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Welcome to the Parched Throat Tavern. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, you notice a couple of fellow guests sitting at the bar. Your nose rebels at the strong scent of fermented beverages after your long journey in the stale desert while your dry throat cries out for a liquid rescue. Your eyes are drawn to the bar keep who is engaged in a loud conversation with his guests that is often interrupted by his booming laughter. He is strangely well built for someone of his profession and is missing one arm. You guess that he's an ex-soldier. When you sit at the bar, he introduces himself as Marduk and asks what you would like to drink. You ask for a mug of Bor Brew and he lets out a boisterous laugh and points to a slate on the wall that has a chalk list scribbled on it. It reads:
Marduk's Rules
You sullenly request a glass of chai-cheer and listen as Marduk continues his conversation with the other guests. Their conversation wanders from tales of Lone Wolf and the Kai to mutual friends and finally to other places that they've travelled. You may join the conversation.
You notice an exceptionally clean table in the corner of the room that has been closed off with velvet ropes. You ask Marduk about the table and he explains that, occasionally, the Great Sage Joe Dever pays the Oasis a visit. That table is held in reserve for him when he visits. Never able to resist telling a good story, Marduk offers to tell you some of the things that he has learned from Joe Dever.
There is a stairway leading upstairs. Above the doorway hangs a sign that is labelled in Marduk's distinctive scrawl:
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