TGOF | MW [✔]

02.

Once night had fallen and he could hear the sounds of revelry out toward the village center, he stood with a soft groan of pain, put his pack on his shoulders, grabbed the small glow globe that cast the tent in its soft light, and crept out of his tent. Wonwoo made his way around the edges of the village, to one of the few real buildings among the tents. This was the place where food was stored.

He cracked open the back door to see that it was dark and empty inside. Wonwoo opened the creaking door only as far as he had to in order to enter. He held out the small glowing sphere that cast light like a rainbow-sheened bubble. The glow globes were one of the most valuable creations of the mages, along with firesticks. He quickly found a small sack of roughly hewn burlap and set his glow globe on the shelf as he grabbed things frantically shoving them into the bag. Before a full minute had passed, he was pushing his way out of the storage building.

Wonwoo continued his trek around the outskirts of the village, now making his way to the area where the mages lived. He knew that they would all be in the center of things while dinner was served, given how the mages liked to show off their skills and get appreciation from the villagers. It was a reminder to them that the mages were the ones who kept them stocked with the magical conveniences that made their lives easier.

Wonwoo set his pack on the ground beneath a tree and put the sack of food inside before he crept with his small glow globe into the forbidden area of the camp. His steps were light and quick, skirting the larger mud puddles. He found the main tent where the mages gathered for spellcasting and summoning. He peeked inside to see that it was well lit, but thankfully empty.

Wonwoo cast a look around before stepping inside and rushing to the main table in the center of the room. There on the table was a large book, ornately made and written in a scribe's elegant hand. He pulled the book to him and flipped through it frantically, reading titles for spells and names for gods that could be summoned. His heart was racing and his stomach queasy as he searched, sweaty palms flicking through page after page until finally, he read the large text at the top of a page.

'Summoning the Fertility god'.

Wonwoo looked to see that it was two pages long. He grabbed the top edge of the pages and ripped them from the book. He flipped back some pages to try to disguise the fact that the pages had been stolen. Wonwoo looked down at the pages in his shaking hands and read quickly through the necessary ingredients that he would need to summon the God of Fertility.

His eyes darted around and he grabbed a leather satchel off a nearby shelf and stepped over to another shelf lined with many bottles and little baskets of dried herbs all neatly tied with string. He located the things he'd need quickly and shoved them into the satchel. Some of the ingredients he would have to find on his own, and that was fine. Wonwoo took a wickedly sharp-looking knife off the shelf in front of him and as he walked to the exit, he saw a tall pot full of firestarters and grabbed one of those as well, before peeking out the entrance to the mage's tent and seeing the coast was clear, he ran.

Running hurt, his side and stomach were excruciating, but he didn't stop. Wonwoo found the tree where he'd left his things and grabbed the pack, tying the firestarter to the outside with some of the leather straps made just for this and he set off.

Wonwoo ran into the forest with no particular idea where he was going. He just had to get as far from the village as possible before it was discovered what he'd done. He'd stolen from the mages, and once it was realized they would be on the hunt for him. So he ran until he couldn't anymore, as his side and gut ached too much and then he walked. He followed the river northward.

The forest was dark and quiet, the only light coming from the glow globe in his hand and the moon and stars above. Wonwoo walked and when he felt up to it, he ran. But he didn't stop moving, no matter how tired he got, no matter how much his injuries ached, he continued. His pack felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and his legs felt like they were made of lead, but he pushed himself forward until the pink light of dawn peeked over the trees. Wonwoo knew that if he was going to be successful in his attempt, then he had to summon the God of Fertility today. He didn't have the time to waste. They could already be after him.