Graystone Penitentiary

Upon a desolate island, Graystone Penitentiary stands as a warning to all: sail the straight and narrow, or be imprisoned where not even hope can escape.

The penal colony of Graystone was founded by the first settlers of Piper's Pier, and continues to receive a steady stream of captured pirates, despairing debtors, and Governor Practiss's political opponents.

The Penitentiary is organized in levels. Seven floors above ground, and seven underneath, each comprising a cell block and a common area. For prisoners, their suffering is determined by which level they are consigned to.

The upper floors are more hotel than lockup, with secure accommodations provided for well-heeled criminals who can buy quiet comfort while the heat dies down. The cells are light and spacious, and the common areas feature balconies and garden bars.

Anything below ground is less hospitable. The screws dish out pilchard porridge and the shared areas here are mechanized mills where prisoners toil to make fishing nets, sails, and oilcloth. The further one goes, the harsher it becomes. The screws won't even go down to Sub-Seven. That's where the blackest hearts are thrown and forgotten.

In charge is the peg-legged Warden Cooder who takes pleasure in pandering to his prestigious guests whilst breaking the spirits of his petty inmates. Once a pirate captain, exiled after mutiny, he has held on to his position for years like a barnacle on a hull, amassing influence whilst secretly building his own grand endeavor: the Kuraghan.

The Kuraghan

In a horned cape nestles the forlorn village of Grayhollow, named after the natural cave that shelters the village's shacks. To the public, it was a site of rehabilitation where poorer inmates would go to re-acclimate to Piper's Pier society. There were workshops, fish farms, and even a school. But Warden Cooder had other ideas.

Picking out prisoners with the right balance of nastiness and gullibility, Cooder discreetly populated Grayhollow with a new breed of convict. He named them the Kuraghan after an ancient Dhani cult that worshipped Absolon, god of the great deep. He anointed himself as Absolon's prophet and led his Kuraghan in building a raiding fleet.

In battle, the Kuraghan are fearless, for they believe that death will deliver them to Fiddler's Green, where their every immortal whim shall be tended to by demure merfolk. It's a beautiful lie, and no one tells it better than Cooder.