Game Designer & Writer

I heard coin hit the counter. I slid over to the man who had placed them.

“One. Dark as you got,” he said.

“Got it.”

I grabbed the nozzle and an empty mug and started to fill. As I did the man struck up a conversation, which I had to listen to. One of the many unwritten jobs of bar-tending.

“Thanks man. I’m going through some mental hurdles right now, just need something to take the edge off.”

“Care to talk about it?”

“Eh, why not...”

Before he could continue I heard the sound of coin hitting the counter far off on the other side of the bar.

“Excuse me one second,” I said, sliding away. Another man was there dressed in full armor with a large hole in the chestplate.

“Tea if you could,” he said. “Green.”

“Got it.” I grabbed some hot water and an empty mug while sliding back to the first man. As I put the tea leaves in the water he noticed my presence again.

“Well, I’ll try to keep it short then, seems you may be busy,” the man said.

“It’s no problem.”

“Fair enough. Recently, I have been having second thoughts about my life’s trajectory. I ran away from my family at fifteen to join a street gang.”

“And you think it was wrong?”

“Yea, kind of. But it was eleven years ago. I was young and, quite frankly, dumb. I didn’t think about the position I left the two of them in.”

I excused myself for a moment. The tea was ready. As I went back over to the armored man, another story began.

“You seem like a good kid. Can I get some advice on something?” he asked.

“Sure why not.”

“Well, some backstory is needed. When I was young I lost my father to an accident and my older brother shortly after. My mother was too old to work so I had to. Over the years I somehow found myself in the ranks of the militia.”

I heard coin hit the counter. The first man had dropped them. I excused myself and slid over.

“Refill,” he said.

I nodded and grabbed the mug.

“Anyway, I ran around with the gang for quite some time. We just did petty things, thefts, fights, the lot of it. I even met and married a girl there.”

“Do you regret it?”

“Yea, I do. I wish I could have stayed with my family. But…” He turned to the side. There was a hand that was signaling me.

“You had better get that.”

I slid back down.

“You guys got honey?” the man asked. I nodded and grabbed some.

“So, while I was in the militia, I heard rumors about a notorious gang that had recently upped its danger level, and it was being led by a woman. I was tasked to go and find her. When I did, I found another surprise.”

“What kind?”

“There was another man there, someone I recognized. Upon the woman’s command he stabbed me in the chest. Thankfully it wasn’t lethal, but I was in no condition to continue my service. I lost my job. Shortly after, I received a letter to meet and talk from the man that stabbed me. Should I go?”

“Meet to talk with the man that stabbed you?” I asked. “Let me think about it.”

“Think quick if you could. The meeting’s in ten minutes.”

I excused myself and slipped back to the other man who had just slid his empty mug to me.

“Where was I? Oh, yes. I had built a new family with the gang. I can’t just leave them. I don’t know what to do. Recently I did something that I deeply regret, but it was to protect my wife. I’m trying to remedy it. It got me thinking about what I really believe in. ”

I thought about it for a second and excused myself.

“You should go,” I said.

The armored man put his head in his hands. He let out a deep breath before standing up.

“You know what? I think I will. Thanks for listening.” He walked out of the bar. I returned to the other man who was now mumbling to himself.

“Oh, you’re back. What do you think?” he asked.

“I think that you need to ask yourself what you really want. Once you know that, you have to go for it. If you’re having second thoughts, maybe you should listen to them.”

There was a pause.

“Thanks. That makes me feel better,” he said while standing up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, there's someone that I must be meeting shortly. Best of luck to you.”