Once Damian reentered the camp the mood shifted as the amount of shards he had gathered meant that the majority of the people here could become at least a tiny bit stronger themselves, one after another the shards were passed around the group as the weaker members got their fill, Jest was staring at Damian with a strange expression written over his face yet said nothing as he broke the shard against his chest.
As this wave of power surged through them the mood lightened as they all felt just a little bit more comfortable, knowing that their odds for survival had increased and that their hard fought battle had produced a great harvest for them, some even spoke up about wanting to continue onward with their invasion but this idea was quickly shot down by their leader who insisted they stay until the next morning in order to avoid the moon at all costs.
After a bit of debate on the topic the sleepers finally managed to be convinced about lying low for now as they readied themselves for the days to come, meanwhile Damian once again took up his position as lookout and scout as he peered out to watch over Bastion before them. This time however he was not alone, sitting by his side his long term companion Jasper was there concentrating on something as his bird was nowhere to be seen.
Jasper had talked to Damian about the strange nature of his echo before and how it made their newest companion an invaluable tool for scouting, since it seemed echoes did not have their energy constantly drained by the powers of the [Devourer's Sight] it simply meant that they shared each other's senses. Allowing for Jasper to send Jackie flying over an area to get an aerial view of their surroundings.
Using a piece of broken bone as a pen with crushed up flowers and a little bit of monster blood for ink Jasper was drawing a map on a tanned piece of hide which their leader had managed to create on short notice, of the area from above as Damian filled in the finer details from what he could see himself, their goal was to create a map of the area to plan a route through in order to reach the main keep as quickly as possible.
Of course in between their discussions about the details of the map they held far more mundane conversations, of course they had already discussed plenty of these topics before on their travels but it was nice to talk about the things they once did back in their own world, it made them feel connected to it even if they were somewhere they had no idea how to leave. However the conversation soon took a course once Jasper asked,
"So….how many?"
Damian looked at the young man with a hint of curiosity in his eyes as he spoke,
"How many of what? That doesn't really connect with…."
"You know what I mean, even though it was brief that time you used that memory of yours to connect us left a lingering impression on me you know, a desire to grow stronger no matter the cost, to ascend to higher and higher levels of power until I no longer can. It was strong at first but over time it had become muted yet it's never faded completely. So I want to know how strong you have become."
'AH'
Damian was stunned by the sudden seriousness of Jasper's tone, the young man was always so lively and full of energy that it was hard to remember this side of him, Damian had known that there were….side effects from being linked by the broken chain to another person, the lingering doubts and cowardice despite wanting to grow stronger to protect others he had felt from time to time had been a sign of that.
By becoming linked to Jasper they had their innermost desires laid bare, melding together and leaving a permanent scar on both of their souls, Damian had sometimes wondered what part of him had been infused into Jasper and it just so happened to be his worst quality.
Looking down at the younger man he spoke quietly,
"One hundred and thirty two, that's where I'm at currently. You?"
Jasper whispered a curse as he spoke,
"One hundred and twenty eight. I was so sure I was ahead of you this time, damn it."
Laughing softly and quietly Damian looked out into the ruins of the once mighty Bastion with wonder in his eyes, this place was like a feast for a man like him, he could break away from these others and silently hunt these creatures until his soul was fully saturated, what would happen then he did not know but he felt like it would be worth the trouble in the end.
Despite this desire his need to protect those around him was what was keeping him at bay, he had always worked best as part of a team after all, protecting others from a distance and doing his part in ensuring their survival. Yet something about this place called to him, he didn't know why but it felt like a voice was calling out, as if to lure him further into its depths.
Sudden Jasper lurched as his eyes went wide and his breath went ragged as he looked up at Damian,
"This is bad, im looking over one of the next defensive walls we would need to cross and…. there's too many of them."
Damian crouched down and put a hand on the young man's shoulder,
"Jasper focus, too many of what?"
Jasper simply looked up at him with horror etched into every crevice,
"Undead, there had to be at least a hundred of them all gathered in a single place and that's not even counting the Mirror hounds by their sides and more beasts we have yet to encounter so far. They seem to be preparing a defensive line further inside along the path. They know we are coming, I'm sure of it, they have blocked off the only way I can see into the main keep…what is that….."
Jasper's expression was twisting in such a deep fear that it made many of the other sleepers turn to him with expressions of confusion with a slight panic starting to settle across their faces, to the point that Jest who was once laying with his back to the floor was now upright seemingly unsure of how to tame the emotions of the sleepers any longer.
In his mind he was elsewhere, Jasper wasn't in the temporary sanctuary they had found for the time being, instead he was perched high on a defensive wall overlooking one of the innermost circles of this great castle. Halfway between them and the main keep where the dragon roosted with its back facing against the Wall which separated the city from the Mirror like lake stood an undead army.
Its forces consisted primarily of the Bastion Sentinels they had faced before possessing all forms of distinct weaponry, yet they were not the only threats, undead manning ancient siege weapons stood by the ready for when they drew to close and an uncountable number of beasts ran throughout the formation of all shapes and sizes.
Yet they all paled in comparison to the creature in the center of the formation, its body was twice the size of any of the other undead, covered from head to two in beautifully engraved plate armour which wave crafted from polished steel which emanated a slight purple sheen to its surface, unlike its army its body was robust and filled with life, with powerful muscles wrapped tightly underneath translucent skin, its eyes shone with a fierce darkness as it raised its spear high, pointing directly at Jackie, as the noise of the siege weaponry moving echoed through the streets, ready to attack at a moments notice.