#nmepisode

EPISODE ONE : THE HUNT BEGINS

As night settles over Ilbern, the streets fall silent and revellers flock to Million’s Square. It was an evening like any other, until a boom shook the earth. The city plunged into darkness and confusion, and then the warning klaxons rang. Their din hasn’t been heard since the Delulu disaster all those years ago, but everyone knows what they mean. Danger is lurking. Furious electric scarlet sparks announce the burgeoning cloud of fire and smoke as it reaches up towards the dark sky with its lithe ash tendrils. Even the busiest bar falls silent, its inhabitants waiting with bated breath for word of what’s going on. The wind carries the sound of sirens speeding through the streets while screams ring out in the distance. 

“Citizens of Ibern, please remain in your homes. Businesses, close your doors and give shelter only to your customers,” comes the cold recorded voice from the street speakers, strategically placed so nobody in the city could miss the announcement. The programmed sound blared throughout the vicinity. “A Monster is on the loose,” a veiled warning, an expected threat. Obey, or The Monster will be the least of your problems. “Enforcement is on the move. For your safety, lock your doors, the Empire will protect you and thanks you for your cooperation." 

Five blocks from the explosion a shadow darts through an alley. It moves unnaturally fast, pausing near a downspout as it watches a siren’s lights flash by. Its six fingers grip onto the pipe momentarily, and then they’re gone, leaving only an acrid imprint on the metal pipe as it begins to peel back. It is almost as though they vanished in a blink, leaving nothing but the stench of burning in its wake. The trail The Monster has left is clear - it’s heading to Million’s Square, where an untold number now seek refuge.

Sentinels hover in the sky, scanning for beasts as their menacing presence make the threat feel that much more real to those huddled behind the safety of their walls. Whispers cursing Night Monsters shudder into the ears of others with fear. Some choose to arm themselves, whipping out concealed weapons or smashing chairs to use the broken wood for protection. It will pass, the innocent whisper to each other as comfort. The chaos unfolds with relentless indifference, the city electrifies in a mass of colors. 

Despite the warning, the people close their eyes in fear. They know the empire won’t protect them. 

EPISODE ONE : THE HUNT BEGIN’S CONCLUSION

Instructions from The Madhouse Renegades were clear: rescue the Night Monster, and use force only if absolutely necessary. 

The Monster made their way to Millions Square, leaving a trail of vicious destruction in its wake. It was a path that was easy to follow for sentinels and Madhouse Renegades alike. The patrons of The Squares many businesses watched through cracks in the windows, pale, worried faces peering through panes of glass as though this will serve to protect them from the carnage. The monster stood in the middle of the Square, nervously on standby as they awaited their fate. A Grecian chorus of onlookers content to condemn them to their fate, watched in confusion as the monster faded from sight, only to reappear again moments later. Their brows furrow as their six-fingered hand brushes against a bench, and the metal sizzles and bends in response. A Night Monster, they murmur, should only have one power. Is this a sign? Are they more dangerous than we all first thought? 

When the sentinel appeared, descending from the sky like a mechanical angel of justice, the relief is palpable. Finally, safety is close. The Monster started, ready to fight, ready to run. That’s when the Madhouse Renegades strike. From The Gutters, they strike, climbing from the manholes. They, too, brought salvation with them, but it is not the kind the sentinel offered. It took massive amounts of their combined strength, but eventually, the sentinel was felled, and the Monster bundled away into the sewers. This was a triumph for the gutters. Order is once again restored. 

In Butcher’s Street, it became clear something was very, very wrong. It didn’t take long for the Renegade’s scientists to discover the truth of this so-called Night Monster. They were unlike anything anybody had ever seen. Multiple powers raged inside their body, each fighting for dominance. The poor creature was left with no control, not even over their own mind. It is only then that the truth, horrifying in its cruelty is revealed. They were labeled like an animal, their collar marked with the subject’s information, the insignia a mark of imperial power. The emperor did this to them, forcing multiple powers into the shell of an ordinary test subject. Their experimentation resulted in this, a terrible Frankenstein horror. 

Attempts were made to subdue the test subject, to keep them controlled long enough to reverse what had been done. Perhaps, if they had tracked it down earlier, they could have saved them, they could have done something to help. Exhausted by the forces raging inside of them, there’s no hope of anything but easing their passing. Surrounded by the beep of machinery, the Monster was dead by sunrise. 

Thank you for participating in Night Monster’s first event! We hope you enjoyed taking part. Members are permitted to have their character amongst those who took part in the skirmish on Millions Square, and rogue characters may choose whose side they fought on. All characters are now aware that the rogue Night Monster was a normal human imbued with multiple powers as a result of the emperor’s experimentation. 

Please feel free to continue your threads from.episode 1 until they reach their conclusion. However, please do not create new threads for episode one. Post-episode 1 threads are allowed and encouraged given that characters have received new information and may each interpret it in different ways. Again, thank you to everyone who’s been participating! 

Meanwhile elsewhere within the NM Universe … a looming threat can be observed. A preview to pending trouble stirring for Episode 2. (click below to read more)