The Enchanted Forest

At the edge of the village, where the last stone wall gives way to ancient trees, the Forest begins.

It is older than the Hollow itself. No one remembers when the first path was worn beneath its branches, and no map has ever managed to capture all that lies within. The woods have a habit of keeping their own secrets.

Sunlight filters gently through the canopy, painting shifting patterns upon the forest floor. A clear stream winds quietly between moss-covered stones, carrying stories from places no one has yet discovered. Birds fill the morning with song, while foxes, deer, badgers, and countless smaller creatures go quietly about their lives, seldom disturbed.

The villagers speak of the Forest with affection rather than fear. It is where children gather blackberries in late summer, where herbalists search for rare plants beneath the ferns, and where many have found a little peace after wandering its winding paths.

Some say that if you walk slowly enough, the Forest begins to reveal itself in ways it never does to those in a hurry.

Whether that is true or simply another Hollow tale is for you to discover.

Most villagers will tell you there are perfectly ordinary things living among the trees. Foxes. Owls. Deer. The occasional badger with very little interest in being sociable.

Most villagers will also tell you not to believe everything the villagers tell you.

There have always been stories about other things in the Forest. Strange tracks found where no familiar animal has walked. Unusual calls heard from somewhere beyond the paths. Small lights moving quietly between the trees when no one ought to be there carrying a lantern.

For a very long time, they were simply stories.

Then an old book was found in the library.

Within its weathered pages are drawings and observations of creatures that don't appear in any ordinary book of woodland wildlife. Some are familiar from stories told around the Hollow for generations. Others seem to have been forgotten entirely.

It has come to be known as The Enchanted Field Guide of Leswyck Hollow.

And since its discovery, the villagers have begun looking at the Forest a little differently.

Some of the creatures have names. Others appear only briefly within the old pages. No one knows how many of them might still be out there.

Curiously, pieces of the old Field Guide have also begun finding their way beyond the Hollow, tucked amongst the Monthly Mail that leaves the village each month.

Perhaps you have already heard of the Lantern Fox.

Perhaps you haven't.

Either way, should you wander beneath the trees after dusk and notice a small golden light moving quietly through the Forest...

It is probably best to remember where you left the path.