body. Sae's a great warrior Zyona was an excellent leader but neither had the means to save me otherwise."

Yet another not outright lie. Rinia had found the book and did use it on her adventures. She just neglected to mention she was probably half way to Imp status before a bad encounter with some tomb guardian went wrong. Her choice was either become an Imp or bleed out in a dark hole. Honestly with those choices, she made the right one. Even if she DID say it during half remembered vision and slurred commands.

"Now, because I just name dropped her, you probably want to know what happened to Zyona. You see, the book has ... basically a Head Imp. You could think of it as a..., class president." Rinia offered, trying to use the limited knowledge from the book she had taken. The history of the hero schools was in depth. "Zyona was said head imp. Well, one of our masters was attacked and we oh so tried to help save his life only for..., Zyona to perish in the attempt."

The screen showed what looked like a wounded knight attacked by a large group of evil looking shadows in the shape of humanoids. The three imps then lept into action, but a wave of energy covered the one Imp Ochaco didn't know, holding it still in the air. A cartoon 'boom' cloud overlaid the entire group and when it passed, only the book was there, appearing wedged in a cardboard box. The hero cocked her head to the side in puzzlement.

"You see, the Tome is truely tied to the Head Imp and when the Head Imp is..., removed, the book doesn't like that. If something can remove a Head Imp, it probably has the power to also destory the book. So it went into..., protect mode. Zyona said the Book could leap long distances or even into realms of water and fire but..., well it seems we lept a WHOLE lot further in a panic." Rinia offered with a weak shrug.

Not the full story though. Their master, a swordsman of some renown was accused of several crimes and heresy. The imps had tried to help him, knowing the charges were BUNK and in part due to them. Only for Zyona to get blasted for the trouble. Rinia was pretty sure the spell had broken the link between her and the book, either by snapping said link in half or simply turning Zyona from Imp back to human. While they had used the book to travel to other planes, this world seemed far different than anything they'd seen before.

"Right now the Book is in a sort of..., selection mode. It can't bring it's full abilites to bear without a Head Imp. And it's currently trying to figure out if Sae or myself would be a good fit for it." Rinia said, with the picture showing the two imps on top of what looked to be election poles.

At least that's what Rinia hoped was happening. The internal tome that helped keep a record of how things work had mentioned that without a Head Imp the book would be weaker and enter a statis mode. Unless there was a new candidate nearby for Tome Mistress. In Rinia's mind, that meant either A) someone in this world and nearby was going to be the new mistress or, B) Rinia or Sae would be chosen, they just had to prove themselves.

"And if I can get this sweet little ass into the book, it'll be me. Sorry Sae, I'm not doing push ups for you." Rinia thought as a gleam flashed through her eyes.

"To wrap this up..." The picture changed to show a drawing of Ochaco holding the tome and Rinia and Sae jumping around her, "You are in possession of a magic item that is currently deciding who to promote to 'Imp President' and until then we really can't go anywhere, even if we wanted to. You DO have two lovely imp ladies of varying powers to help wait on you hand and feet though. Point of note, either of us are very good 'maids' but can help in other ways. Myself I cook though Sae is better with meat."

Rinia paused for a bit and when the hero wasn't saying anything, gave a little wave of her hand. As if to say "Yes, you can ask now."

"Soooo...," Ochaco started, trying to word her thoughts right, "Is there a way to get you..., out of the book?" Rinia chuckled at the offer.

"Ah you are too kind my dear but even if you could; this is not our world. We'd be like fish out of water. I think I speak for both of us in that we'd prefer to be in the book and stay imps. At least for now." Rinia said with a smile on her face. "If there is a way though, it's not here. At least I don't believe so."

Ochaco sat and thought for a bit longer this time. She had never really thought about having 'servants' before. Maybe a child she wanted to live in a big palace with maids and butlers, but not little curvy imps. Rinia did seem pleasant enough when confronted in a reasonable, non panicky nature. "And I'd feel bad if i just tossed them out on their own again." she thought.

Still she had to do something about the book and the pair.