World of Samardan: Umadasag, Prison of the Unwise...

Greetings, All:

I present this, the twenty-first post in this year's A to Z Challenge series. This series describes 26 different locations in the World of Samardan campaign setting, one for each letter of the alphabet. Today, U is for Umadasag, Prison of the Unwise.

(hex) Umadasag, Prison of the Unwise

Ambiance: Now overgrown and forgotten, Umadasag, Prison of the Unwise, is a secluded complex lost in the hills far from civilization. The few roads and paths that lead to the site are marked with skulls mounted on spears, and tattered banners once declared the asylum's quarantine status. By day, it is a silent place; by night, the howls and cries of unseen tormented souls echo from within.

History: Originally, Umadasag was an asylum used by a forgotten mystical society to treat members who had suffered mental anguish in the pursuit of their psychic powers. However, once a virulent disease known as the Rusamoro Plague appeared among the population of the site, this institution quickly fell. The region has been quarantined ever since, although bandits have recently visited the site.

Encounters: Astral entities, the disembodied remains of ancient psychics, are still tied to this site. Psychic creatures have also been attracted to the location by the high level of psychic activity still present within the walls of this abandoned insane asylum. Common encounters and hazards are Rusamoro-infested berserkers, psychic creatures and unusual mental phenomena.

Treasure: Several devices of the Ancient Ones remain within the asylum, heightening the psychic powers of all within their broadcast range. This has even allowed astral entities to remain after the death of their physical bodies. In addition, a small body of psychic lore, perhaps the best collection of works on the subject by the Ancient Ones, is hidden in a small library deep within the complex.

Adventure Hooks: Adventure hooks for this site could include the following:

• A "ghost" within Umadasag reaches psychically into the dreams of sensitive people in the region, begging for release from his eternal imprisonment at the Prison of the Unwise.
• Nago Balsanan, an animal trainer, seeks explorers willing to retrieve eggs from the nests of rahanani (child-sized flying carnivores resembling a darkly feathered bird with a scaled, serpentine torso and tail, and possessing the psychic ability to stun its prey) that have been reported in the Umadasag area.
• Sada Mudasanan, a librarian of the Grand Library of Valdren, seeks tomes of the Ancient Ones to add to the collection found in the vaults of the library itself. Other recovered tomes hint as to the existence of a library on psychic lore in the lower levels of the Umadasag, so she is hiring adventurers to seek them out and retrieve them in the name of the Grand Library.
• Sen Lobalogana of the Healing Hands believes that a new Rusamoro Plague epidemic may be on the brink of devastating civilization once again, after treating a mercenary that had returned from Umadasag with symptoms of the disease. For the greater good of civilized lands, Sena Lobalogana seeks to cleanse the asylum once and for all, and needs men-at-arms to accompany her on the journey.
• The Order of the Amber Eye, a mystic order of Sarrani oracles, is hiring mercenaries to retrieve one or more specific devices from within the Prison of the Unwise.

Here's a site for stories that involve ghosts and/or blood-raging zombies. Umadasag still bears the stigma of its origins as an asylum for insane psychics. Given its name, I could even play on some Chtulhu-esque stories using Umadasag, Prison of the Unwise, and give them a planetary romance twist. Fun, fun, fun!

Enjoy,
Flynn