Doom’s Day is a 2D, top-down, MMO RPG that I recently started working on.  This is the prologue, and the only piece of information about the story of the game that will be available upon release.  I intend for each part of the game to correspond to a chapter of the story, which will be released as players complete the quests associated with that chapter.

Don’t expect this game to be ready any time soon.  It is very much only a concept at this point, one that has to be greatly fleshed out.

Cedric walked into the Homeglen Inn and took a look around. Business was slow today, although there weren’t too many times that he had seen much action here. Homeglen was a sleepy village, nestled in the center of the region of Nightsorrow. The bartender was doing some tidying up behind the bar and hadn’t noticed him enter. Only one other person was in the bar, dressed all in black, sitting alone in the corner, nursing his drink.

Approaching the bar, Cedric greeted the bartender. “Good day,” he rang out.

The bartender turned to acknowledge him. “Cedric,” he said before returning to his work. “Good to see you. What’ll you have?”

Cedric pulled a bar stool out from under the bar and sat on it. “I’ll have the usual.”

The bartender chuckled, expecting Cedric’s response. “You don’t have a ‘usual,’” he reminded Cedric.

Cedric sighed. “Just get me something I like.”

“Gin and tonic it is,” replied the barkeep, as he grabbed an empty glass and began preparing his drink. “While you’re nursing your drink, you may wish to speak to the gentleman in the back.”

Cedric glanced over his shoulder at the man in the corner of the room. “As dark and mysterious as they come, huh?” he quipped.

The bartender laughed deeply for a moment. “He’s not the first one to keep to the corner like that.” Completing the drink, the bartender handed him the glass. “But there’s something about him you’ll want to see for yourself. He’s looking for people like you to help him.”

“Adventure?” Cedric asked as he raised an eyebrow to the bartender, accepting the drink.

“Probably,” he replied. “Folks like him don’t just come and chat.”

“Hmm,” Cedric spoke to himself as he took a sip of his drink. “Mmf!” came his surprised expression with a mouthful of liquid he realized was not to his liking. He spit out the drink, barely missing the bartender. “I thought you said I liked this,” he stated, clearly annoyed as he began to clean his mouth and chin with a towel.

The bartender shrugged. “You’ve ordered so many drinks, it’s hard to keep track of what you like.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time,” Cedric replied as he left both the bar stool and his drink behind. He took a good look at the man before approaching him. He was staring down into his empty glass, seemingly unable to tell that Cedric was looking in his direction. With the black cloth gloves and hooded cape he was wearing, the mysterious man could not be seen at all.

Cedric walked slowly over to the man until he was just behind the chair across from the man, who spoke first. “Please, sit down.”

He hesitated at first, but after the man motioned at the chair for reinforcement, he decided to respect his wishes. Once seated, he began, “I am…”

The man interrupted him forcefully. “…Cedric Osgood. Yes, I know who you are.”

“And you are…?” replied Cedric, refusing to be taken aback by the man’s knowledge.

The man chuckled to himself, ignoring the request. “Tell me, Cedric. Do you believe in the gods?”

Cedric wasn’t really interested in getting into some kind of religious debate, so he just answered flatly, “Yes.”

“Mmm hmm,” the man responded, contemplating Cedric’s response. “Cedric,” he continued. “What if I told you that the gods you believe walk among us?”

This man is crazy, Cedric thought to himself. “I’d wonder what proof you’d have to make such a bold claim,” he replied.

Stirring his drink, the man in black was silent for a moment. “What if I told you those gods weren’t the ones who created us, but rather the ones who want to destroy us?”

Cedric was unsure how to respond. He didn’t know whether to just get up and leave, or to entertain the thoughts of a mad man.

“And…” the man stated slowly. “What if I told you I’m not as crazy as you might think?”

Just as Cedric was going to object to the man’s statement, the man looked up from his drink and looked into Cedric’s eyes. Cedric was completely frozen, as he wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at. He had the facial expression of a dwarf, but even seated Cedric could tell this person was much taller than a dwarf.

But the most striking feature were the man’s eyes, glowing a bright red. What’s more, as the man moved, the space around him seemed to blur with his movements.

Cedric struggled to find words. “Who… what are you?” he asked.

The man smiled knowingly before concealing himself by looking back down into his drink. “Who I am is not important,” he responded. “What you do need to know is that I am one of the few watchers of this world, and I am delivering a dire message.”

“I’m listening,” Cedric replied.

“Time is running out on this world,” the man began. “We have learned that there may be no more than a day’s worth of time left before the power of godhood is bestowed upon our enemies. While we know little about how they are obtaining this power, we do know what their agenda is.”

Cedric questioned, “And what is their agenda?”

The man laughed to himself. “I hope you appreciate clichés, my friend.” The man took a swig of his drink, his glowing eyes and blurred skin making a brief appearance before he returned the glass to the table. “They wish to destroy the world.”

“Heh,” Cedric chuckled to himself. “You’re not the first doomsayer to grace these walls. What makes you different?”

The man replied dryly, “I’m sure you’ve noticed my eyes and skin.”

Cedric nodded, although he wasn’t sure the man could see him doing so.

“Those gods that walk this world?” the man continued after a brief pause. “I happen to be one of them.”

Cedric paused to contemplate the man’s statement. While there was something distinctly not normal about the man, surely he was no god. “And I am to take your word for this? What I’ve seen isn’t beyond apprentice-level illusionism.”

The man’s voice became raised. “You can choose to believe me, or you can choose not to believe me. Regardless, many of this world’s most adventurous people will be descending upon this very inn within the span of a few hours. They, too, have learned of the coming of this Doom’s Day, and they wish to do something about it.”

The man then removed his hood suddenly, revealing his full head for the first time. Cedric found it almost difficult to look at, but managed to look eye to eye with him.

“You can choose to be idle, or you can choose to help,” the man stated flatly.

Cedric eyed the man momentarily before deciding on his course of action. “I want proof of this… doomsday.”

The man shook his head. “I have nothing further to offer you, other than this adventure. If that, and saving this world from destruction, is not enough for you, then please, begone.” He pulled his hood back over his head, and resumed staring into his drink.

Cedric, unwilling to listen to the man’s ramblings further, stood up from the chair, pushing it back across the floor, making enough noise to let the man know he was leaving. He turned around and headed back toward the bar.

“Doom’s Day is indeed upon us, Cedric,” the man called out after him. “Either you can do nothing, or you can help save the world.”

Cedric stopped for a moment, thinking about the potential consequences of not responding.

“Or,” the man conceded with a smile in his voice, “you can die trying.”

Sighing, Cedric walked away from the mysterious man, intent on getting a better drink from the barkeep.