The Northern Road

Oliver lay sprawled out on a blanket covering the cold stone floor of a room in the Bone Lord's castle. fatigue had settled into his bones after another day teetering between curiosity and outright panic. The dim light from the eerie green flames flickered across the ancient stone walls, casting ghostly shadows that danced with each flicker. Beside him, Lilith paced, her eyes wide and darting, like a rabbit trapped in a cage. She rubbed her hands together nervously, muttering under her breath.

"Are you all right?" Oliver asked, turning his head toward her, genuinely concerned. Despite her usual confidence and teasing ways, she looked utterly rattled.

Lilith stopped abruptly, meeting his gaze with a forced smile. "Of course I am! Totally fine. Just a bit…uh, chilly, maybe?" She laughed, but it came out strangled, the sort of sound one makes when they’re about to break.

She suddenly looked at him with a strange intensity and took a deep breath. “You know,” she began, tugging at the fabric of her cute dark satin dress, “maybe…maybe you’d feel better if I just—”

With a sweeping, exaggerated motion, Lilith began pulling at her dress, one shoulder slipping off awkwardly. But her hand jerked mid-motion, and the dress snagged on something, ripping with a loud, unfortunate sound. Her face flushed crimson, and she let out a horrified gasp as her tangled dress fell half off, leaving her stumbling backward. Oliver instinctively averted his eyes, but not before he caught a glimpse of Lilith standing there, tangled in her own outfit, looking about two seconds away from bursting into tears.

“Oh no, no, no, no! I’m such an idiot,” Lilith whispered, voice cracking. She tried to tug the fabric back into place, her fingers fumbling, only managing to make things worse. “I—I just wanted to make you feel better, but I’m useless, aren’t I?” Her voice quivered, and then she burst into tears, sinking to her knees and wrapping her arms around herself.

“Hey, hey,” Oliver said softly, inching over to her, careful not to startle her. He gently draped his jacket over her shoulders, shielding her. “It’s okay, Lilith. Really. You don’t need to—uh, I mean, you’re fine just as you are.”

She sniffled, her shoulders shaking, but she managed to smile a wobbly smile. “You’re just being nice.”

Oliver hesitated, then gave her an awkward pat on the back. “No, I mean it. I know you’re going through a lot too. We’re both in over our heads here.” He helped her up and guided her to the nearby cot, covering her up with a thick woolen blanket he found draped over a chair.

Lilith’s eyes were puffy, her face still streaked with tears. She huddled under the blanket, glancing up at him like a child seeking comfort. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I brought you into this mess. I never thought about what would happen…I just wanted to show you off.”

Oliver sat down beside the cot, leaning back against the cold stone wall. He looked up at the ceiling, the ancient carvings and runes etched into it casting eerie shadows across the room. After a long silence, he spoke. “Lilith, do you know who we’re supposed to meet up north? Anything about…whatever’s out there waiting for us?”

Lilith sighed, tucking herself deeper into the blanket. “Not really. Politics bore me to death, honestly. I only know that once we reach the stone arch, the road past there is forbidden. I never paid much attention to why.”

“Forbidden, huh?” Oliver muttered, tracing invisible patterns on the stone floor. “Sounds about right for this place.”

After another long pause, Oliver turned back to her, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Can you tell me what a Wicker Maiden is? Like the one we met earlier?”

“Oh, the Wicker Maidens,” Lilith whispered, her tone growing distant. “They’re not like the beings you met here. They’re…wild things. They live in the Tortured Forests, way up north. Unpredictable, ungovernable. They’re known as Ashwalkers because they move silently, like smoke through the trees.” She swallowed hard, her voice dropping lower. “They wrap up their prey, pierce them with sharp vines, and drain them. You’re very lucky to be alive, Oliver. They’re merciless.”

Oliver blinked but did not respond. Kallen did not come across that way. She was rough and her vines were prickly, but he felt like she was saving him from the forest that had come alive.

“I’m…sorry, you know. For dragging you into this. If you hadn’t met me, maybe you’d be safe somewhere. Normal. I’ve ruined your life.” She gave a small, hiccupping sob. “I don’t know how to fix it. I just want to make it better somehow. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you—”

“Lilith,” Oliver interrupted, his voice gentle but firm. “You don’t owe me anything. Yeah, how we started out was a little wild. I have always been fascinated with things I didn’t understand so my own curiosity got me into this. I think we’ve both been thrown into this madness, and there’s no way out but forward.”

Boy, he sounded a lot braver than he felt. She gave him a weak smile, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I didn’t realize I had such a sweet trophy.”

Oliver chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Feeling better I take it.”

They sat together in silence for a while, the room filled with the occasional sound of Lilith’s sniffles. Gradually, her breathing slowed, and she drifted into a restless sleep, still clutching the edge of his jacket. Oliver stayed beside her, staring at the ceiling as thoughts of the north, the Ashwalkers, and the dark forests filled his mind.

Eventually, sleep crept up on him as well, and he sank into it, exhaustion finally taking its toll.

---

The next thing Oliver knew, he was being shaken roughly. He cracked open his eyes to see a grizzled gargoyle towering over him, its stony face unreadable. “Get up, human,” it growled, tugging at his arm. “Time to leave.”

Oliver stumbled to his feet, blinking away the remnants of sleep. The room was filled with the faint brighter moonlight filtering through the high windows, casting long, eerie shadows across the stone floor. He noticed Lilith standing by the door, her back straight, a determined look on her face. She was already dressed, in an outfit of overalls with tough material and a dark cloak draped over her shoulders. Lilith was much more prepared this time.

“Ready?” she asked, her voice steady, though a flicker of uncertainty lingered in her eyes. “I he breakfast in my bag.”

Oliver gave her a faint smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

They followed the gargoyle out of the castle, stepping into the chill air. Oliver did not know how but he was sure time past. The world felt a bit different, the ground was more damp and moonlight cleaner and more crisp. The path before them stretched into the mist, leading toward the Northern Road and whatever awaited them beyond the stone arch. Oliver glanced at Lilith, taking in her determined expression. He could see that beneath her brave facade, she was still afraid. But then again, so was he.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself for what lay ahead. The northern road beckoned, dark and uncertain, and though fear twisted in his gut, a strange sense of anticipation stirred within him. He didn’t know what awaited them beyond the misty path, but he knew one thing for certain: there was no turning back now.