7. King’s Eye Correctional Facility
King’s Eye Correctional Facility has been infiltrated by the Covenant, however this is just the tip of the corruption that spreads through the Middle Kingdom. Rumour has it that a new advisor has popped up over at the King’s Capital and has been influencing the decisions made by the Royal Court. The King’s Eye Correctional Facility, once truly a place where real criminals would be held, has been turned into an experiment – one that focuses on transforming and re-educating people into mindless soldiers. (Similar to the ones the party has faced in Port Gardan.)
List of NPCs
- Spencer Theledrin Barleystone, the Warden of King’s Eye Correctional Facility
- Maryth, a grizzled old elf
- Vaerion Ambrose, a grizzled old half-elf
- Ghudrun “The Sizzles” Ghaldarim, captain of the Firebat and its crew the Burners
- The Burners
- Cham “Libations Officer” Hegardim
- Dilford “Squeamish” Stonetall
- Arthur “Rudder” Lodestone
- Morgan “The Other Rudder” Lodestone
- Sage of the Dawnwardens
- “The Ghoul”
- Shengen “Slick” Thuldim, Merchant’s Guild Representative
- Jips, con-artist, real good talker.
- Farstead the Inciter
- Zemeck, owner of a few shopping stalls for catering to adventurers
- Dal Jin, formerly a Necromancer, currently the Lead Researcher at King’s Eye.
- Lord Admiral Theodore Porter
- Captains Juice and Trevor of Gryphon’s Freeholders
- Officer Tilly “No Jokes” Stiffstick, who works at King’s Eye Correctional Facility
Ghudrun “The Sizzles” Ghaldarim
“Oof that burns right, eh lads?”
The Sizzles is the dwarf captain of the Firebat, a ship that’s slightly smaller than the Bookwyrm, and is covered in scorch marks. The most striking feature of the Firebat is a golden bat masthead that looks kind of like a fountain. In truth, that’s a very powerful fire cannon, designed by The Sizzles himself.
Maryth and Vaerion
Grizzled old war veterans, who claim that they were very famous back in the day. They have spent the past decade trying to eliminate the Redbrands once and for all, but they’re still working on it. Maryth is still working on his book and Vaerion still tries to skewer his foes the moment he sees them.
Spencer Theledrin Barleystone, the Warden of King’s Eye Correctional Facility
“I would like to warn you sir that we have laws and regulations in this kingdom and you would do well to follow them. Otherwise we will not hesitate from making you follow them.”
Warden Barleystone is the half-elf warden of King’s Eye Correctional Facility. He’s a very handsome man, with olive-skin, and a single violet eye. Instead of his other eye, he wears a mechanomagical eyepiece, that seems to be grafted directly into his skin and head.
He wears the standard uniform of a high ranking officer of the Realmsguard – a red velvet overcoat, with matching pants. He also has a bunch of medals.
Warden Barleystone is a no nonsense man and you can sense that he might be dangerous if you cross him.
Sage of the Dawnwardens
“...”
Sage is a silent hunter and a member of the Dawnwardens. By silent, I mean literally. Sage will never speak a single word, ever. Luckily for us, however, Sage has a little sparrow who calls itself Ghost that follows him around wherever he goes.
Sage wears a cloak and a mask that covers all of his face.
Ghost is a magical bird that’s voiced by Nolan North.
“The Ghoul”
“Stop staring at us, staring not cool, not nice. But we can show you some wares, if you don’t mind the lice.”
The Ghoul is a one-armed survivor of some sadly disfiguring disease. Most people are very mean to him, but all he wants is to keep on living. The port authority won’t let him have a stall among all the other merchants at The Piers, so he has to sell his wares with the more shady people at the Underdock.
Shengen “Slick” Thuldim, Merchant’s Guild Representative
“Cham’s friends, I take it? Yes yes, come. Let’s talk business.”
Slick is a dwarven woman with very short hair, bright blue eyes, and immense confidence. Mercantilism is a family tradition and she is proud to carry it on. She has been the Merchant’s Guild Representative at Limerick for a little over six months, after her dad decided to step down to focus on his carvings.
Slick’s foremost priority, obviously, is to promote free trade across the many cities on the continent – whatever that might take. If this means she might deal with some… less than desirable people, that’s fine. All is fair in love and trade, as they say.
Jips
Jips knows about the Underdock and also about Sareena. Everybody had heard about her and her Knife Ears. But no one has heard from her in quite some while. It’s a relief, since she wasn’t very nice and in fact very mean to Jips most of the time. Everybody is mean to Jips after they find out what they really are.
Jips is a Shifter, a strange species whose origin or “real form” no one really knows. They choose not to share this with people. If the party asks, they might reveal that they know about the two Shifters back in Port Gardan.
A Shifter can infuse their body with magic, which will permanently alter their form, but will convert them into an Elemental Ascendant. If this is done with dark magic of the Shadow, then the result is a walking nightmare.
Farstead the Inciter
“All people are born free, yet everywhere we are in chains! Where is the vanguard that shall emancipate us from our bondage? Where are the people, the leaders, that will deliver us from this condition! The solution, my friends, lies with the People’s Movement! Alone we will be broken, but united… UNITED WE STAND! GIVE US FREEDOM, OR GIVE US DEATH!”
Farstead is a well-known troublemaker and political visionary, who usually loiters around Prosperity Square. Every now and then he walks up to people and starts talking about his political views. The “People’s Movement” he’s referring to doesn’t have a massive following in Bridgeport, but a small but dedicated group of people do work clandestinely to rile up the working class people. The Movement itself is much more powerful within the villages and towns on the Farmlands.
