Hilor in Crusader's Camp?

Yeah, I embarrassingly shed tears over this. I have never played a game where I have to drink alcohol while playing just to smooth out my white-hot frustration. Here's my question:

The game threw me from the Tavern area to the "Crusader's Camp" area. Unfortunately, I cannot find Hilor or anyone to make a custom character in the Crusader's Camp area. The game will not allow me to go back to the Tavern where I was. I am also finding that the enemies have skulls near their name/icon which suggests that they are too high level. The frustrating thing is I can't find a way to grind levels. I'm just incredibly frustrated and I just don't understand what exactly the game wants of me. The enemies are harder now that I have a mythic level which doesn't make much sense if you think about it. I just don't understand what I am doing wrong - in the previous iteration of the series, I had my own kingdom and was running shit, here, I am 25 hours in and I'm playing hopscotch at a camp with a queen who is marching into battle as if she was Queen Boudica herself. If anyone can tell me where I can find Hilor, I would be so appreciative.