ShiningSector

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

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...wait a minute.

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.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

The gate doors eventually retracted all the way into the large unlit chamber. Similarly, as with the catacombs they ventured through previously, the space they walked into was surprisingly vacant save for a few details. The most notable was a marble throne hosting the skeletal remains of Samuel Croft as hinted by Nemo through one of his usual jocular comments. It was however what was in his decomposed grasps that gleamed any value to the crypt's interlopers; the Paragon of Fantasia.

However, it was apparent nobody was in any rush to seize their prize with Nemo declining and Raiya anticipating the worst results. Travis couldn't blame them since Espial was essentially rigged with a counter spell to do away with any thieves and the scene before them seemed deceptive in its simplistic, if not creepy appearance. Unfortunately, the Paragon would remain in Samuel's dead clutches if they didn't attempt to retrieve it.

Travis sighed, "I agree. But we're not getting our job done without nabbing it."

Channeling a fraction of his mana reserves, Travis casted his unraveling light projection spell once more. As he scanned the room, the spell would illuminate the floor and surroundings, detailing their composition and anything directly behind or beneath. In the half minute he casted his spell, nothing appeared out of the ordinary except for the Paragon's radiance blinding the throne's proximity which was projected as thick veil of light. It seemed his spell couldn't penetrate the Fantasia's incredible aura and thus prevented him from identifying any hidden threats that were likely in place.

"Typical," he grunted, "guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way. I'm gonna get a closer look and grab it if I can. Might be best to ready yourselves if things go South."

Just as he announced his plan and advisory, Travis cautiously made his way to the throne while he kept his spell casted in hopes of catching any anomalies at the last minute. As he became closer and closer, he decided to arm himself with his decamp spell once more; with their journey here being engulfed by nothing but danger and death, he wasn't going to take any chances with the seemingly unprotected. It didn't take himself long to reach the throne and stand before the decrepit Samuel Croft. For a moment, he stared into the hollow eyes of Samuel's skull, feeling almost unnerved by having to gaze upon the motionless cadaver and with a momentary thought, he dared the dead Samuel Croft to do something. The reality however was that Travis was at the mercy of whatever contraptions Samuel had planned for the Untalent and his group.

"Sorry about this," Travis said under his breath, "while I would normally respect a dead man's treasure, we need this more than you do."

It was then Travis reached out and grasped the Paragon and began pulling it way.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Travis struggled to isolate his attention to the runic puzzle before him while Nemo and Raiya's unusual argument continued on. As he analyzed and pried at the lock, their words would come in and out and he could only register a few passages of what they were saying but he could always tell who was speaking. Regardless however fascinating both of their histories may be and how the two reflected on them and angrily bounced against each other, his main focus was getting them one step closer to the Paragon and eventually of this rock.

Once again, Travis has his unique projection spell casted and before him was a near accurate rendering of the runic mechanism that kept the large doors sealed. Though he already had the basic blue print of the lock, Travis drew his eyes to his note book, matching the characters of the design and compared it with several rune alphabets he kept recorded. His main concern was ensuring the technical aspect of the proposed solution based on the projection added up with corresponding scripts that was necessary to disengage the sealing contraption.

A couple minutes passed by with still Nemo and Raiya bickering until he had his confirmation. Travis, having to exert an amount of physical effort, repositioned the individual platforms on each ring, either turning them clockwise or counter-clocking wise depending if the ring only had a single direction to rotate in. With each keyed slot he had successfully filled, the internal mechanisms would resonate with a muffled click however the platforms he guided along each of the rings gave off a louder grinding sound. Travis kept looking back at both of his arguing teammates and was constantly astounded that the noise of his work hadn't caught their attention. He quickly concluded that the neglected inner-workings of the lock, having been aged and rusted over time, were stressing against one another through uneven friction.

He eventually had the lock completed after filling the final key-slot. Travis placed his hand on the center portion of the design and charged it with a minuscule amount of mana. The runes covering each of the reconfigured rings illuminated a white glow and a faint hum as a result of him re-establishing the artificial mana flows that were once left sealed. Now activated, the lock disengaged by retracting each ring into the gate's internal confines. If solving the gate's puzzle was notably noisy, this new process could undoubtedly mute any near conversation and force someone's attention. With the last of the rings withdrawn, the large gate doors itself slowly opened inward as it fought with unmaintained architecture. Travis noticed that the wider the entrance became, the more air he could feel being pulled into the darkened room ahead of them. It was obvious by the sensation that the chamber on the other side of the gate was compressed and sealed for a very long time.

