Part One -- Amy Lilly

It's very dark outside, Amy Lilly thought as she stared thoughtfully out her window. It was an unusual thought for her. Normally her mind wandered over the bend in her spine caused by lifting and carrying, or the painful twist in her neck caused by leaning over her lap. Sometimes she even dwelled on the furious burning of her deep brown eyes, or the sores on her long nibble fingers that the candle caused when she worked into the night.1

Amy Lilly did not normally ponder the wheather, and rarely raised her almond eyes to gaze out of the high glass window of her attic. There was no point when she had bread to earn, and coin to save. But now she stopped her mending, and paused her weaving, and stood before the curtained glass staring out over the top of the heavy drapes at the graying sky.2

It's very dark outside, Amy Lilly thought again, and her fingers gripped her brown rag dress she wore for working. Slowly the hem climbed over her ankles, freeing her feet so she could climb over the piles of boxes before the window and throw back the heavy green curtains to look out. Hanhock field stretched away under her window, it's silver white spanse broken only by the now cleared road that crossed it falling away over hills toward Rockbottom City. Winter had come to the field, and the house where Amy Lilly lived like an unwanted guest, and Lord Bee was already having the right side of Hanhock cleared for late planting. The snow looked deep and3

the forest of Dreary sprung up at it's edge carving it's sticky fingers into the sky. Everything outside was silence, except for the sharp hum that had begun to fill the air and make Amy Lilly's hair stand on end.4

Yes, it was very dark outside....and something was very wrong.5

With a long sigh, Amy Lilly turned from the window leaving it open to the faint sun, and moved about her room with prupous. She packed a small bag, put on her good boots, and climbed down the back stair out into the gray day. Once outside Amy Lilly headed off and a strong march across Hanhock without a glance back at the home and the attic she'd once called, all that was left behind was some coin to cover the rent and a letter telling the family of Hanhock manor that they could have whatever they found in her room, and sell whatever they thought was valuable.6

And with that, Amy Lilly vanished into the forest of Dreary