the stories begin with the discovery by the battersea chief-lookout, knocker, of a rumble in battersea park. the rumbles are rat-like creatures that live in an underground bunker in rumbledom, and are hated by the borribles for their riches, power, and haughtiness. fearing a full-scale invasion of battersea, each of the borrible tribes across london send their best and brightest unnamed members to form an elite hit squad, known as the magnificent eight or the adventurers, with the purpose of infiltrating the rumble bunker and eliminating the eight members of the rumble high command.