Narrative Engine
Write it like you stole it
JON INGOLD
Once upon a time, there was a traveller – a seasoned sort, if prone to anxiety, who journeyed regularly Illustration konsume.mefrom town to town, peddling little wares he kept stitched into the lining of his fine black coat. In a village so small it lacked a true name, and was only known to its residents as ‘Northerly’, he sold a diamond ring for such a flush of money that he determined to head to the city in the south to enjoy wine and other such delights as that port might offer.
Between the village and the sea was a wild forest, crisscrossed with paths cut by the villagers when they went to hunt or to visit the canny outcasts living within the trees. The people of Northerly warned him to travel fast. The city was a full day’s walk but after dark the forest was the domain of wolves. He took this warning deep into his heart, like a hot stone dropped into a mug of cold water.