Finally, the pair was ready to depart. What August had ingested had not reacted in any obvious way yet, so they supposed that any changes would occur over time. It was likely that it acted like modern medicine, slowly changing his internal chemistry instead of providing immediate results. From what Damon had seen from the scavengers before, it should reinforce August's natural defenses, the stones covering his body, over time.
They hoped they wouldn't need anything like that — they had no desire to fight anything and had no confidence in winning against anything but the most docile creatures — but they did want to experiment, and it was always better to be safe than sorry. It was still a risk, but it was safe enough. They would only interfere if it reacted unexpectedly and seemed detrimental to August's chances of survival.
They had created a pyre of burning bodies after stripping them of their belongings. They weren't afraid of running out of oxygen due to the sheer size of the cave, but they did want to leave as soon as possible so that there was no risk.
In the way of apparel that they wanted him to don before departure, the situation was hopeless. He was approximately 220 cm (~7'3") and over 140 kilograms (~310 lb). The selection of what fit him was almost null. He had woken up in a loincloth and hadn't changed since, but that wouldn't suit his needs if he would be interacting with other people. Most species here were smaller than him, so he couldn't take anything from them, and many of his species wore nothing.
His body's previous owner had likely come prepared for battle, but he still wore nearly nothing. They likely relied on their natural defenses most of the time instead of wearing armor.
They wanted August to wear ordinary clothes so that travel would be easier, but that wasn't an option. They also wanted enough clothing to obscure August's face and most of his body. His body still bore wounds that the previous owner had suffered, and although he was better than before, August still looked nearly dead. He was alive, but many people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him and many of the corpses nearby.
They couldn't greet people with August looking like he barely managed to snatch his life back from the hands of the reaper, so they needed something to obscure it. There was only one available option.
Near where August had found Damon lay yet another body that had Damon's matching sheath. Covering the body was a set of armor, the glamor of which outshone anything else in this hell. It had been made from the same material that Damon was. It was a black metal with ruby inlays. There were no other clues as to what it was aside from that, but it was wonderfully crafted, as far as they could tell.
The breastplate was a single solid piece. There were no evident weak points that they could see. The joints were covered with a heavy chainmail-esque creation that was made of the same metal. It resembled chainmail, but the rings were so small that it couldn't rightly be called chainmail; it nearly resembled a fabric. It was layered multiple times, so a strike from most weapons would likely be rendered useless.
The armor was composed of a single solid piece wherever the designer could make it into one. The pauldrons were designed to be connected to the arms, and when the arms were lifted above the head, part of the pauldron would slide into the shoulder near the neck, allowing for a full range of movement. It was like this that the armor was ingeniously designed so that it offered both outstanding defense and maneuverability.
Engravings covered the armor and spread across its entirety. It was intricately carved in such a way that it flowed across all portions of the armor and created a single piece of art. The depth of its ferocity made them think that it wasn't just a suit of armor that had been created by a blacksmith. They knew that it had been made by some other method, perhaps by molding, perhaps by casting metal over something while it still lived, or some other method that captured the details of reality, instead of approximating a mortal's imagination. To expect any artist to make something of this caliber was unfair.
Almost all bare metal was covered in carved scales of varying sizes. The scales on the chest were particularly large, while any scales that neared joints were smaller. If it were alive, this layout of scales might have allowed it greater maneuverability, but it served no functional purpose now.
Sharp ridges rose a few inches above its surface. They were not as sharp as they likely had once been, but they could still serve as knives.
If an alligator's jaw were brutally smashed in and forced to meet the same dimensions as a human's head, then it could be said to resemble an alligator's skull. Sharp teeth lined a wide and horrible jaw that didn't open; behind it was just more metal. Unlike reptiles, horns slithered out of the top before turning down and curved along the periphery of the head's crown before ending just above the eyes.
There were small blemishes that signified past strikes on the armor. Some of the scales had been chipped before, proving that it was not completely invincible.
Only the stilettos hanging from the corpse's eyes signified a weakness. It offered near-perfect protection, outstanding maneuverability, and was the most valuable equipment present, Damon excluded, but it still did not suit their needs.
There were three practical faults: its heat, its weight, and how imposing it looked. Neither the heat nor the weight would be kind to August as they traveled. Granted, he didn't have to wear it as they traveled, but they didn't have any way to transport it, either. It wouldn't fit in any of the bags nearby, and there were no sleds. Besides, it would be harder to navigate a cave with a sled than it would be if he were simply wearing it.
Unfortunately, while it would cover all of August's body — which was done so that they could communicate without unintentionally threatening others — it might cause yet another rift to appear between them and others. If that rift were wider than death remained to be seen.
They decided that taking it would likely be worth the risk, but it was not for a reason listed above.
They had examined the battlefield extensively, and they came to an unfortunate conclusion: August's species was the target of the other army's aggression. In the places where they could accurately identify who had fought whom, they found that every single fight had been between one of August's species and a foreign species. The elves, beastmen, humans, and such were never found fighting one another, and August's species was never found fighting itself. So, the two armies had been August's species and a myriad of others.
Because they were seeking a civilization that August hadn't belonged to before, they would almost certainly be either discriminated against or attacked. When there was a war, suspicion and tensions ran rampant. It would not be surprising if any humans they found attacked them on sight. So, they had to cover up his entire body, and this was the only apparel that allowed them to cover his entire body.