Session 9
The Oasis
The Oasis
General Summary
On their way to the Oasis to deliver Salda's package, the party is forced to stop and take shelter as a sandstorm passes over them. Sheltering at a nearby ruin, the party decides to open some discarded urns they find - only to be assaulted by swarms of carnivorous beetles, as well as a giant scorpion. Boost being completely unaware of the nature of these insects is quickly overtaken by them, but with the party's help, they manage to defeat the pests together.
The storm passes shortly after, allowing them to finally arrive at the Oasis. Perched atop a towering mesa beyond the Empire's border zone, the Oasis stands as a lone beacon of indulgence, intrigue, and lawless commerce in the Wildlands. This casino bar and trade market serves as a neutral ground where warlords, rebels, mercenaries, and criminals converge to barter, broker, and bask in the spoils of the frontier. It is here that the party meets Salda's contact Halbrand and his accomplice Vexx Camoran. Together they chat with the party about how to remove their shackles and come to a mutually beneficial arrangement based on trust - they provide information on how the party may free themselves, and in return the party must help them get back their ship which has been impounded. They make the agreement and Halbrand provides them with three possible leads for removing their shackles:
The Menasari Nomads leader Nehvara is known to possess powerful soul magic, she would have the ability to remove the shackles if she can be convinced to do so.
A lone hermit living somewhere on Mastodon Ridge is said to know how to contact the Fey of Orpheus, who posses powerful magic. They have no love for the Empire and may remove the shackles if their allegiance can be won.
In Eastern Cantha just south of Magdamar is an Arena called the Crucible where indents battle to the death for sport. The grand prize is their freedom, provided they can defeat the grand champion.
The party thank their new friends and depart, discussing their options together outside of the casino. While there they decide to peruse some of the shops in the market area set up within the Oasis. They first arrive at Smitty's Sundries and Supplies, where they meet Smitty Jansen - a scrappy, silver-tongued goblin huckster who operates the shady but strangely popular stall. His wares range from valuable magitech to utter garbage, often indistinguishably mixed. The party purchase a continental map of Orpheus and continue to the next stall, where a Borg artificer runs a augmentation shop. The Borg's ocular enhancement allows him to clearly see Alucard's concealed and injured omni arms, in which he quotes Alucard a price to repair them. Moving onto the final stall is a familiar fortune teller, which Thane has encountered previously. Inside, the air is heavy with incense, a figure sits cross-legged at a cloth-covered table, a tarot deck spread like fractured prophecy. Their form shudders — not from movement, but instability. One moment, an old woman with weeping eyes; the next, a sharp-faced man with a cracked smile - then neither. The entity proceeds to read each player's fortune using the Tarot deck in front of them, drawing each of them a unique card and fortune. Once they are finished, each player is left with a copy of their card as the entity suddenly evaporates into smoke and dissipates into the night air.
