A crowd of seven men followed her, flanked her on either side as she moved through the Island Oasis. Some wore business suits while other preferred a more casual, lighter style of clothing popular in Anarab. Her shoes clicked against the black obsidian floor tiles, imported from the landscape around the Shilendel volcano. Though the volcano itself was extinct now, the rock found there was superb, glossy and black. Where there was no carpet in the hotel, these tiles lay supreme and were kept perfectly waxed so that anyone looking down could almost see their reflection on the floor. It was just another element of the hotel that made it one of the top resort spots for those in this world, but, that wasn’t important now. Selling the entire package was the most important thing. Tile wouldn’t win over these business men, but perhaps her hospitality could.

“As you can see, we keep the Oasis upkept quite nicely. The bottom of the pool itself is natural shale and has been molded so that there are no sharp edges. There’s also a constantly running filtration system that keeps the water as fresh as you see it now.” Sydney smiled as she turned to the group of men, the slow appearance of white teeth against her darkened skin doing her usually serious demeanor justice. They were on the ground floor of the Oasis, the gigantic man-made desert lake stretching out in front of them. Palm trees lined the opposite bank, as well as a few huts that were usually filled with drink vendors, all of it protected from the harsh sun that Anarab usually suffered through. Realistic lighting, however, topped off the sixteen foot ceiling sufficiently, making it as bright as the summer sun without so much of the heat. Climate controlled rooms were a godsend in this place and as cool air rushed through the building, appreciation showed on the faces of each of the men. “So, feel free to sit and deliberate, we’ve set some chairs up ahead of time and the bar tender will be arriving soon. He’ll tend to any of your other needs. Have him send for me when you are all finished, please.”

Sydney walked from the hotel’s signature desert Oasis pool area and threaded her way back through the first floor. It wasn’t that she necessarily needed another opportunity to gain money from the businesses of Anarab, it was that she wanted it. She wanted to know if these men had any intentions of one day rising against the Collection. By inviting them to stay in her hotel on a long term basis, in any of the suites they so chose, she was inviting them to let her listen to their conversations in search of the single words of a rebellion starting. Each of the rooms in the Oasis was bugged, nifty little contraptions that allowed her to listen in on any conversations had in the building. In her penthouse, she used very little space for actually living, and a lot more for surveillance. With a soft sigh, she smoothed her hair down delicately and entered the lobby of the hotel just in time to see a man collapse onto the floor. A surprised look crossed her face and her pace picked up slightly as she approached him, glancing around for the flighty teenage girl that worked the front desk. “Giselle?” She questioned, almost uncertainly as she stood over the fallen body.

The owner nudge the prone body with the toe of her heeled shoe, hoping that he wasn’t dead or something unfortunate like that. Kneeling down carefully, the black stone tile was cold against her knees as she shook the man by the shoulder, almost frantically. Sydney murmured aloud as she shook him, “Won’t this look swell in the morning? Island Oasis Hotel kills man during Business Deliberations. You should really wake up, this is potentially bad for business you know? Giselle! Giselle?” The girl came skittering in, looking flushed and a bit peeved at the woman but she disregarded her feelings immediately. There were more important things at hand and the receptionist had abandoned her post, things such as this didn’t sit well with Sydney Raye in the least. “Go and fetch cold water please. And perhaps a vial of smelling salts.” As the girl hurried away, blushing and muttering softly, then returned shortly thereafter, Sydney hefted the man’s head into her lap and unscrewed the top off of the small crystal bottle. Waving it beneath his nose, she waited for the fumes to have their destined effect and wake him back up. Hopefully before the bar tender appeared and requested her appearance in the Oasis.