SoloAI - The Nightside - Episode 1

A Hot Start

I woke up to flames everywhere, coughing as I was overcome by a wave of suffocating smoke. I was lying in a pile of charred wood next to what used to be a fireplace, and my clothes were still smoldering. The floor beneath my back was wet and slippery. I rolled onto my side, wincing as my skin burned when the wood pressed against my body, and crawled toward the door through the darkness. 

The room around me was in a shambles, furniture knocked about and smashed, walls blackened from fire-damage. My bed had fallen apart, the mattress burning away and leaving nothing behind except scorched stuffing.

 According to Mythic's rules, it is always good to start directly into the action in an adventure. I decided to do just that, in the most literal form of the word.

Using The Adventure Crafter, I created my first scene waking up in the middle of one of Nightside's abandoned streets with the building I was sleeping in on fire. Who is to blame for this? I didn't know.

Bermann was an inquisitor, and because of this, he knows how to use "divine" magic to his advantage, more specifically, he uses it to enhance his senses as well as his strength and physical defense. 

I felt the divine magic flowing through every part of me, awakening all my senses and filling me with an exhilarating energy that made me feel like I could do anything.

Using this, I was able to take my shield and with it, protect myself from the pieces of the burning building falling on me, and finally, break down the door and get out of the burning house. 

Outside, the night sky was filled with stars and clouds of drifting dust, and the air was thick with heat and smoke. A breeze blew across the lonely street, carrying the scent of charnel house. I staggered outside and looked around, my eyes adjusting to the gloom. A group of around twenty men stood nearby, armed with swords, axes and pistols. They were dressed in rags, their faces covered in soot and grime, but they held themselves tall and proud, looking at me with the self-righteous expression only a Inquisitor could have. They looked down at me contemptuously, as if I were a common criminal who'd wandered too close to one of their strongholds.

 

Outside, the night sky was filled with stars and clouds of drifting dust, and the air was thick with heat and smoke. - made with Centipede Diffusion.

The Inquisitors didn't seem too surprised that I was alive, but they weren't too happy about it either. I even tried to ask them to put down their weapons and settle everything peacefully, but I was only met with a hail of gunfire.

Using the rubble falling from the building, I formed a improvised barricade in front of me and hid behind it. As much as I have increased strength, I am not invulnerable to gunfire! 

With me hiding at the barricade, my opponents became cocky. One of them started demanding that I surrender at once and let them execute me, and that's when I realized my time to act.

I rushed forward, jumping through the barricade, and tried to launch myself at the first man. However, to my surprise, he dodged, spinning around and knocking aside my attack with a swing of his sword.

He brought his weapon around, aiming at my head, and I swung my shield in a horizontal arc, blocking his weapon but letting my guard down for just a moment. He jumped forward, swinging his blade sideways and almost cleaving my head in two.

I grabbed hold of his sword arm with both hands, pulling him closer. He screamed, struggling against me, trying to pull himself free. Then, without warning, I slammed him straight into the barricade, crushing the wood and splintering the mortar, and he fell to the ground.

The second man came at me, and I blocked his sword with my shield, slamming him backwards and sending him stumbling into the third. I picked up a broken chunk of wood from the barricade, then lifted it above my head and smashed it down onto the shoulder of the next attacker. It broke in half and splintered, and he dropped down, clutching his arm. I turned towards the fourth man, ready to attack again, but he backed away, raising his pistol.

"I surrender, you freak!" He shouted.

I was not in the mood to interrogate anyone there. I already knew that Brother Joseph was the one who had sent them to kill me, and I had no desire to have to face him directly. So I just gave the last inquisitor a good scare, breaking his gun with my hands and making him run away. Hopefully, that would make them think twice before bothering me again.

With this setback resolved, it was time to begin my actual mission.

The Frontier Hotel

Frontier Hotel, made with Centipede Diffusion.

My primary goal here is to rescue Jeremiah's sister, Sarah, from Crimsom Guard. My secondary goal, to destroy Crimsom Guard itself. To do this, I first need to know where Sarah is and where Crimsom Guard's base is, the Divine Tower. The nearest place where I could get this information is the Frontier Hotel.

Frontier Hotel is a popular nightclub located in the heart of the Nightside. It's owned by a man named Lark, who runs it with his wife. He's a member of the Crimsom Guard, and he often brings his friends there after a long day at work.

I was standing in front of a huge, ornately decorated building with a large sign proclaiming it as the "Frontier Hotel". Its facade was of white marble and black basalt columns, topped by an architrave decorated with golden stars, and flanked by two large statues of warriors with their arms held high in victory. It's doors were open, and the interior was a riot of color and light. 

 Bermann was not made for stealth, and for his uniform, it was a miracle that they let me into the Frontier Hotel without question. 

I walked slowly along the wide corridor, the lights flickering over the walls and floors, casting strange shadows across the polished marble. I passed a number of people coming the other way, all of them dressed in bizarre costumes.

I don't take long to find some members of the Crimsom Guard, sitting around in a large room near the back of the club, drinking and smoking cigars in the smokey atmosphere of the place.

The interior of the Frontier Hotel, made with Centipede Diffusion

I sat next to the Crimsom Guard members, trying to hear something interesting. They were talking about their latest jobs, about how there was someone trying to get revenge against them. It also seemed to be that the Crimsom Guard contributors had left them, all except one, just called "Lord of Death". That was all the interesting stuff I could hear of the conversation before these guys started talking about trivia, and then, got up to leave the Frontier Hotel.

I followed them outside the nightclub, and when I reached the street, I found it empty. Where had they gone?

However, when I opened the door and was greeted by the night air, there was no one there. They'd disappeared into the night. I was about to search the streets for them when I heard a "Click" behind me. The Crimsom Guards were waiting for me right outside the hotel door, with pistols aimed directly at my chest. 

"You are not very subtle, you know?" said one of them. 

I raised my hands slightly, and looked around at them in turn with as much confidence as I was capable of displaying under the circumstances. 

I decided to question them about Sarah's whereabouts, but to my surprise, they just started laughing. Apparently Sarah had been of no "use" to them, and so they had discarded her - sold her to someone else.

That made me angry. 

"You must be joking!" One of them shouted. "You've got to be kidding! Are you about to fight us all?"

I smiled sweetly at them, then took a step forward, bringing my shield up before me.

"If you insist." 

They all laughed again, but this time it was a different kind of laugh. It was the kind that said "I don't think you know what you're dealing with."

 To be continued...