Elturel

The city was situated atop a bluff or tor with a cliff dominating the River Chionthar. This was both a good defensive position and a good crossing-point, as the river below was narrow, shallow, and easily traversed by poling barges; the city was founded here for this advantage. The river linked it with Berdusk, Iriaebor, and Scornubel, and to Baldur's Gate on the Sword Coast.
The Skuldask Road ran through Elturel, linking it to Thundar's Ride in the Fields of the Dead in the northwest, and to Berdusk and Uldoon's Trail in the southwest. The lesser-used Dusk Road began at Elturel and went northeast to meet the Trade Way at Triel. It was a major stop on the trade routes through the Western Heartlands.

Trade

In the 1300s DR, Elturel was the farming center of the Fields of the Dead and thrived on the trade that passed through its domain. It was commonly rated as the second-most economically powerful city in the Western Heartlands after Scornubel and it was quite wealthy. Linking overland caravan and river barge trades, it also served as a market for farms on fertile Fields of the Dead and Chionthar banks. Thousands of cattle and sheep were assembled in Elturel every year for trade across Faerûn. Traders greatly appreciated the protection afforded them by the Hellriders; caravans and convoys of riverboats chose routes through Elturel's zone of control so they could relax their own security, if only for a day or two. Summer saw the peak of trade through the city.
Its primary exports were livestock and the products of them, namely meat, cheese, leatherwork, wool, and glues rendered from hooves and horns. Equipment shops in the city had moderate availability of goods. Elturel supplied fabric and leather to Aurora's Emporium, which traded clothing and shoes. Elturian Grey was the premier cheese of Elturel, and was also sold through Aurora's Emporium, though counterfeits under similar names were produced.
After the founding of Elturgard, the port officials who handled trade in the city circa 1479 DR were overly righteous and handed exorbitant taxes and penalties to traders who showed even the slightest impiety, even banning them from setting foot inside the city. The caravans and riverboat convoys now feared to pass through there. Despite this, by 1489 DR, travelers were once again relieved to set foot inside Elturgard and relax their guard for a time.

Description

The city was split into two districts: an upper city known as the High District and a lower city known as the Dock District. The High District spread over the slopes of a rising, defensible hill with a rocky cliff on its south side, where it met the Chionthar. In this crowded space, the buildings were constructed of stone, with tall narrow houses topped with spires and bedecked with balconies and windows, and the cobbled streets were narrow, steep, and winding. Their cellars were dug out of the solid rock. This area was home to the city's nobility. Atop the cliff overlooking the river was the High Hall, marked by its soaring turrets and its walls encircling the summit. This was where the High Rider and later the High Observer lived, government was based, bureaucracy was managed, political and religious leaders were housed, and large commercial meetings were held.  On the northeastern flank of the hill was a ravine, crossed by two bridges in the late 1400s DR: the Torm's Reach in the north and the Torm's Blade south of it, each 20 feet (6.1 meters) and consecrated in the name of Torm by runes carved into them, and warded against fiends and undead.
The Dock District, meanwhile, covered the flatlands around. It was home to markets, stockyards, and warehouses, as well as wagon-makers and yards and officers of other trades associated with caravans. It was dirty, disorderly, and smelly, with buildings designed only for function and business. In the east side, it was known for hovels and warehouses clustered around the docks. In the west side there were tidier and more well-off homes and shops, and in the 1360s the area was more often being called Westerly to distinguish it as cleaner and more prosperous than the east side. Those in the east thought those in the west were lazy, soft, arrogant, and pretentious. In any case, by the late 1400s, houses in the lower town were for the most part of the same design as those on the hill.
The canal began at Maiden's Leap in the north and ran east and south within the walls before joining the Chionthar. It formed a partial moat for defense and a passage for barges servicing the eastern Dock District. Four bridges crossed it. The canal was crossed by Maiden's Bridge just north of the cascades.
Lord Dhelt decreed that inns and taverns could not operate under the same roof, nor could inns serve drinks, so in Elturel these were distinctly different businesses. The better inns stood in the High District, but were simply converted houses and often several neighboring houses linked into one. Those in the Dock District were simpler, not to mention noisier, but were usually the only accommodations available in summer during the trade season. Inns and taverns were generally good in quality. A Pair of Black Antlers was the best-known tavern, and a favorite of adventurers.
Shiarra's Market was held within a town square (actually more of an egg-shape) in the eastern Dock District. It was known for crammed stalls. There were a number of farmers' markets.

Notable Locations

Government Buildings 

• High Hall 
• Dungeon of the Inquisitor-where lawbreakers were sent in the 1400s, was a maze-like subterranean complex lying beneath Elturel. It covered excavated passages and natural caverns.

Temples & Shrines 

• Helm's Shieldhall 
• High Harvest Home 
• Temple of the Beast 
• Temple of the Morninglord 
• Hand That Swings the Sword

Inns 

• Black Gryphon 
• Dwarf's Pot Inn 
• Gallowgar's Inn 
• Hondakar's House 
• Phontyr's Unicorn 
• Oar and Wagonwheel Inn 
• Symbril's House

Taverns 

• A Pair of Black Antlers 
• The Bent Helm 
• The Glowing Goblet

Population; 17,000 in 1479 DR
Ruler; Thavius Kreeg