Penal Camp Mid-Level Security 3
Description
Penal Camp Mid-Level Security 3, or Peca M3 for short, is located about two days south of Midtal, on the western side of the Tal River. The complex lays about 200 meters from the river, enclosed by two barbed wire fences with a path between them. Guard towers are present at the corners and guards with dogs patrol the perimeter. At the west end of the camp is the main building, this contains administration, storage, the commissary, and houses the guards. Intake of new prisoners is done here.
At the center of the camp is the communal building that houses a shrine to Ulaa, a small theater (seats 80), a library, the central guard post and guard tower at the top. Radiating out from this building to the edge of the camp are eight inmate zones, all separated by a path with barbed wire fences on either side. Each zone contains two wooden barracks that each house twelve prisoners. Between those is a yard and built towards the back fence are two more wooden building; a laundry building and a kitchen plus mess hall.
At the river stands the brickfield where the inmates are put to work. Clay is gathered from near the river and then brought to washmills where prisoners push a centrally pivoted beam with rakes to break up the clay and turn it into a slurry. Chalk and ash is added and the slurry is then deposited into square washbacks. From there it is put through a pugmill, then molded into bricks, and finally stored and dried for five weeks. After that time it is collected and brought to a kiln to be fired.
Intake
The prisoners are brought into the administration building to a holding area. From there they are taken one by one by two guards to another room where they are to disrobe and then given blue coveralls and work boots, everything comes in three sizes so it’s usually too large or too small for any individual inmate. Next, they are gathered again, now in a larger room. A sergeant is waiting and observing the new arrivals, she’s middle-aged, short, has a pug nose and short, dark hair.
When everyone is there, she addresses them. “I am Sergeant Rabb, but as you are civilians you will address me as Boss, is that clear?” “Yes boss,” Neske immediately answers, followed by the others, except Odrik. “This is how you will address all guards,” the sergeant clarifies. “Has anyone here been in a penal camp before?” she asks. Neske raises her hand. “Which one?” the sergeant asks. “Peca M14,” is the answer. “Ah,” she says, “well, you’ll find we run a much tighter ship here.”
“I am responsible for barracks 7 and 8, which is where you will be housed. Over there is Corporal Winter who is in charge of barrack 7,” she motions towards a tall woman with an eyepatch, “and Corporal Leng who is in charge of barrack 8,” she indicates a dwarf with a braided beard and tattooed hands. “They report to me and I deal with any infractions. If you have any issues with your incarceration, fellow inmates, or guards, you ask to see me.”
“For the duration of your term you will be working ten-hour days at the brickfield near the river, your barrack Elder will give you further details on the work you will be doing,” she continues as she looks from face to face. “If you make your daily quota, this work will pay for your meals and the rent on the clothes you are currently wearing. At the commissary you can buy more clothes, snacks, and certain other items. Your belongings have been brought here and any purchases will be deducted from your money. It is also possible to sell some of your belongings at set prices.”
“When not at the brickfield your time is your own but you will have certain chores, the barrack Elder will explain this to you,” the sergeant tells them, “You are to be in your own bed by ten and no noise is to be made at night. I understand that for anyone new here this is a lot to take in, but if you do the work and obey the rules you will find that your time here won’t be that hard. I will now go and report to the warden who will come here to address you, do not make any noise during his speech and pay attention.”
Major Mansher
The warden is an older dwarf, balding but with lots of wavy hair around his skull. He puts in his monocle and addresses those assembled, it quickly become quite clear he has given this same talk many, many times before.
“I like to welcome any new inmates personally and tell them about this penal camp. It is important that you know that this camp is not the end of your life but, in fact, the start. We are an M class camp which means you were convicted of crimes that are not violent or of such heinousness that there is no way back. No, you are in a position to get your life back on track again. Here you will learn the value of hard work, of getting up early every day and doing something you can be proud of.”
“Many of our former inmates have found work at one of the brickworks in the area; it’s hard but rewarding work, and it pays enough to settle down and start a family. Others have gone on to other fulfilling careers, while those who kept on the path of crime usually ended up in an H class camp with nothing but regrets.”
“So, take heart in the fact you have not succumbed to your baser urges; violence solves nothing, and yes, I know that might sound strange coming from a soldier, but my years of experience have shown me nothing more clearly. So let me warn you; no type of violence is acceptable here, anyone who commits a savage act will be immediately transferred to an H class camp, the same goes for anyone trying to escape.”
“But let me end on a much brighter note. Not only can you learn the value of hard work here; we are committed to your spiritual wellbeing. We believe that your life can be much enriched with the right kind of stimulation. And thus, do we not only have a large library with stimulating literature, we also have a camp orchestra and theater company, both putting on performances every month. I encourage you to participate or at the very least attend. You’ll see that your time here will be valuable and just what you needed to get your life back on track. I wish you the very best.”
He does a “Glory to Otteun! Glory to the Ott!” but there isn't much conviction behind it.
Three-ring
They are now brought to the barracks; all four of our friends have been assigned to barrack 7 where they are welcomed by a dwarf with a Miforan accent, his wild black-grey hair framing his face. He tells them his name is Three-ring, and he is the barrack Elder; the person who has been here the longest. He is in charge and he lets them know he runs a tight ship and doesn't want any problems. Infractions incurred by one person are suffered by everyone in the barrack so they better be on their best behavior.