The Realmsguard is not a huge fan of neither Farstead nor the Movement.
Dal Jin
“Now listen here you imbeciles. Nothing can stand between me and and progress! I will pounce on you myself if I have to, but you will not stop my work.”
Dal Jin used to be respectable Scribe of the Ashentower. In fact, if he had wanted he could have easily gotten a promotion and become an Archscribe. At least, that’s what he believes. The veracity of this claim matters little, as he has been expelled from the Ashentower on grounds of “immoral practices.”
“Listen here you uneducated fools. Corpses are wasted opportunities. By simply letting these vessels rot in the ground or torching them, we are wasting valuable resources. Just imagine: We could increase the food output from our farms, we could reduce the number of workplace casualties to practically zero! But of course, you focus on the minutiae and fail to see the big picture. “You can’t take people’s corpses against their will Dal! But what about all the spirits you imprison within these walking corpses? You are in shame of all gods. Leave here and never return!” Bah! Blind daft goons.” All that said, I have to admit that working on living hosts and attempting to control their souls that way has proven to be… more efficient.”
Lord Theodore Porter
“Well I’ll be! A bunch of vagrants, all of them.”
Lord Admiral Theodore Porter is the governor of Bridgeport and the grand admiral of the Luthian Armada. Although he doesn’t have to, he is particularly interested in personally attending all legal proceedings that take place in Bridgeport. He is also very proud of the work done by the “boys over at King’s Eye.”
Captains Juice and Trevor of Gryphon’s Freeholders
“Listen…” *enters into a bout of wheezing coughs and laughter and isn’t able to speak for a good two minutes.*
Before you meet the Captains Juice and Trevor, I would like to remind you once and for all that Captains Juice and Trevor are not experts and their advice should never be followed.
Especially any kind of erotic advice Trevor gives, since he cannot provide any kind of diploma that proves that he has the necessary qualifications.
They’re currently imprisoned in King’s Eye. They are supposed to be put on trial very soon and it’s highly likely that their sentence will be very, very, very unpleasant.
Officer Tilly “No Jokes” Stiffstick
“Hey, listen to me you schmucks. Once King’s Eye sets its gaze you ain’t going nowhere, capiche?”
Officer Tilly “No Jokes” Stiffstick is a sergeant of the guards corps of King’s Eye and she has a really terrible sense of humor. She either doesn’t get or refuses to get jokes, so you have to be very careful with your jokes around her.
Rumours
- Some Paladins have been rounding up people in the Farmlands. They say the bear the crest of a rising sun.
- There hasn’t been a trial for the convicts at the King’s Eye in over half a year. There used to be weekly public trials and people actually loved attending those.
- When do you think the Awakeners will come to Limerick? You don’t know about the Awakeners? Oh… They say these three siblings roam the realm and when you hear their words you can’t help but revolt. I heard four lords have already been killed in peasant revolts! Why isn’t the Realmsguard doing anything?
- “I warned you enough boss. You wouldn't get this much from anyone else. When the lords fall, the Awakeners shall bring us peace, but more importantly we will have justice for all.”
Secrets
- The King’s Eye Correctional Facility, once truly a place where real criminals would be held, has been turned into an experiment – one that focuses on transforming and re-educating people into mindless soldiers.
- The peasants rounded up by the Forsworn in the Farmlands have been transformed into mindless slaves in the depths of King’s Eye.
- Redbrands are present in the prison. One of them could notice that one of the guards is wearing a red piece of cloth as a wristband.
- Saga and Blaxton were sent East, because Saga’s mentor knew an attack on Taegan’s Rest was imminent. There was no avoiding it. Saga should have been more worried when she didn’t hear from the order, but the Blade was corrupting her senses.
- Phantom Thread comes from a magical shirt that’s somewhere in the King’s Eye.
- Dawnwardens draw their power from the Moon, but not everyone channels this energy the same way. Regardless, everyone needs a catalyst. For Sage this is his magical sparrow, Ghost. For Saga, it’s her Libram. The Forsworn also draw their power from the Moon, but they do this violently. It’s blood magic.
- Theldra is an Arganin and she’s probably the only member of her species outside Bregath, also known as the Northern Realm.
- King’s Eye is currently “recruiting” new guards.
Events
- On the 6th day, Cham will find the party and bring them to the Merchant’s Guild
- On the 10th day, a new batch of prisoners will be brought into the King’s Eye.
- Dal is planning an experiment that features the Captains Juice and Trevor on the 12th day.
King’s Eye Correctional Facility
On the surface, King’s Eye Correctional Facility is a four storey keep, with smooth, steep, and tall walls. It’s polished smooth, in fact, and you can sense that some magical enchantment is at play here.
The surface building belies the true nature of the facility. In fact, King’s Eye goes deep beneath the ground and has more than 10 levels. The severity of crimes committed by the prisoners increases as you go down the dungeons.
At least, that’s how it should be. These days it seems like the severity of torture and pain inflicted upon the prisoners seem to increase as you go down the dungeons.
Dal Jin’s laboratory is at the very bottom of King’s Eye dungeons and is a truly terrible sight to behold. Dal mostly works on living subjects, but despite this the entire place is covered in gore, viscera, and body parts. Dal will escape from this place and the party will have to fight a massive undead amalgamation of spirits and zombies.
