MS told us in the preface to read the BODS 1st, to see if we could unlock any of its secrets - he thought we would enjoy the story more if we did so.

So why doesn't the narrator in the Prologue and the Forest Creatures / Dragonfly in Ch. 1 know that according to the BODS they are stuck in the cave because of a Spell??

A simple clue that that spell is important perhaps?