Damian followed behind the two men for a short while towards the knights camp, as they were walking he couldn't help but admire the scenery that surrounded him, the river which snaked through this wide plateau was as clear as glass, flawlessly reflecting the sky above as if its entire surface was one giant mirror designed to reflect the world itself. Looking underneath its surface however showed a different story, creatures of all types swam under its surface as the water never reached the base the river itself seemed to be endlessly bottomless which made Damian question how deep this feature really was.
The trees had long since broken away leaving a strange boundary between the plain and the river where only the untamed grass seemed to grow in this bustling center of life, the trees formed a wall of twisted dark shapes with vibrant leaves unlike Damian had ever seen before. The world had already lost most of its beauty by the time he was born and what little had remained had been eroded by the greed of the human race, never stopping for even a moment to consider the impacts their actions had on the greater world around them.
If it wasn't for the monstrous creatures lurking in these fantastical woods this was the type of place he would like to live some day, away from the polluted cities and artificial goods, a place where only he and his loved ones could access where they would be sheltered away from everything else, he knew that he had to survive this trial, no matter the cost.
Soon enough pale silhouettes started to appear across the horizon as something Damian wasn't expected came into view, to call this place a camp was by far an understatement in fact he would be remiss if he didn't call it the startings of a small village, with rudimentary houses built from wood mud and stone, the ground was trampled in from the bustling activity of the camp's population. There had to be close to a hundred people all carrying out various menial tasks around the camp, some making use of their aspects, others of useful memories and others by use of skills they had brought with them it was truly impressive.
The man adorned like a night lead the haggard man through the streets which was accompanied with dozens of welcoming smiles towards the tall man and his revolting companion, Damian looked over all the people making their way through the town careful not to disturb anyone's work as he made his way through he couldn't help but notice one detail which made him all the more embarrassed. Everyone here was wearing clothes! No matter where he looked not a single person was left bare in this place, all the clothes were made from different materials, some were formed from hides which had been finely prepared, some from bark and leaves yet all of them look like they had been created by a master of the craft, and judging by their admiring stares he had a feeling about who was responsible.
Looking around he saw people from all walks of life, he recognised these people in a sense as they were once his enemies years back, his country had thought a war which had taken on most of the world and even though it had officially ended in ceasefire which lead into peace no one was fooled by what it meant for the future. There was one oddity he noticed and that was the fact that most of these survivors…these sleepers as they had started to call themselves all seemed relatively young, with only one or two seemingly close to age in Damian himself, most of them seemed to be in their late teens to early twenties which came at a bit of a surprise. Most of the older generations were far more seasoned fighters than the younger generations due to their participation in the war so the lack of them here came as quite the shock.
He watched the people gather together and break apart as he watched silently from the sides, he had hoped to see his companion making a fool of himself in front of these crowds and yet he was nowhere to be seen,a cold feeling clawed at his chest as he imagined the worst but despite that he still held onto his hope that his…friend was alive, he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the young man's presence.
He watched as the knight brought the man with death burned into his very eyes into a small open cottage, there were hides of various creatures and piles of other materials placed outside neatly waiting for their turn to turn into useful equipment for the camp. Damian wasted no time and headed back into the woods, he felt it would look weird if a half naked man suddenly appeared in the middle of camp, not only might he catch a few strange looks he may also startle a few people to the point of them attacking first and asking questions later.
After he went into the tree line a little bit he made himself visible once again, the chilling air seemed to nip at his skin a bit more ferociously as if it finally acknowledged his presence upon the world, he had some suspicions that his abilities had more to show than he had originally thought but with no way of reliably testing them he simply walked into the light of the plateau. The people around the edge of camp took some time to notice his approach but soon enough a group of sleepers made their way towards him, brandishing a mix of memories and hand made weapons and armour.
Damian quickly raised his hands before he spoke,
"I mean no harm, simply a wandering sleeper looking for shelter, is it alright if I join you in your rather impressive camp."
The guards approached with a mix of caution and relief before lowering their weapons,
"Absolutely, you'll probably want to see the mechanic first to get yourself better covered, he just led another straggler into the big hut just over there, I'll take you there."
The young man waited for Damian to draw closer before marching forward, the poor soul was probably barely even eighteen if even that, for someone so young to be dragged into this…Dream Realm as the spell called it…it was a fate no one deserved let alone the youth of tomorrow. Soon enough they had arrived at the place he saw the knight drag the other man to not long before. The young guard knocked on the door and they patiently waited for a few moments until an imposing figure opened the door.
The man was about the same height as Damian, and built much the same way too, but instead of bare skin and a crude leaf covering the man was endorsed with a suit of brilliant plate armour which shimmered with a blue and silver hue in the light of the day. The lower half of his face was covered in a thick strip of cloth, his brilliantly white hair trailed down his back reaching just past his shoulders which contrasted against his ebony skin. His eyes glowed with a brilliant pale yellow with captivating golden pupils staring at them both.
There was an awkward pause as no one said a word until Damian finally spoke up,
"Hey there…good sir this kind gentleman had guided me to here as I just arrived a few minutes ago, should I come inside or is now a bad time?"
Imitating the way his friend spoke made him feel like he was still by his side, even if it was just by proxy, after a few more seconds the titan of a man gestured with his head for Damian to follow inside which he quickly obliged leaving the young guard to resume his duties. The space was rather cramped with no walls separating the differing sections of the room, on part of it was filled with various supplies all seemingly being dedicated to the creation of new tools and equipment for the camp, another section was rather sparse with only a lone blazier built from pristine stone with a fire burning and the smells of incense lingering in the air, and the final section was the center which was occupied with a large table with a crudely drawn map covering its surface.
On the side with all the clutter two men stood, one was holding as still as he could as the other seemingly measured him with a piece of vine in order to take his measurements, covering his private sections with only his hands as the overly serious knight was hard at work.
The shorter man had seemingly never stopped talking even after all of this…,
"....and then I told her, she could have me when she had enough to pay me, and she still ran away, I swear you can never find good cheap… "
Turning to face Damian his smile expanded as he quickly glanced down and back up before speaking,
"It's not what it looks like, I swear, he made me do this, I promise you!"
As he said this every head turned to the young man with looks which could be best described as homicidal all around.
The man's face was going red from holding in his laughter before he burst out laughing causing the knight to take a step back and let the man finish, his outburst,
"What! Not a single laugh out of any of ya? How come I'm the only one around here with a good sense of humour I swear…."
This…this was going to be a very long day.