Once the doors finally finished their unsealing procedure, Travis glanced back at Zuri and then to Raiya and Nemo with a more annoyed-appearing look, "Well? We ready?"

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

The resulting execution of Father Stockton by Nemo's hand apparently didn't go over too well with Raiya despite her aggressive insistence that the kill was to be hers. It was impossible to not notice her blade leave her capitulated grasp and resonate against the rough floor while she slowly condensed her once fierce profile to a more despondent contour. Travis and likely Zuri and Zemo watched as Raiya silently departed their assembly and made her way to the sealed doorway. In a rather unexpected choice of tone, Nemo delicately spoke out, detailing the haunting consequences of taking another's life. Travis himself didn't initially know what to make of it nor could he understand Nemo's sudden jump into this seemingly untargeted discussion.

However, that wasn't to say that none of his meanings hadn't sparked any thought with the Untalent; Travis was accustomed to death, whether he appreciated it or condemned it. He himself understood and even felt the ramifications of his actions he had taken against another human being. But was he haunted by his choices? The question was a difficult one for him to express a simple answer. If asked what he felt, Travis would have admitted inceptive regret and guilt but at the same time, he would have rationalized the action as a necessary consequence in preserving his wellbeing as his would-be killers offered him no alternative. Though he carried with him his own spiritual beliefs that many of his morals were supported by, Travis was ultimately a man of reason and logic and while he could certainly feel remorse, he knew in the end he could not dwell on facts that were intangible or reversible.

Travis continued to contemplate on these figurative ghosts Nemo preached on about but still he struggled to grasp the meaning or intent of topic. That was until he soon found Nemo's hands at his shoulders and the Talents's hushed voice in his ear, causing him to freeze in place. He became tense as Nemo conveyed his explanation regarding the topic of vengeance. With every word uttered, Travis began piecing together the point of Nemo's ongoing exposition and quickly concluded that what he was getting at was Raiya feud with Father Stockton. Nemo finally explained that he had personally killed Rutger in order 'save' Raiya from being consumed from the same haunting reality he described. To Travis it seemed like a just and selfless act even though it would be go predictably unappreciated by Raiya. Eventually, Nemo withdrew himself having finished his dialogue and made his way to Raiya before referring Travis to the sealed doorway that hindered their progress.

Travis however remained motionless for a moment as he tried to recompose himself and took everything that Nemo said into consideration though he personally blamed his unresponsive or hesitant state on Nemo effectively killing the mood with his unsettling illumination. Before he would finally take control over himself once more, Travis couldn't help but dissect each word Nemo spoke that he culminated into his illustrative phrase and sentences. They were descriptive and expressed a sense of seemingly real occurring experience. Was Nemo concerned with Raiya going down a similar path he himself had treaded? With what he knew of Nemo going by his outspoken though unelaborated infamy, Travis briefly shivered to even think what his teammate has gone through.

Regaining equanimity, Travis finally made his way to the large sealed gateway at the end of the room. The doors were perhaps three times his size and decorated in some ancient art style he was not familiar with. But the main feature was a large circular construct built in between the doors and supposedly kept them secure. Upon closer inspection, the circle then became several rings with the larger encompassing the smaller; Travis identified five in total, each with a string of faintly familiar runic text that surrounded their shape. He continued to study the design until he noticed a curiously narrow gap in each of the rings and eventually found that each runic script that was present was engraved into a movable platform that could be repositioned via a diverting rail they were settled into.

Travis then briefly turned to his teammates, "The setup is pretty straightforward though the pattern here is rather complex, given the script layout. Shouldn't take me very long to get 'er unlocked. Five minutes give or take?"

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Travis watched on as Raiya tried to instigate Father Stockton into fighter her in his powerless state. Rutger fumed and seemed nearly ready to lash out again but unexpectedly, he released his dagger along with the anger that formerly painted his expression. Travis couldn't tell whether he had lost hope and accepted the reality of his eventual demise or if he had some sort of sort of unforeseen backup plan as he reflected the same provocation back to Raiya. The Untalent could only surmise Rutger's strategy was to promote hesitation in their battle-hardened teammate and in doing so possibly sparing him.

