I walked quickly towards the pillars, hearing the sound of battle long before I could see anything. But running around in this heat would kill me much quicker.

'Those stone pillars don't look natural. Were they man-made?' The thought came unbidden and I pushed it away as I crested the last dune and stopped to get a good look at the battlefield before me.

The stone pillars belonged to a giant, half-buried building. At one entrance, a pack of overly large jackals swiped their claws over stones and broken pottery, trying to break through. From time to time, a sword pushed through the cracks in an attempt to wound the jackals. Behind the pack was a lamia, counting the remaining arrows in her quiver and waiting; probably for the jackals to get rid of the barrier.

"This doesn't look as dangerous as you said, Polly. A single lamia? Seriously? My camels could trample her."

"It's not just her, it's a whole tribe!" whispered Polly, moving a wing towards the shadows behind the pillars.

I strained my eyes and indeed, there was at least one other lamia hidden in the shadows. I couldn't make out any others. But a whole tribe was an entirely different matter than a single one. Which begged the question: Why had they attacked the caravan?

Lamia belonged to the broader category of the beastpeople and they were not keen on fighting others. As far as I knew, they kept their distance to other races and lived in ancient ruins, their bodies and culture perfectly adapted to live in the desert.

"Why would they attack a caravan?"

"Please don't meddle," begged Polly. "I will behave myself with your next possible employer. I will keep my beak shut, even if it is the most unworthy person in the world! But please, don't meddle!"

"I swore an oath, Polly. What person would I be, if I broke it?" I hoisted my spear onto my shoulder in a non-threatening gesture and walked towards the mess.

"Greetings! May the dunes shift in your favor and the stars lead your path," I shouted as I got nearer.

The lamia turned towards me with an arrow on her bow, though she hadn't shot yet. Good. I raised my hands to shoulder height, showing that I only had my spear and no intention of fighting. Her bow lowered slightly.

"What do you want, human?" hissed the lamia over the racket of her jackal pack.

"I wish to speak with you and your tribe. My teacher taught me that lamia are a peaceful race. What did these people do to deserve your wrath?"

The bow went up again.

"I do not wish to fight you, but I will, if you leave me no choice." I was all for solving this peacefully, if there was a chance. My eyes turned hard and the grip around my spear tightened. "Your tribe will incur great losses to kill me."

"Why should I believe you, human?" she had gotten the warning, I could see it in her wary eyes. My eyes flickered to the shadows of the columns. Being closer, I could see five more of them, hidden in the shadows and looking for all the world like they were statues.

"Because I didn't attack you immediately?" I cocked my head. Wasn't that reason enough?

"Let him speak, child," said a crackling voice. I would've liked to turn around and see who it belonged to, but my eyes stayed on the immediate threat: the arrow pointing at me.

"But!" The lamia with the bow hesitated.

"Let him listen!" thundered the voice again, demanding absolute obedience. The lamia lowered her bow with a pout.

I took a few steps back, to keep her in my vision, before I turned to this new voice. An mature lamia stood atop the buried ruins. Many bracelets adorned her arms and she wore at least three necklaces. A bow was in her hands, too, though empty of an arrow. But I had no doubt that she could have one flying at me within the blink of an eye. She looked like the person in charge.

The younger lamia hissed something and the jackals stopped scratching at the stones, but they remained on edge.

"You wish to know of our wrath, youngling. May I ask why?" The older lamia slithered down from her vantage point.

"I swore an oath to protect those in need. When I found the remains of the caravan, I thought to protect them. Now seeing a peaceful race attack them, I simply wish to confirm this."

"Protect the weak? A noble endeavor. Yet most would've assumed themselves right, instead of asking." She slithered a circle around me before stopping in front of me. "Though not always is asking the right choice." She stopped, musing about something.

"Mother..." whined the younger lamia, but was silenced with a wave of a hand.

