Travis could feel the Paragon within his clutches coming free from the skeleton's non-existent hold. For a moment, he thought that his plundering would go without any hidden obstructions. However, he was quickly proven wrong; just as he was about to pry Fantasia free did the skeletal hands of Samuel Croft suddenly re-secured the Paragon and yanked it back against Travis' grip.

The sudden and unexpected movement by the skeleton caught the Untalent completely by surprise but before he could vocalize his astonishment, the decayed anatomy of what was once Samuel leaned forward and spoke. Travis froze with dread while his widened eyes peered back at the skeleton's now-illuminated eye sockets. What he assumed was Samuel's simulated voice demanded he release the Paragon; a request Travis himself was trying to comprehend still as he struggled to make sense of what was happening. However, Samuel's demand was ultimately rhetorical as the skeleton quickly produced an old flintlock firearm and aimed at Travis' face. Travis only had the split-second moment to switch his focus from the skeleton to the weapon pointed at him before its trigger was pulled.

Travis' sight was then consumed by darkness along with the immediate ceasing of his heartbeat. He was dead and he was sure of it; what else could have the pistol's discharging resulted in? The small ball-bearing would have struck him between his eyes and through his head and as such his brain, instantly killing him. That was however what he believed and since he could still come to a methodical and analytic conclusion moments after the rather quiet gunshot...[i]wait a minute[/i]. 

Before a full minute could elapse, Travis cautiously opened his eyes and found the flintlock pistol still pointed at him with black transparent fumes slowly escaping the mouth of the barrel. He blinked one, and then twice, and before a third time, the small metal ball that could have actually killed him rolled out of barrel and fell to the ground. Travis silently eyed the harmless round empty out of the pistol before returning his still-stunned gaze back to the skeleton. Despite failing to kill Travis with an unkempt weapon, the skeleton trumpeted its 'success', whatever it was. Travis, still shaken by the unusual ordeal, tried to make sense of the situation, contemplating if the skeleton of Samuel Croft really tried to kill him and only replied in such a confusing manner as a pre-determined response. He even accepted the belief that this was all indented as some sort of complex prank. Neither of the conclusions were appreciated by him but whatever the actual reasoning was had then vanished as the skeleton fell back within its throne, its purpose supposedly fulfilled as the life that seemed to possess it faded away.

Travis stared at the collapsed remains of Samuel, still in disbelief and dumbfound a what had transpired. Without uttering a justified remark, Travis tugged at the Paragon again, this time pulling it out of the skeleton’s unresponsive grasps. Just as he knew it was only in his hands did he quickly step back and secured it within his arms in anticipation of another unexpected and undesired response. Thankfully, no more surprises manifested from his successful burglary. 


He retreated with a few more steps before turning to this team, displaying the Paragon of Fantasia in his hands and an incredibly unamused expression painting his blackened face, "...I wish to leave now," he growled.