Maincastle Prison
Maincastle. The symbol for a ‘better, more responsible Hogsburg’. Unless you’re arrested, then it’s called ‘The Slop’…
Maincastle Maximum Security Prison. Known to its inmates as ‘The Slop’, this location is home to the worst criminals that Hogsburg offers. But Maincastle is more than a prison, and holding convicts is just one of its many purposes.
This famous complex is located one hour east of Hogsburg’s city limits. It stands just off the coast of Sowroot Peninsula on the tiny, dark granite island of Ironmesa, surrounded by the Distended Sea.
Access to the prison is by air, water, or the ancient Rapacity causeway that extends from out from Hogsburg. The most common routes are over the causeway or air. Regular boat access to Maincastle is difficult because of the rough waters of the Distended Sea around Ironmesa.
More Than Just a Jailhouse
There are more than just inmates behind Maincastle’s walls. The prison also hosts the Police Investigating Greed Squad’s Precinct 13. It is the largest branch of the PIGS and takes up the entire east wing of Maincastle as its base of operations.
Precinct 13 is a busy place and its members have the most demanding job in all the squad. They serve as prison staff for Maincastle, local maritime police, and law enforcement along the Rapacity causeway.
The PIGS are a division of Zeale Enterprises, but that doesn’t mean that the company owns Maincastle Prison. The company is only the ‘caretaker’ of Maincastle and rents the historic building from the Hogsburg city government. But it’s a role the company takes seriously.
As part of this arrangement, Zeale Enterprises maintains Maincastle. They repair the fortifications and preserve the complex for all its many uses. As ‘caretaker’, they also fund and operate a Living History section of Maincastle.
In addition, Zeale Enterprises has in the rental agreement permission to expand the Maincastle compound. The company has only made one addition so far: a small branch of their product development division that also supports the PIGS.
A Highly Secure Prison With A Little Bit More
A squat, two stories tall, high-security building is attached to the north wing of Maincastle. This is home to a branch of the Zeale Advanced Projects Division; also known as Z.A.P.D.
Got a problem catching a crook? Get ZAPD.
ZAPD invents Zeale Enterprises’ line of personal defense and deterrent products such as the “Pigtail Fast Strike” self defense whip or the Zeale z-12 “Thunder-cudgel” shock baton. The baton is the most popular of their products.
Besides those, ZAPD also develops more advanced weapon systems for the PIGS to counter Hogsburg’s rising crime. Some of the inventions passed on to the PIGS are:
- Zeale Hunter-Stalker semi-automatic pistol
- Ice Laser Freeze Blaster
- Long-Snout z-38 assault rifle
- Hogsbreath Ultra-Stun gas grenades
- Tuf-hide Security Shield
A Blend of Old and New
Maincastle is both old and new. It has been repaired, rebuilt, and refurbished countless times since it was first constructed over 900 years ago.
The prison is actually a collection of buildings, or wings, connected to a diamond-shaped fortress in the center. This rests on top of an extinct volcano with a maze of ancient lava tubes below the foundations of Maincastle.
Each four story building serves a specific purpose. The east wing contains the offices, training center, and more for the PIGS’ Precinct 13. West and south wings are reserved for the general population of inmates. The north wing is a mix of solitary confinement, prison administration offices, the prison garage, and a connection to the ZAPD offices.
The fortress in the center contains the oldest and best preserved architecture. It’s also the location of the Maincastle Living History Museum.
Here, the tourists pay a modest fee for an educational tour of Maincastle’s fascinating history. They present visitors the history of Maincastle from its founding, through both Acquisition Crusades, up to the current day. Special tours of underground tunnels are also available for an additional fee.
The underground tunnels have been a fixture since the early days of Maincastle. They were used for a wide variety of purposes: smuggler storage, escape routes, and more. The tunnels are most famous for their role as a makeshift infirmary during both Acquisition Crusades.
There are two types of tunnels: the Boiler Tunnels and the History Tunnels.
The Boiler Tunnels are a network of corridors and rooms that run under the north, west, and south wings of Maincastle. These have been expanded, with additional space carved out, to house the boiler system for the entire complex.
Connected to the Boiler Tunnels are the History Tunnels. These are part of the Maincastle fortress and its Living History museum. The History Tunnels are the winding walking tour offered by the museum.
Hoofprints Across History
Maincastle’s origins start over 900 years ago when the first hogs set foot on Ironmesa. Smugglers and pirates established a ‘free port’ for others like themselves, looking to trade their hard-earned, ill-gotten gains in an open market. They set up small stone buildings surrounded by a thick, protective wall. The ancient lava tunnels became both storage and marketplace.
Later, as Hogsburg and the surrounding area grew, so did Maincastle. A deal between the leaders of early Hogsburg and a local pirate, Farrell “Hook-Hoof” Bristol, changed the future of the location forever.
Under Hook-Hoof’s direction, Maincastle was transformed from a simple walled outpost into a veritable fortress. Hook-Hoof was also the one who first gave the place its name of ‘Maincastle’. Buildings were connected and reinforced, defensive canon were added, and double-layered defensive walls were built to form a diamond shape around the buildings.
With that, Maincastle Fortress was born.
This remained Hogsburg’s primary defense in the Distended Sea for several generations. Later, the fortifications were improved and expanded during the first, and second, Acquisition Crusades. At that time, Maincastle was the focus of intense battles to defend Hogsburg against the Vulpec invaders during their march to conquer Sow Terra.
After the Second Acquisition Crusade, Maincastle was abandoned. It sat forgotten, nothing more than a curiosity to treasure hunters. Years later, a spike of crime in Hogsburg caused by a colorful gang called the Greed Society main the old fortress to be needed again.
Arrests were daily, and the older Stonetruffle Prison was overcrowded. Dramatic escapes became all too common. It forced the Hogsburg city government to take action.
They decided to use Maincastle a maximum security prison, with Stonetruffle acting as a minimum security counterpart. Chain gangs of prisoners were used to rebuild the dilapidated fortress. The effort worked, but the work to rebuild Maincastle was too slow.
Crime was out of control and it delayed reconstruction of the new prison.
In the end, it was the deal struck with B. R. Zeale of Zeale Enterprises that turned the effort around. With the company’s resources, and B. R. Zeale’s intensity, Maincastle was rebuilt and fortified into the facility it is today.
What’s In a Name
The nickname for Maincastle Prison is ‘The Slop’. An unusual term, it dates back to the early days of the prison when Zeale Enterprises first took over as caretaker.
Maincastle fortress had fallen into disuse. Holes in the ceiling were common, which turned the floors into mud or slush during the rainy season.
Hogsburg, then Zeale, used prisoners as cheap labor to rebuild the complex. The nickname was born from the chain gang convicts working in the puddles of mud to repair the location; a job called ‘slogging through the slop’. They later shortened this to ‘The Slop’.
The name stuck and is still the nickname for Maincastle Prison today.
Founding Date
1122
Alternative Names
The Slop
Type
Prison
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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