Sure, the locals call the place “Rubenden’s Oasis”, but the most notable element about this desert sanctuary (beyond the availability of water) are the defences the town uses… a small fleet of hovering iron “golems” that patrol the dunes to a range of about three miles around the oasis proper. Each “golem” is a hovering unit consisting of an ovoid body about 6-7 feet across with a set of 6 to 8 metal “tentacles” that hang beneath it that are adept at digging through sand, immobilizing, and even killing targets.

The town around the oasis is relatively small and well-off. Most people living in Rubenden’s Oasis are either owners or retired from large mercantile interests and they pay for the small group of wizards who maintain the golems to recruit and train new wizards to keep the golems operational. The original creator of the golems built them around 700 years ago, but the chain of custody and maintenance has been unbroken since, with every new group of wizards having access to the original creator’s texts and methods.

In fact, the real prize for someone eying the oasis isn’t the rich booty of multiple merchant houses, but the means to make and control these golems.

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