Observer is known to employ groups of adventurers in
matters of importance to the nation. Though it has many
paladins and clerics in its ranks, outside assistance is
essential to the continued defense of the realm.
THE COMPANION
The second sun that sits directly above Elturel burns
night and day. This orb is commonly called the Compan-
ion, but some ascribe it to one deity or another. Where
the natural sun journeys across the sky and disappears
at night, the Companion is steady and loyal, ever pre-
venting creatures of darkness from assaulting the city.
This second sun provides daytime illumination to the
people of Elturel at all hours, and its illumination is as
harmful to creatures vulnerable to sunlight as the sun
is. This constant daylight lessens the farther one travels
from Elturel, casting a sort of wan dawn light for fifty or
so miles around the city. Beyond that, the orb is visible
as a bright beacon in the sky. It be seen clearly at
night from as far away as Boareskyr Bridge and Ber-
dusk, looking like an unmoving star low on the horizon.
It might be fairly said that every land touched by its light
is now under "Elturel's Shield," but such claims raise
hackles among Elturgard's neighbors.
THE CREED RESOLUTE
With no clear sign of the source of the Companion and
so many faithful arriving in Elturgard each day, the first
High Observer brought together a cadre of paladins and
devised the Creed Resolute. This series of oaths and
maxims outlines, among other things, that those who
swear by it will not ascribe the Companion to any one
god, nor allow religious differences to come between
themselves and others. Those who swear the Creed
Resolute also promise to serve the High Observer and
uphold the laws of Elturgard, and always be in service
to the greater good. While originally the Creed Resolute
was intended to forge the fractious paladins of Elturgard
into the Companions, the oath has since been taken by
all among the Hell riders as well. If a Hellrider or Com-
panion oversteps the bounds of the law or good conduct,
often a fellow will say "recall the Creed," and soon
things are set right.
Though some of the Creed's agents seem unnecessar-
ily stern, the people of Elturgard hold the Hellriders and
Companions in the highest esteem. The Companions
are without a doubt the champions of the people first
and foremost, and the folk of Elturgard love them for
it. Though it might be hard to get the Companions to
crack a smile, I've found even the lowliest of the guards
here willing, without a second thought, to lay down their
lives in defense of their people, and the folk of Elturgard
know it. Disrespect the Creed, and it isn't the Creed's
wrath you face, but that of the local citizenry.
ELTUREL
Elturel is a city on a hill. It stands overlooking the River
Chionthar, constantly illuminated by the Companion.
A major location along the trade route through the
Western Heartlands, Elturel and its environs for many
miles around are a safe haven for visitors and citizens
alike. Much of this safety comes from the efforts of the
Hellriders, whose cavalry patrol the roads that lead into
Elturgard, as well as the paths along the river.
In the city's center, directly beneath the Companion, is
a cliff-sided tor that holds aloft the High Hall. This castle,
whose walls surround the summit of the mount, is home
to the High Observer, and to a great deal of the bureau-
cracy of Elturgard. A stream runs out of the center of the
castle, spawned by the powerful springs in its cellars. It
flows north across the tor's top and then down one of its
cliffs in a series of waterfalls called the Maidens' Leap.
By canal it forms a moat for the eastern Dock District,
before it joins the Chionthar. Along the stream across the
tor lies the long, narrow garden, an open place of flowers,
wooded paths, and arched bridges. The garden is a favor-
ite meeting place for citizens of El tu rel and retains a wild
beauty in winter. The rich folk of the city dwell nearest
the garden atop the tor, while folk in the town below live
mostly in tall, narrow homes that are rich in balconies
and windows.
Its benefits notwithstanding, the constant illumina-
tion that bathes Elturel can be difficult for newcomers
to adjust to. Inns and boarding halls usually swathe the
windows of their guest rooms in thick cloth to block out
the light so that visitors can get some sleep. Without
the onset of dawn or dusk to frame the day's labors, cit-
izens rely on the tolling of the bells from the High Hall
to denote the start and end of the workday. The lack of
natural darkness means the city sees less of the sorts of
activities that city folk in other places often undertake
at night. Elturel has a low incidence of brawling and
ambushes in the alleys around its inns and taverns, and
those who would engage in thievery must be especially
careful and shrewd to succeed.OTHER COMMUNITIES
A few other major settlements of note are located within
the borders of Elturgard. I describe three of them
briefly here.
Berdusk. A large population of artisans drives the
activity in the city of Berdusk. Its native nobility, the
so-called "First Folk of Berdusk," have made a great
show of their piety since the founding of Elturgard, and
a great many of the high-ranking priests hail from their
families. Over the years a few bad apples in their midst
have given Berduskans a reputation for the sin of "false
piety"-pretending to a stronger faith than one actually
possesses. Though this attitude is disapproved of by the
Creed, it has given rise in other parts of Elturgard to the
expression "as holy as a Berduskan priest"-which is to
say, not very.
Scornubel. Known far and wide as the City of Car-
avans, Scornubel is the great trading nexus of the
Kingdom of Two Suns, and the Elturgard city I am most
familiar with. Though responsible for a great deal of the
nation's prosperity, it is also the source of plenty of its
trouble; Scornubel is a haven for outlanders, many of
whom are either troublemakers or folk whom trouble is
pursuing. Add to this the machinations of Scornubel's
native merchant-princes and the rumors of a thieves'
guild somewhere in its walls, and it can be understood
why the saying "The High Observer's headache is
named Scornubel" has some merit.