"When a sandstorm happens in the El-Maroof, there is usually only one thing for those in its path to do: hunker down, huddle together, wait it out, and pray you're not blown away by the winds." - Alexyev Hassan, desert guide from the Elmaiya Empire

As per Dan's suggestion, the party didn't move their camp despite the stench, which their enchanted tents fortunately filtered out. The blood of those vampyrs would warn off others of its kind, he said, and thus if they camped in the middle of the carnage it would ensure an unbothered night.

Everyone other than Kino still judiciously scrubbed their weapons and themselves clean before they rested for the night though, as the stench of vampyr blood supposedly only gets worse with time. Sidonie and Ying Xiao took an especially long bath where they did whatever they could to get every last bit of the gunk out of their hairs.

What few wounds the girls had gotten, Dan had healed already, and as he said, they had an unbothered night, though they rose early the next day, a good hour before the run had risen, and hastily made their way out of the spot, only having a light breakfast while on the move.

The reason for their hasty departure became evident when the sun rose over the horizon, and plumes of smoke rose from the area where they had camped the night. The sunlight had found the vampyr corpses, and they were now combusting, splattering themselves all over. Cal swore she caught a slight whiff of their horrid stench even from afar, and just signaled the party to continue their trip.

Another four days passed before they left what was considered vampyr territory. During those four days they were attacked twice more during the night, which just resulted in lots of dead vampyrs and some furious scrubbing. The other nights when they were not attacked, they kept watch in shifts instead to be safe.

It was a day after they left vampyr territory behind, while they were resting after they had lunch, that they noticed the wind picking up speed, to the point of being audible inside their tents. Curious, they looked outside, only to see Dan - who had been outside since a while ago - already squinting at the horizon with a serious look.

"What's wrong?" Cal asked. The wind was now blowing harder, to the point that she had to exert some effort to stand stably.

"I'm afraid we might have a sandstorm in our way, madam," said Dan with evident worry in his face. "It'd be best if we hunker down until it passed us by."

"A sandstorm, huh?" Cal said with a growing frown on her face as she saw the darkening skies. The sandstorm itself was still a distance away from them, but would soon reach where they were at. "How do we hunker down for one?"

"Normally we'd evacuate to a cave if there was any nearby, which doesn't exist in our case. Otherwise we'd lay low on the sand in a huddle, holding onto each other so we do not get blown away by the storm," he replied to her question. "That said… I do believe you mentioned that your tent is enchanted? Mayhaps it could withstand the storm?"

"I… don't know, actually," admitted Cal. "I guess we'll find out together then."

The whole party gathered in Cal's tent, which was large enough to accommodate them all, if slightly cramped. The tent was made for five to live in it with comfort, but there were seven of them. Kino and Dan had already packed away their tents and joined them, while Cal was checking on the tent's enchantments in the meantime.

Before long the winds became far more violent in its intensity, the sound the gale made as it whipped past their tent, and the patter of sand as it impacted the fabric echoing aloud. Everyone inside had huddled into a tight cluster as Dan taught them in case the tent proved unable to handle the challenge.

They waited inside in darkness, as the sandstorm had cut off the sunlight entirely, listening to the billowing wind and scraping sands with some trepidation. A few times they worried about the tent when it looked as if the fabric was about to tear, at other times the wind picking up speed and almost pulling the entire tent aloft from its foundations, with only the enchanted stakes keeping it grounded.

Hours had passed before the storm outside slowly subsided. They party looked at each other, nodded, before Cal opened the flap that had been sealed all this while. Sand immediately rushed in and buried her beneath it before she could react, though she dug her way out moments later none the worse for wear.

The sand that poured in, along with the sliver of sunlight they could see at the top of the opening, showed them that the sandstorm had covered the area they camped in with fresh sand, nearly as tall as the tent they took shelter in.

They dug themselves out, Kino giving them a headstart when she just voided a good chunk of the sand right outside the entrance to give the others room to work with. It took them a good hour before they cleared enough to climb out of the sandy mess, though fortunately storing the tent back into Cal's storage after they got out was not met with any issues.

To the south, they could see the raging sandstorm, a pillar of brown against the horizon, where it kept moving, and would do so until it's rage had been spent. At moments like these, Cal felt the considerable expense of buying her tent - Aideen had suggested it to her, claiming it'd be the best option to get for her goals - was completely worth it.

"Madam Celeysria," Dan said from the side after he surveyed their surroundings. "You have to tell me where to buy a tent like yours. I want one."