Unsurprisingly, if Travis were in Raiya's position, he'd have certainly hesitated in finishing off an unarmed and powerless opponent. He couldn't come to grips with carrying out such a death sentence upon an individual whom couldn't fight back; he simply couldn't find the justification in it, despite the potential danger they could still posed. On the other hand, Travis could leverage his advantage over Rutger with the knowledge of his fabricated and spell and assured the unaware Father that the rune's effects were long-lasting. Having said that, the ball might have been back in Rutger's court again, leaving the powerless Talent to their own fateful decisions. Rutger diffusing himself as a threat would have been the preferred outcome unless he became hostile once more in desperation and give Travis the same jurisdiction in ending his life as the Untalent did to Roy hours earlier.

The problem though was that Raiya was not Travis and considering her history with Father Stockton clear, Travis felt it was unlikely that she allowed Rutger to leave intact. Then again, there were many things he didn't know about her and even pondered if she recognized the fragile circumstances of killing a now-harmless opponent. Travis could only watch and observe how far Raiya's vengeance would go.

That was then Nemo finally returned, looking bloodied and yet still beaming with unaffected amusement.

Nemo took hold of the moment and verbally fortified their advantage over Rutger further now that he and is abilities were present before musing the possibilities of the Father's fate. It became quickly apparent that this situation was no longer under Raiya's judgement as Nemo pulled his revolver out and shot Rutger without any hesitation at all. Travis nearly jumped having been caught off-guard by Nemo cold and decisive death-draw.

"Y-yeah, now it is," he replied finally to Zuri's tired query.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@ShiningSector

Sorry about that. I had misread what Cottonmouth's last post had said, so I revised my post pretty significantly. I am not sure if you read my revised post before you edited your post. Either way, I am sorry that my quick post got in the way of your initial post.

@Prodigal Son

No harm, no foul I just needed to change the last part is all - no biggie.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo didn't lie; his shotgun's specially designed buckshots were every bit as effective as he has described. After Travis pulled down on one of the triggers of the weapon did Rutger finally take notice of him. As expected, he casted a barrier to shield himself from the seemingly conventional attack but Travis watched as the mob of crystalline pellets slammed into the magical field, nearly shattering it as they punched through. Given the range of the shot, the small crystals obviously dispersed into their own trajectories but a small few found their target.

While the shot certainly drew blood, the amount of damage the pellets had inflicted couldn't be considered fatal. With pain and anger manifesting through Rutger's contempt-fill expression, Travis didn't need to hear Father Stockton's threatening remark to know that he was in big trouble. The Untalent gulped upon the sight of Rutger's large spherical spell.

Thankfully however Zuri had then intervened and pressed her own attack against their foe. A couple of unrecognizable detonations, from Travi's position, occurred right behind Rutger and swiftly consumed him in a dark thick cloud of some substance Travis himself was unfamiliar with. The attack's purpose was made clear to him right as way as watched Rutger's intimidating spell begin to wane and eventually collapsed harmlessly. Whatever power Zuri had unleashed was conflicting with Father Stockton's ability to properly channel mana or cast magic. Rutger, likely having concluded this dangerous fact, quickly scrambled from the cloud with due haste. Having reacquired his target, Travis lined up the shotgun and took aim.

But before he could fire again, Zuri unexpectedly made a mad dash toward Rutger with fast and reckless abandon. The aggressive move caught Travis initially by surprise and momentarily made him question if Zuri's sudden all-out-attack was safe if not appropriate at this stage of the fight. However it soon made perfect sense as Travis caught a glimpse of the item within her grasp of her left hand; it was his transparent icosahedron that stored his rune and Zuri was dead set on using it.

In the briefest moment of the scene, he spotted Rutger desperately trying to respond to Zuri's attack but her disruptive cloud still plagued his efforts in casting his spell. Admittedly Zuri's apparent strategy, whether she had actually planned on it or not, was superbly executed and left Stockton almost completely helpless for what was about come. She eventually soon closed within perfect range unharmed and activated the rune Travis had orchestrated their entire goal around.

Upon activation, the spell resonated a sharp unnatural howl which echoed throughout the room as it trailed ring-like pulse that originated from the rune's epicenter. The pulse itself seemingly warped reality as the surrounding environment in which it traveled past momentarily became inverted. While the spell itself only lasted three mere seconds, its effect astonished Travis whom casted his manalysis to see what the spell would do. When compared to the rune's first casting on a Paragon, he recalled the effect to have been much more dramatic with it radiating a far more impressive light and sound. Of course the difference was that the rune was struggling and yet succeeding in binding a Paragon; in the case for Rutger, literally tearing away a Talent's aura and latent ley-lines was hardly considered a task for the rune and its comparatively unimpressive projection was evident to that notion.

