War sweeps throughout the kingdom. Hoards of orcs invading the land from the North. In order to keep the royal army going the blacksmiths of the land strive constantly over their hot coals replenishing weapons and forging new ammunition. Those who break the law in these days are punished hard; they are sent to slavery in the mines, to delve deep into the earth and dig out ORE for the weapons. There are no guards here, there is no need: The entire mining area is surrounded by a magical barrier, this dome is a thousand metres in diameter and stretches over the prison reaching through the underground and meeting to a perfect sphere in the depths of the mines. The barrier can be passed from the outside with no effect whatsoever. No living being can pass through from the inside however, only lifeless objects.
This way the prisoners have the monthly opportunity to exchange the ore for food, medicine, even drugs and small luxuries, with the world outside.Within the prison there is a callous hierarchy, only the most powerful of prisoners are allowed to receive goods from the outside world and only they have the right to share it among the others. The strong take a huge amount for themselves and live in luxury, where the others are made to grind in the mines day after day for their miserable share.
The penal colony has two rival groups. On the one side: An old encampment, under the authority of the Ore Barons who control most of the exchange between the prison and the outside world, on the other side the smaller, new encampment, where the inhabitants are runaways from the other side who have opened their own mine and work desperately on a breakout plan.
Other than that, there is a somewhat remote temple, whose leaders rant and rave their prophecies of the end of the world. Together with the younger members, they constantly celebrate the few days they think they have left. The temple and the New Camp have joined together against the Old Camp and the power of each is more or less equal. Every now and then there are some attacks and small hold ups between the two sides, for more extensive assaults neither of the two are powerful enough. Both sides however, keep constant watch over the other in case of some otherwise unknown weak point that would aid them in their fight against each other.
This twisted predicament is not your only problem, it is just one of them.