Most importantly he tells them that if they can afford it they should immediately buy at least three extra coveralls and boots. The work they will be doing will make it impossible for just one to survive daily use; it won't even be dry by the next morning. He inquires about any skills among them, musical, theatrical, culinary, or otherwise. Also a final warning; there will be a full search of their person and the barrack by the guards as they always do so when new inmates arrive, don't smuggle anything in, don't do anything stupid!
Clay for the Clay God!
It's just past noon and they are now brought to the river where they are to collect clay. They meet a few of the other inmates and quickly learn it is a very tiring and dirty job. The last working hour of the day they are brought over to learn how to make bricks, they will be taught all steps in the process so that they eventually can be rotated among all jobs. Today they are taught by a very old gnome woman, Queza, who tells them that while the dwarves of Baltur claimed to have invented hollow bricks, it was gnomes who really did so, and much earlier.
Extracurricular
Back at the barracks a dwarf woman the others refer to as Twitch, immediately takes off her coveralls, walks over to her bed in the far corner and falls onto it. "Don't interact with her," is the message, "don't even look at her, she's former Kill Company and not right in her head, quite dangerous." Despite the warning most of the inmates seem to be protective of her, maybe it's just pity.
Three-ring now hands out the chores, for some reason new inmates are assigned these positions instead of those with more seniority. It is unclear if he decided at random or what but Odrik is assigned to the kitchen, Zayn will be a stagehand, Izzy gets assigned to the library, and Boldrek gets laundry duty, but on alternate days, that chore is considered quite brutal. Beds are also assigned and Odrik gets the one next to Twitch, the others commiserate with him.
Inmates
Ordered by time already served, descending. Age indications are human ages. Duration of full sentence is given at the end of their line.
Barrack 7
- Clement “Three-ring” Kirkos; male dwarf, 40’s, Miforan accent, wild black/grey hair and beard framing his face, defrauding the Ott (stole and sold their weapons), 10 years.
- Jorji Costava; male, 50s’, from Cobrastan(?), short beard, receding hairline, forgery, 4 years.
- Moe “Peddler” Steel; male, 60’s, yellow teeth, long hair, bald on top, canes, both legs broken, pornographer, 4 years. Assigned to library.
- Iisig Meilin; male half-orc, 40’s, short, strong leg, runs for sport, bookkeeper, tax fraud, 4 years.
- Asla “Twitch” Horhumin; female dwarf, 50’s, tall and broad, short hair, public intoxication and disturbing the peace, 2 years.
- Carn-Rill “Creep” Hammaver; 20’s, attractive, dark hair, small moustache, harrasment, 4 years!
- Isane “Insane” Hillbag; female halfling, 30’s, thin, wild hair, purple eyes, crooked mouth, wagon theft & public endangerment, 3 years.
- Kyrton Barnshyn; male, 20’s, from Dolac, tall, blond hair, acne, drug trafficking, 10 years, lucky he did not get High-Sec!
- Boldrek - Assigned to laundry duty.
- Izzy - Assigned to library.
- Odrik - Assigned to kitchen duty.
- Zayn - Assigned to theater (stagehand)
Barrack 8
- Eric “Pumice” Pummlar; male, 50’s, pockmarked skin, clubfoot, fraud (sold spoiled meat to the Ott), 8 years.
- Osma “Tipple” Bhelnom; female dwarf, 50’s, rotund, red nose, receipt of stolen goods, 4 years.
- Tayrom Thull; male, 40’s, large, hirsute, dark eyes, very friendly, indecency, 4 years. Assigned to laundry duty.
- Bardin “Convo” Brukkorlim; male dwarf, 40’s, tall, thin, short beard, large scar on right hand, talks to himself, burglary, 3 years.
- Queza “Witch” Hergen; female gnome, 80’s, bone thin, shrill voice, murder by poison (sent here instead of high security due to her advanced age), 40 years.
- Erin “Baby” Vonner, female halfling, short, pretty, bow-legged, solicitation, 2 years.
- Nora “Legs” Grettich; female, 30’s, pretty, strawberry blonde, ‘facilitator’, bribery of a government official, 1 year.
- Markos Tellmacher; male, 50’s, large nose, pudgy, balding, extortion, 9 months. Rumored to be a Rhes Haghed member.
- Corinna Dukker; female, 20’s, short, slight, dark hair falling over left eye, pick pocketing, 1 year.
- Enak Cardigan; male, 30’s, short, sinewy, shoulder length hair, bandana, vandalism, 3 months. Assigned to kitchen duty.
- Neske Horthor; female half-orc, tall, cleft lip, charismatic, incitement, 2 years. Assigned to theater (actor)
- Harl Zorgar; male half-orc, athletic, large crimson mark on his left cheek, vandalism, 3 months.
Training
Boldrek
To come!
Izzy
To come!
Odrik
When the dwarf enters the kitchen he finds Enak there, who looks at him and says; "Bruised But Not Broken, right? Retired." "How do you know," Odrik replies. "The stance, it's very distinctive," is the reply. It turns out that Enak is a very good cook and he even managed to somehow get hold of a very sharp, very oft sharpened, knife. For now Odrik can peel potatoes; there's quite a lot of them, the largest pan on the stove could easily hold a gnome.
Zayn
To come!
Further Adventures
To come!