"These people stole our most prized treasures: a freshly hatched clutch of younglings. We tracked them down, we attacked them and we cornered them." Her eyes turned hard and unforgiving. "And once we've cracked their burrow open, we'll kill them for trespassing on our lands and for stealing our hatchlings. Now tell me, young lizard, how do you judge?"

'Ah. If only I had never stumbled over those remains...' I looked at her, at the younger lamia, their hidden tribesmen and the entrenched caravan, guarded by a pack of jackals. 'I could fight for the humans and get myself killed. I could also pick the lamia's side and help them rescue their children, thus killing the humans. Or I walk away. The humans will definitely die and the lamia children will probably die as well.'

"I told you to stay away," whined Polly from my shoulder. I rubbed the butt of my spear against my shin, staring at the situation and thinking hard on what to do.

"It can't be a native, right?" I heard myself muse aloud. "No native would hunt lamia, or anyone else. They would know about the ancient laws of the desert."

"Don't do it!" hissed Polly, but I ignored her and looked questioningly at the two lamia.

"Indeed, they all smell of the greenlands beyond the mountains. Though I saw a native with them before their raid, he wasn't there when we caught up to them," the older lamia answered with a glint in her eyes.

"If your children are returned to you safely, will you refrain from killing these people?"

"How dare you!" cried the younger lamia angrily, but was silenced once more by her mother.

"If they are returned to us before sunset, then yes."

"Mother!"

"We will keep the sands of our homeland unblemished by blood, if our hatchlings are returned to us before sunset," said the older lamia with a voice that didn't allow for objections.

I took her oath for what it was. A promise of slaughter and I would be a participant. On which side, I was still not clear.

A series of hisses brought the jackals to heel, crowding around the pair of lamia, but still glaring at the barricaded entrance.

I walked up to the entrance with heavy steps. The sun was high in the sky, ruthlessly beating down on us - well, me. The lamia were adapted to the heat and the insides of half-buried buildings were always colder than a desert day.

"Greetings, travelers," I said from beside the entrance. No way would I stand directly in front, where they could skewer me with a sword. "Would you mind speaking with me for a few minutes?"

It was silent for a moment, then: "Finally! Someone willing to talk!"

"Don't listen to those beasts! They'll bewitch us!" screeched someone else in utter panic.

"Shut your damn mouth!" shouted a third, much deeper voice.

"Darid, just ignore him! We'll tell the Guild what happened and hope they'll recompense us. And we'll make damn sure this keelson is blacklisted!" quipped a high-pitched voice, probably a woman.

The squabbling continued several minutes, the people talking over each other and shouting, making it impossible to decipher anything. Though I assumed it to be 6 people. More, if someone had refrained from joining the shouting match.

Maybe I should set up my tent to get at least some shade while waiting. Tugging at my keffiyeh, I decided against it. It wouldn't offer much respite anyway, since I would only trap the heat under the canvas.

"Silence!" roared the first voice finally. "If you all don't shut down this instant, so the Lithic Golem help me, I'll kill you all personally and damn be the consequences!"

It was followed by chuckling and a panicked gasp. Then merciful silence.

I took a gulp from my waterskin. The sun was too hot for this, and she had crossed her zenith at last.

"Sorry for that. My name is Darid. I would come out to greet you, but I'm not sure if you lot won't kill me," said the first voice.

"Greetings, Darid. I'm called Drake. I can assure you that the lamia have agreed to a truce until sunset. Depending on our negotiations, this may change."

"A truce? Just like... that? Who- wait a moment, please." Stones and pottery shards were removed from the blockage, revealing the light brown face of a 30 year old man. He had colorless hair and blue eyes, similar to that last employer I had spoken to in Karvia. Though instead of round and pudgy, this man had the build and aura of a warrior. He glanced at me, then at the two lamia waiting further away. "Indeed, they are not shooting at me. How did you do that? Wait, you're not a lamia, you're a human. Why-"

"Could we cut the questions to a minimum, please? If we do not come to terms before sunset, the lamia will kill you," I interrupted the stream of questions.