The storehouses were empty, the farms were deconstructed, all of the water barrels and jugs were filled to the brim, and the focus of work had switched from taking care of things necessary to leave, to tasks that were nice to have completed but not essential. Primarily that meant washing. While the tents carried around had their own flooring, the rugs and other coverings that made them comfortable still accumulated large amounts of sand and dust as the nomads travelled around the desert. While a few families gambled on dunking their rugs just long enough to evaporate the dirt but not the rug, most of the women and children were busy hauling buckets of water out and splashing them over the rugs currently being worked on, before scrubbing vigorously to work out sand that was stuck until the next bucket of water arrived.

What could have been a boring task had picked up a festive atmosphere as the unusual chore had slowly evolved into a game. Without having to worry about conserving water no one minded the occasional splash or spill, and as the day grew hotter those accidents began to be anticipated, even engineered. At that point it was simply a matter of time before an ongoing water fight broke out. The grandmothers exercised their authority just enough to keep everyone working, but buckets of water were tossed onto the rug with the scrubbers kneeling in the line of fire, and handfuls of dirty water were picked up and flicked back in retaliation.

While the tomfoolery was a pleasant distraction from work, it was also a distraction from the revelations that were hanging over the heads of the nomads.

The Oasis did not like Zar Bloodwake.

That much had been made especially clear, even confirmed by the Oasis further expanding in response when pressed on the issue. What worried the nomads was why. It had taken this long for the Oasis to convey the target of its displeasure, and Ahten was due back any day now with Zar and anyone he hired. The complex issue of why would take far longer to tease out than that short timeframe, and the leaders of the tribe were forced to make decisions based on their best guesses guided by half legible drawings and their own impressions of the man.

The most common consensus was that Zar was the sort of person to plan a betrayal of one type or another, and the Oasis somehow managed to judge his character and pass a warning along. The problem was that there was only so much that the nomads could do with that warning. They had already received a large amount of treasure as payment for the Oasis, and it would have been easy for them to simply pack up and leave before Zar returned, without Ahten present the tribe would have to split up into smaller groups that the Pathfinders in training could manage, but it would be easy enough to arrange to regroup at another city or settlement where they could wait for Ahten to finish acting as Zar’s Pathfinder.

It was a good idea in theory, but had a major flaw that meant it failed to gather any significant support. If Zar was the sort of immoral man that was worth fleeing the Oasis to avoid, then he was also the sort of person who wouldn’t hesitate to kill if his scheme was foiled. Pathfinder Ahten was an unwitting hostage, and as long as he was close enough to Zar to be in danger Ade refused to leave. A few of the adults tried to convince him otherwise, arguing that there wasn’t really any harm to be had, but Elder Gomer quickly put a stop to that.

“If Zar is not the threat the Oasis fears, then the outcomes are good if we stay or if we leave early. If Zar is an oathbreaker and a betrayer, then stay or leave he is in a position to harm our tribe. I for one am not willing to make a choice that sacrifices anyone for the good of all.”

While the nomads valued both individual and collective strength they despised arrogance. Any individual trying to survive out in the sands would eventually run afoul of some monster or hazard they were unable to handle. It was only by working together and covering for each other’s weaknesses that the nomads were able to live in the Sands. Every member of the tribe had value in one form or another, and to imply that one person had less value than another was mildly taboo. By framing the decision as he had Elder Gomer shut down the option of leaving before it could gather any momentum.

Fighting had also been discussed. Ade still wasn’t sure if the Oasis was warning them that Zar wanted to fight, or if it wanted them ready to fight, or if the weapons it drew had merely been part of its attempt to identify Zar. No one was, and even the nomads who firmly believed that Zar was going to betray them weren’t about to suggest a pre-emptive fight. Having weapons on hand and positioning everyone to keep the women and children safe was an easy adjustment to push for. Attacking others in cold blood was a much harder task to ask the relatively innocent tribesmen to do.

The threat was muddied by the sterling reputation that Zar had in the city of Luxor. The Elders had only been there a short period of time, but everything they had heard about the man had painted him as an excellent silver rank adventurer who went out of his way to help smaller communities struggling with monsters. He didn’t get drunk, didn’t involve himself in bar fights, and while everyone admitted that he might seem bloodthirsty at times, including his choice of appellation, he actually hadn’t done anything deserving of censure.

Zar’s aggressive negotiations served as a small counterpoint, given the heavy undertone of threat present. The implication that Zar could defeat half the guards was dissected and weighed in context as either an innocent comparison of strength or a blatant threat backed by pointing out the inability of the nomads to stop him from simply taking what he wanted. It was galling to admit, but the mercenary adventurer had a point. The tribe had never put an emphasis on fighting monsters. The sheer variety and strength of the beasts and magical beings present in the Sands made that a losing proposition in the long term. It was a high risk, high reward endeavor that paid off for individuals who managed to survive. Avoiding said monsters was a far safer strategy, and one the tribe’s Pathfinders were happy to help accomplish. From constantly working to stay on the edges of the Sands to having a willingness to turn around and head elsewhere if danger was spotted ahead the nomads managed to stay alive in an environment that killed half of all novice adventurers in their first year. The only downside was that the fighters in the tribe weren’t as strong as they could have been were they constantly challenging themselves against monsters.

Still even if Zar likely could defeat half the fighters in the tribe in a fair fight, that didn’t mean he was looking for one, or that the nomads were obligated to give him such a fight if hostilities did occur. In the precautionary strategy talks that had taken place, the name of the game was disengaging. From making sure that there were multiple paths leading from the Oasis out into the Sands that were free of obstructions, to arming every member of the tribe with a weapon, even one as simple as a sling, those with a martial bent did their best to arrange the theoretical battlefield as much in their favor as they could. Zar might be able to take on fifteen or sixteen guards by himself, but thirty guards backed up by another fifty or sixty individuals all throwing stones or sling bullets was a different equation entirely.

That wasn’t to say that the guards were idle or content with their current level of skill. The presence of a potential threat to the tribe motivated them to push harder than ever before during their training, and the magic of the Oasis combined with the short walls that Ramses had conjured meant that the guards’ defensive duties were relaxed, giving them plenty of time to practice. Some skills and capabilities only came to light during actual combat, be it against monsters or men, but that didn’t stop the fighters from pushing to improve their physical capabilities or participating in practice spars to familiarize themselves with armed combat. The monsters in the sands had a certain animal cunning, but it couldn’t compare to actual intelligence guiding the actions of an opponent. Holes in defenses or overly aggressive attacks were quickly taken advantage of, even if erasing their presence from habit would take longer than the guards had.

Twelve days after Zar and Pathfinder Ahten had left, the watchmen spotted travelers approaching from the Sands.