Dark Perception check 18

 Steve accepts some bugs and water, volunteering to take which ever watch has not been taken yet. 

Mara will take last watch once she is fully rested.

Perception: 14

If Rumble feels it, he pays it no mind until Darnell mutters something. And even then, he just raises a confused brow for a moment, only to shrug off the matter without a second thought. "God Birds... Metal Men that ain't like me... And now a desert... You know Darnell. Not sure I've said this before or not, but... This has been one mess of a first adventure." 

Thursday will join Mara on last watch after a good rest.

Perception: 7

The group decides to take watches during this time of rest...

During the first watch, there is a very light rumbling in the rocky ground for about 10 seconds, but it subsides.

During the second watch, off in the distance it appears that a sandstorm is brewing. It fortunately doesn't appear to be headed towards the group, but it is something to keep an eye out for.

During the third watch, there is a startling moment where an upshoot of sand blasts from not too far away, almost like a geyser. These blasts continue for a half-dozen times, a couple of minutes between each of them.

During the final watch, there is a screeching noise, which awakens everyone. As they look out from their covered shelter, they see the enormous sandy-coloured bird (the one that took Grundam, for those who knew him) as it seems to fly high in the sky, going along a path perpendicular to the direction of the city.

Beyond that, the sun appears to have stayed static in the sky, never moving and never relenting. The rest of the times appear to be quiet, no monsters attacking.

The group can benefit from a long rest. You may remove a level of exhaustion as you have had enough rest and there is enough food and water to eat for another couple of days.

Killian awakens startled at the noise from the bird. He raises to his his feet and sees the others peering out from under the tent up at the sky, quickly looking for dark to be sure hes not in any danger, after assesing that everyone is acounted for. With the sun still high in the sky not sure how long he was asleep for as nothing to gauge time with. "How long was I asleep for? Is that the same bird that took your friend Thursday?" He walks clear of the tent to try and get a better look at the bird and its direction of flight. 

Thursday sitting with her knees to her chest, “As far as I can tell, yes.”

Rumble lets out a sigh of relief, and slides his bone club back into his belt. "Quite a while there, in all honesty Mr. Killian. Saw no reason to wake ya once it seemed as if we'd be staying here for awhile. Didn't miss much, though I'd advocate us taking back off sooner than later 'fore that rumbling in the ground makes another pass through the area." He states mysteriously as he started gathering things together.

"Think there's any chances of running into more new arrivals like us at the city?" He asks in passing. 

"I honestly thought we were the only ones here in this predicament, but after running into these two," gesturing at Thursday and Steve "I'm not so sure now. Maybe we will see others like the gnomes, the halflings, the old lady, the fellas we just met with their wolf. Seems like everyone here has been in this situation but has found how to make a home of this place as shitty as that sounds."  Killian helps Rumble gather the supplies and take down the makeshift tent. "Everyone got their things in order..... if so..." Taking a look around at the maze of walls "which way do ya'll suppose we head?"

Mara finishes her watch and quickly eats her meal and then prepeares for their next day of travel. She nods to the others as they wake up and go about their business. The first thing that she will do is make sure that her Mage Armor is up once more, feeling safer as the invocation does it's job.

Dark says “I am not much of a fan of this place.  I would like to keep going forward to the town.  We need to be where we can rest somewhat safely.  We will run out of food pretty soon also.”

Darnell rubs his eyes as he sits up from his resting position on the ground. He eats his portion of the meal quickly and without comment, watching the gigantic bird as it flies away.

“I would sooner choose death than to make this place my home.”

We don't really have cardinal directions, but I guess to make things easier, if the town on the horizon is to the North, the giant sandy coloured bird is flying from West to East.

Waiting a few moments for the giant bird to fly a little further away, the group begins to pack up their belongings. Hallens and Gretta have kept quiet throughout the whole of this scenario, both looking petrified, and uncomfortable as this is probably their first time outside of the floor below. The makeshift shelter, made from the old clothes and other bits, can be stowed away into the chest that the two elves carry so it will be quicker to setup in the future.

The sun is still blazing overhead, as if it is always noon here...

Leojym nods at Thursday's statement, "I agree, and have no wish to die either. That only leaves escape as an option." 

He moves over to Killian, Rumble and Dark talking, "I suppose it is possible that there are more like us. As far as we know there may be no native beings to this plane, only the taken and the offspring of the taken. By Angharradh's grace I hope that means there are others as well-meaning as the group we have found ourselves in, but survival can bring out the worst in people. Regardless of this town's composition, I agree we should press on toward it. I see no other choice except heading there, since this desert is too hostel to stay in for long." He squints toward the sky and scans across the horizon, "The heat must be effecting me, I cannot remember in what direction the town lay."

(Oh, everyone gains 150 XP, so feel free to add that to your characters.)

(And to think, if we managed to defeat that last group AND those mysterious wind trap, we probably could've leveled up like crazy. :P)

Rumble is strangely quiet on the subject of dying in the plane this time around. "Don't you worry none. I and Mr. Dark there still got it firmly in mind. So between the two of us, we should get there fine. But, uhm, let's say fer the sake of less confusion, the town is towards our north." He nods to himself and puff out his chest in pride. "But ya know, I got to thinking after waking up and consider'n the time before? Ya think each of these like... zones, I guess, are all in different states of time?" He asks from the front of the group.

 "That very well could be but it could also be that each floor or level of this place are a different enviroment. It is more then likely that as we travel onward we may run into some kind of winter or sea level at some point. This is something we should consider and prepare for in time. As it is now I do not think it would be wise to let our minds travel farther then how to survive and what dangers we may face,"  Mara said as she looked to the others, keeping in step as they walked. 

"Interesting. Well, what else have you guys encountered? All we saw was a jail floor, slid down a pipe and ended in a desert."