Nighttime at the Smiling Date oasis came, and a small group of strong-willed men and women meet. They mingled for awhile before danger fell upon them, in the form of a troupe of Orcish raiders.

Soveliss the Elf started off combat at long range, firing an arrow square into the chest of an approaching Orc. Prince Aidan, Warrior of Heironeous, charged forward on his mighty War Camel, stomping down another of the Orcs, splitting another from stem to stern upon his lance. Fang, Sandshark, snuck around to the other side of the oasis, where another crop of Orcs was approaching. After blinding one with his Light of the Earth, he, Soveliss, and Melody the Gnome Mandolinist dispatched the remaining Orcs, killing four and incapacitating the remaining three.

Buttercup, Beloved of Pelor, revived Grog-Nak, the leader of the Orcish raiders, and began to question him. He directed her toward the cave where he and his raiders were given their task to retrieve a gold-filigreed box. He indicated that the raiders goal was to scare the merchants off with a display of arms, rather than to kill any. A quick interrogation of the merchant whose caravan was transporting the box revealed that the Sultan Greysceal and nobles Frank and Grend personally entrusted him with the delivery of the box.

The intrepid adventurers brought Grog-Nak, and his remaining allies Wershog and Farenk, with them on their quest. They first made their way to the caves, where they learned that the differentiating medallion that the Orcs contact at the next oasis would be wearing. They also learned that the 'cowled man' who gave the Orcs their task had simply 'appeared' in their storeroom and disappeared just as quickly. Presumably, he was unafraid of the Orcs, feeling he could make his way out if need be.

Following the encounter with the Orcs, the party of adventurers encountered a few of the denizens of the Shabib Wastelands. They tiptoed their way around a trapdoor spider of prodigious size. A few hours later, a mated pair of Ashworms approached them. A ghostly sound distracted one of the Ashworms, leaving them to fight the first alone. The party made their way to a rocky outcropping, retarding the Ashworm's progress. They dispatched it, Prince Aidan suffering poison from the beast's stinger in the process. Half a minute later, the other moved forward, toward the party. They dispatched it, with further damage to Soveliss. Buttercup healed the wounds of Prince Aidan and Soveliss, and sucked out the poison from their wounds, allowing them to overcome the rest of the it.

After a day's rest, the party made their way to the Resting Jackal Oasis, where the majority of the party separated from the Orcs, who were given the box to deliver to their contact. Fang followed the Orcs, making sure they made their way to the oasis, then departed to seek out a common group of Asherati, finding them hawking salted meat and dried fruit.

Buttercup made herself incredibly welcome offering her services as a healer, discovering in the process that a cactus farmer (Old Man Henry) had been driven off his land by a group of Bhukka. After earning Henry's trust by healing his son Jed's injuries, she learned that the Bhukka are resentful of the Sultan for some reason, and that they dislike traders peddling their wares to the Sultanate.

Meanwhile, Melody and Prince Aidan started at the bar tent run by Dwarf Mergold the Mad. They discovered from him that the man with the gold medallion is a regular visitor to the oasis, and that many of the passersthrough owe him a favor or two, and that he is the leading officer of favor-asking in the area. They were also directed to the common tent as the place to spend the night, and the Asherati booth as the place to purchase foodstuffs.

The party's goals are now split --- do they follow the gold medallioned stranger? Do they investigate the Bhukka? Do they investigate Prince Aidan's connections with the Sultanate?