A fortified caravanserai stands at the oasis along the trade route between Tyr and Urik. This roadside inn is a preferred stop for many house merchants and dune traders. Its faded, worn walls have greeted travelers for more than a century with flickering lanterns lit just after nightfall, snippets of exotic song, and the clamor of excited trade.
Silver Spring Oasis is a great walled square, with the central courtyard open to the elements. The inner wall of the courtyard is riddled with doors that lead to sleeping chambers, a common room, food stores, stables, and vaults where dune traders can safeguard their merchandise. The courtyard also contains the eponymous “Silver Spring,” a central well that yields cloudy, foul-tasting water. (Whoever named the well apparently did so a long time ago, when the water was fresh, or the name might be a joke.) Still, the water is safe for people and mounts to drink, and when properly filtered, it becomes suitable for the famous “silver baths” that only the wealthiest traders can afford. Carts and stalls of minor merchants fill the courtyard around the well.
The proprietors are a tribe of elves called the Silver Hands. Unlike others of their kind, the elves are not nomadic herders or raiders; they have run Silver Spring Oasis for several generations. The current leader of the tribe and head of the caravanserai is Chief Toramund, who greets all newcomers, settles all conflicts, and oversees orderly trade. Those who violate the inn’s primary rule (do not steal from another visitor) are ejected through the gate without their trade items, belongings, or clothing.