"In Ograd, mercenaries gather like wolves out for blood, their fortunes rising and falling with each expedition into the endless frost. The bars of Ograd buzz with ambitious expedition leaders, veteran pathfinders and scarred mercenaries, drinking liquid courage and plotting routes across the Land of Glass and to the Dead Cities beyond, where untold treasures can be found in the vast cavernous facilities beneath them, waiting to be claimed by those brave and foolish enough to venture deep enough to find them. When the expedition is assembled and marches out of the relative safety of Ograd, the veterans among them know that half of them won't return – but that's exactly the gamble that’s built this city of wolves and dreamers, as the survivors will simply get a better cut."
Kasimir Volkov, Mercenary Captain,
Day 19 of The Dead Moon, 124 A
Standing on the precipice between the relative safety of the mud lands and the frozen horrors of the FROST, Ograd has earned its reputation as the City of Mercenaries.
The streets of the brutalist concrete city are crowded with many market places. Cold weather gear, weapons, ammunitions, food supplies - everything can be found here - for a price!
Ograd is an important hub in the network of Prime's convoys that criss-cross the continent.
Land-trains loaded with fresh new clones arrive from Bakuya in the south-east, before carrying on towards Kœnuga in the west. When they return, they will be loaded with precious metals from the mines of Kiruna or weapons from the forges of Praga.
Ograd is the staging ground for many expeditions into the frozen north and the Land of Glass. As those willing to go into these uncharted regions often need more firepower, the city has become a melting pot for those that are willing to sell their services for such a dangerous endeavour. Over time, Ograd has thus become known as the city of mercenaries.
After a successful expedition, survivors sell their goods on the markets of Ograd.
Prices vary, depending on the rarity and quality of technology recovered from the Dead Cities.
In the bars and taverns of Ograd, the ambitious leaders of expeditions, pathfinders from the Cartographers Guild and hardened mercenaries come together to plan their next ventures.
Before going out on the next expedition, mercenaries will often spend a large part of their profits on better weapons - or at least weapons in a better condition than their current ones.
On any given day, expeditions can be found preparing in the streets of Ograd. While some smaller expeditions prefer to go out on foot to keep a lower profile, larger operations use one or more vehicles, loaded to the brim with supplies and ammunition.
Having finished all preparations, an expedition sets off into the eternal frost beyond the city...