It wasn't long until Rutger 'recovered' from the attack but soon found that he was, in every sense of the word, powerless. This has apparently sent him into a dangerous and frantic and lunge toward Zuri, accusing her of the deed dealt against him; he technically wasn't wrong though Travis felt briefly jealous that the spite wasn't directed to him. However before Rutger could claim his revenge, Raiya intercepted his attacked and skillful disarmed him of his knife, causing Travis to exhale in relief.

Now that Father Stockton was surrounded, Travis eventually rejoined his teammates but kept his shotgun leveled on Rutger just in case though honestly predicted that their foe didn't really have anymore advantages to pit against them. Travis eventually turned to Raiya after she noted the use of his run against Rutger, "Stopping his magic flow? It probably did a lot more than just that...but thank you nevertheless."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Travis admitted to himself that it would've been best to have request Zuri to transform into the initial phase for their impending conflict with Father Stockton, that way there was less focus on his teammate. Just as Zuri concluded their plans that he laid out, she then assumed her previously dark and intimidating form. However the transformation wasn't exactly as Travis had remembered it the first time though he had honestly happened upon it at its ending phase. Instead of a shadowy looming figure dethatched of any recognizable features of Zuri herself, she, perhaps unintentionally, departed from her attire in poltergeist-like fashion. Travis would argue that the 'armor' she now wore didn't appear practical protection-wise as it only covered certain areas of her body. However he couldn't determine the attributes or qualities of each fabricated piece that held to Zuri's anatomy therefore, it was currently beyond him how effective this new form was.

Travis eventually snapped out of his dumbstruck state just as Zuri sheepishly asked if he had glimpsed any aspect of her briefly bare transformation to which he replied with quickly shaking his head while widened eyes and a frown still illustrated his surprised of the incident. Apparently, even Zuri expressed her astonishment of the sequence that has transpired which lead to Travis wondering how much of her power did Zuri know or comprehended. It seemed clear she knew how to call upon mana and use it to channel spells but thus far, the artes she performed seem to have unintended or different results. Was she casting the wrong spells or did her power have its own will? A fascinating topic to research but other developments required their attention.

With Raiaya now taking note of their newly established readiness, Travis watched as she unexpectedly engaged Rutger yet again despite her obviously low mana reserves. Be her attack didn't carry any lethal weight to it and only operated to stun an opponent; a maneuver he didn't think Raiya would utilize. The tactic seemed to work as it neutralized Stockton's barrier and even caught him off guard for once.

This was now the time for he and Zuri to finally enter the fray.

"The fight is on, Zuri! Let's go!" he called upon his teammate with irresolute dynamism; he really wasn't looking forward to this.

Having inserted a number of his remaining mana crystals with several specialized of his coat though his discussion with Zuri, Travis could feel a large flow of mana synchronizing with his own well. With a topped off and a enhanced supply, Travis quickly casted several runes around him but delayed their discharge. Through the motion, he charged forward with Nemo's shotgun in hand, loaded with two buckshots he hoped to further harass with Rutger with, even whittle down preferably if he could. It was then that Rutger finally replied to Raiya's non-fatal ploy with a spell of his own. After seeing Raiya recoil, Travis gritted his teeth and slid into position and took quick aim, wanted to pay his target back for harming his comrade yet again.

With a prefect shot lined up, Travis wasted no time and pulled one of the triggers of his shotgun and witnessed the brilliance of the custom shell's firing.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

@ShiningSector@Accurian sorry for taking so long to make my post. Classes and work got me busy as can be.

@Prodigal Son

It happens. I'll be trying to push a post out later tomorrow.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Of course," Travis replied as he placed the small case within Zuri's grasps.

However before he retracted his right hand, Travis unexpectedly took gentle hold of Zuri's receiving hand and turned it over so the back of it was then showing. His left hand then hovered over and with a brief incantation, a rune slowly materialized into her skin. The process was however painless and hardly anything could be felt from it.

"Don't worry, its harmless and will fade in time. Think of this as a bit of insurance so to speak," Travis explained before continuing, "Its a recall rune if you must know. In case if things get too dicey or if an opportunity presents itself, I can either quickly bring you back into my vicinity or me to you via my decamp spell which the rune is linked to."

Travis released Zuri's hand so she could expect it though he continued on with his explanation, "The spell process however consumes a lot of mana that I don't have much of, even if I'm drawing mana from one of my crystals. Therefore, we won't have many uses and I am expecting to burn through most if not all my crystals through using other spells. Best we keep on our toes, okay?"