Iniduoh Prison

Background

Long ago the Atluvean army conquered the many smaller kingdoms of the southern continent and established what is today known as the Atluvean Empire. Maintaining control over an entire continent was no easy task and the empire soon turned to harsh methods to preserve stability. It took barely a generation for tyranny and oppression to become part of the fabric of society in the empire. Laws in the Atluvean Empire are strictly enforced and the punishment for most lawbreaker is imprisonment. Unfortunately, not all of the enemies of the empire can be confined to a normal prison, so a specialized escape-proof one was designed to hold high-value prisoners.

Iniduoh Prison was carved out of a large mass of basalt found floating within the negative energy plane. The remoteness of the location and the hazardous nature of the plane itself pleased the prison’s architect. The prison was constructed quickly at great cost in both resources spent and lives lost while building it. A single permanent portal was established to the material plane, severely limiting any chance of escape by prisoners. The entire prison was put under an unhallow spell to mask it from the undead that wander the plane, and to provide a death ward effect to keep the prisoners alive enough to serve their sentences. A legion of stone golems was created to serve as the primary guards for the prison since they are highly resistant to the effects of the negative energy plane.

Inhabitants

The top levels of Iniduoh Prison contain both the offices and living quarters for the moderately sized staff that maintains the prison. The prison warden is a craggy-faced half-orc who does not stand for nonsense and works hard to bring prestige to his station. He is the only one with the authority to open and close the portal to the material plane and he operates it on a strict timetable. A small contingent of wizards is kept on site to support the golem guards, make repairs to the prison and defend it from outside assaults. Very few of the wizards are here by choice, most of them are working at the prison in order to avoid incarnation themselves.

Anyone sent to Iniduoh Prison is considered valuable to the empire in some way. They wish to keep the prisoners out of the way, but also on hand until they can find a use for them. The empire does not wish them dead and in fact, goes to great pains to keep prisoners alive. There are currently three particularly noteworthy prisoners being kept under close watch.
Eglem is the chief of a primitive tribe in the northern reaches of the empire. His tribe has been attacking trade caravans and the empire hopes to use him as a bargaining chip to end the raids.
Higart is a member of a powerful noble family who has been publicly expressing doubts about the current emperor. The empire can’t execute him without risking his family rising up in rebellion so Higart was charged with tax evasion and given a long sentence.
Indenh has become a folk hero among the downtrodden citizens of the empire by managing to escape from every prison she has been sent to. The empire wants to avoid turning her into a martyr and hopes the bleakness of Iniduoh Prison will finally break her spirit.

The lower levels of Iniduoh Prison house the more exotic and dangerous prisoners and enemies of the state. The empire tried to harness the powers of Eldorwes the Mouse Lord for their own benefit but found her intractable. If she is ever killed or manages to escape she will be able to rally every rodent against the empire.
Delenfor is a cold rider who was imprisoned because he refused to divulge the message he was charged with delivering. Delenfor passes his time in a stoic silence, confident that he can outlast his jailors in with his cold patience.
Yagsoom is a mighty glass wyrm whose name is still invoked to frighten children throughout the empire. His hoard holds many rare treasures that the empire wishes to acquire. Like all dragons, Yagsoom is very stubborn and the empire has not been able to pry the location of his hoard out of him.

Recent Events

A new cell is being prepared on the very bottom floor of Iniduoh Prison. The door and the walls are being coated in adamantine and a permanent antimagic field is being set up. Unlike the other cells in the prison, this one is being built for total isolation. The identity of the new prisoner is being kept under tight wraps in order to preserve other security measures being installed. Rumors and speculation have been flying back among the prisoners about who they are, and what they did to deserve this heightened level of security.

Prison sentries have reported unexpected activity in the far-flung reaches of the negative energy plane. A wave of wraiths is massing on the horizon and is moving closer to the prison with each passing day. Worse yet, the wave appears to be the work of a nightwave pushing the undead out and away from it as it heads directly for the prison. Iniduoh Prison is far from defenseless and has fought off sceaduinar swarms and lone devourers. But they have never dealt with anything as powerful as a nightwave and there is talk of evacuating the prisoners before it reaches them.

Drag & Drop Encounter (CR 12)

Shouting and threats erupt from one of the cellblocks as Eglem the tribal chieftain and Indenh are having a heated argument in the middle of the hallway. The details are hard to make out, but Eglem seems to be accusing Indenh of stealing from him. Half a dozen other prisoners are watching from the sidelines, egging them both on hoping to start a riot. In the noise and confusion, someone throws a piece of garbage and that’s all it takes to set fists to flying. As the sounds of the brawl echo down the hallway, two golem guards approach with slow ponderous steps to end the fighting and round everyone up from the scene.



About Michael Vail-Steele

Michael has been playing RPGs regularly since 2012. In addition to RPGs he's also a fan of puns and bad movies. He hopes you will enjoy these trips through his imagination, and asks you to please wipe your feet.

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