AN: Not to be weird but.... I did not realize how long it's been since I updated this... Sorry. We'll see a few more updates this week.

Chapter 43.2: Draconic Justice

Prison, a place for reform and incarceration, a place to remove members from society who have acted against the social order. There were many types of prisons in the world. None of the prisoners who had been sentenced by the dragon had ever seen one quite like the prison before them.

"This place?" asked one of the men as he looked out at empty grassland. There were a few small buildings, but no walls. It was merely a field.

Inside of the steel cages that had been constructed to transport prisoners from the castle town to the prison a few miles east ward, hardened criminals stared openly at the bizarre sight of a prison with no walls. Naked as the day that they were born, they carried nothing with them but their public and private shame.

The wagons pulling the cages stopped a short distance from a trio of men. The one on the left, a younger man wearing black leather armor, spoke up. "Welcome to Dragon Farm Dungeon. We are the prison staff. While you are here, you will comport yourselves as proper prisoners."

The criminals looked at the younger man then a few of them looked at each other. None of them knew what to expect.

The man in the center spoke up. He was an older man with greying hair. He also wore black leather armor, but across his chest was emblazoned golden dragon wings. "I'm the Warden of this fine establishment, Tyne Breskt. The man to my left is Yerin Frankes, and the man to my right is Arnas Tolles. Once you enter the prison proper, you will rarely see us. If you do see us, you will immediately stop what you are doing and stand up straight in order to receive instructions."

Various criminals grumbled a little, but no one outright spoke against the men before them. They were not the red eyed bastard who had sent them there, but they worked for him.

The warden made a short gesture with his hand and then turned toward the grassy field behind him. All three men walked forward a short distance then faded from view. Several criminals made a few surprised noises, but they did not get the chance to complain or speak amongst themselves much before the wagons moved forward once more. Soon they too faded from view.

The interior of the prison looked exactly like the exterior, but the moment that the men entered the area they each felt a wave of energy wash over them. It had a strange static electricity-like effect that caused the hair on their arms to stand up.

The wagons came to a stop in the center area between five small buildings. The men were ushered out of their cages and made to stand in a line.

Warden Breskt spoke again. "Though you see no walls, do not be confused. You are in a prison. This special dungeon was designed to allow you to see the outside world, but to not be allowed to enjoy it. Since you cannot act like proper men, you have been removed from society."

The warden walked down the line while occasionally looking one man or another in the eye. "You have each been spiritually branded with a seal that prevents you from leaving the area. In this place, the atmosphere is conditioned to be reasonably pleasant. You will notice no biting insects or intolerable temperature extremes. However..."

He stopped and looked the biggest man in the eye. "You will work for everything that you receive."

"Everything." stated the warden once more for emphasis. He began to walk once more after a moment passed.

"You will be required to work, nine days out of ten. The days are long. The days are boring. The work is simple, but it will never truly end." The warden stopped once more then looked into the eyes of another, shorter man. "Only reaching the end of your prison sentence will allow you to be free. You should know that even if you have a token, you will only resurrect here should you kill yourself. If you die without one, our leader has informed you of your likely end."

"These three buildings on the left are for your usage specifically. One is the dining facility. One is a place for you to sleep. The third is a place for you to study, should you choose to better yourself through education. If you purposefully damage the books found therein your sentence will be increased by one year. Do it twice and your right hand will be cut off. Do it three times, and you will be executed. This is also the rule for physical conflict."

"Should you be attacked, we can be lenient in the case of self-defense. The instigator of the conflict will receive no leniency. If you attack someone with a weapon, you will be executed on sight."

A short time was spent explaining the rules of the dungeon farm. The warden went into detail about proper conduct. In general, no one cared what the men did so long as they were not violently aggressive toward each other or wantonly destructive. If they wanted to eat, wear clothing, or sleep in an actual bed they would need to work. There was a credit system that could be used to exchange for things at the fourth building.

The fifth building was off-limits on most days as it was for prison administration usage. The prisoners were taken to their sleeping quarters, a large building with small separate rooms that had neither doors nor furnishings. Each floor of the building had its own shower, small gym, and an empty recreation room. The prisoners would have to pool their credits to buy common items, or spend it on furnishings for their rooms.

Everything had a set value, so they would have to choose between better food or better living conditions. Medicine did not cost anything, nor did water. However, medical treatment would be at the most basic unless work quotas were constantly met.

Arnas began to speak, he was a man of middle years. His voice was calm but it easily cut through the air. "Your work schedule for today is light duty and familiarization. You will each be granted twenty credits for your first day. You will receive those credits after your two hour duty shift."

He took a breath then continued. "Tomorrow, you will be expected to perform a full day's work. If you do not, you will be charged with poor conduct and a fine will be assessed."

He looked the men over for a moment then said. "If your credit balance goes negative, your purchased items will be confiscated in accordance to their value to make up for your debts. Theft will not be tolerated and will follow the same corrective pattern as outlined previously. Are there any questions?"

At first no one spoke. The criminals were largely cowed by recent events. However, one man did speak. "You said something about quotas?"

"First, you will stand up straight and place your hands out to the side with the palms facing forward when you address me." said Arnas.

The prisoner complied and a moment later Arnas answered his question. "Yes. You will need to work for a minimum of forty hours per ten day cycle. Forty hours' worth of work will allow you to eat three meals per day and access to your room. Should you fail to meet that minimum quota, your meal privileges will be suspended and your room will prevent access."

Loud grumbles rose up from the men, but Arnas merely ignored their half-voiced complaints. "That being said, you only have to work for one hour per day if you meet your quota. Anything beyond forty hours results in bonus pay. You can use those extra credits to purchase everything from a hair-cut to a reduction of your prison term."

Several prisoners called out questions about the last part, but Arnas refused to answer any of them until one of the prisoners put his hands out and stood up straight. "Yes, you can buy days off of your sentence. For every twenty additional hours' worth of work that you legitimately perform, you can buy one day off your sentence.

He took a breath then continued. "There is enough work to do that you are allowed to work twelve hours in any given day, if not longer on some days. This equates to a maximum of ten days per month that you might buy off of your sentence. Every three years of hard work would reduce your sentence by up to one year."

"So, we work our asses off and we can get out in fifteen instead of twenty?" asked one man.

Arnas glanced at the man's hands for a moment. When the prisoner remembered to hold them up palm forward, the prison keeper nodded. "Yes. Further, should you be willing to study in the library and take the correspondence courses that are being created, you may earn education credits that can be used in the same manner. At the very least, you can use those course credits as a means of acquiring government work upon your release. Pass enough courses, and leave this place with a reasonable record and you'll be guaranteed a job in the government."

"What kind of job?" asked a prisoner after moving his hands outward.

"Basic things like ditch digging, road work, farm work, and area beautification. The pay would be low, but it's infinitely better than having no work at all."

He looked each man in the eye. "Basically, the more effort you put into this place, the quicker you can leave and the better your options once you do leave."

A quiet moment passed before he continued. "There are slated to be other methods of reducing your sentence, but don't expect any of them to be easy or quick. At the very least, you should expect to spend a minimum of twelve out of your twenty years here in this prison. So, you have ample time to better yourselves."

The grumbling returned, but none of the prison staff cared about the annoyance of the prisoners. Should they actually make an attempt to break out or to act in bad conduct, they would quickly learn how little their grumbling mattered in this place.

"This farm is a second chance for you to live and learn. Take advantage of the opportunities given, or don't. Either way, you are here for quite a while." said the Warden after a moment.

**