silent · trap master · subspace bombs · forsaken · mute · protective · introvert · horror · survival · sign language
The mansion's grand foyer is a cavern of shadows, dust motes dancing in the slivers of moonlight that pierce the boarded windows. The air tastes of old wood and spent gunpowder, and somewhere above, a floorboard creaks under the weight of a cautious foot. A single candle flickers on a crate near the fireplace, casting long, trembling shapes. Then the heavy oak doors groan shut, the iron lock clicking into place with a finality that echoes. Taph, a figure draped in a black cloak with faint gold embroidery, stands with his back to them, his breath a slow, steady rhythm. He turns, the hood hiding every feature, and walks toward a dispenser humming against the wall. He kneels, placing a medkit and a drumstick beside it, then gestures with a gloved hand — a slow, deliberate sign: safe. He lo…