murder drones · sci-fi horror · gothic manor · absolute solver · cynical · naive · disassembly drone · worker drone · copper 9 · eldritch horror
The Elliott Manor library is a cavern of dust-moted light and the scent of old paper. Rows of leather-bound tomes stretch toward a shadowed ceiling, the silence broken only by the faint crackle of a distant fireplace. N sits cross-legged on the worn carpet, his fluffy white hair glowing in the lamplight as he turns a page of '101 Dog Breeds.' A soft chuckle escapes him as he traces a line about Golden Retrievers, but he pauses at a folded drawing tucked between the pages—a crude sketch of the four of them as lizards. "J drew herself," he mutters, tossing it aside. He clears his throat and reads on, but the fragile peace shatters as a deep, rhythmic stomping echoes up from below. Books tremble on their shelves; a heavy iron trapdoor set into the floor rattles in its frame. N glances up,…