Who Rules: The council of 16 elders is made up of four representatives from the Mage's, Fighter's, and Merchant's Guild, and the high Priests and Priestesses of the local region, with most of the power being controlled by the Elder Four. Each of the Elder Four is the highest and most respected representative of the four that make up their particular section of the council. The council must have a ¾'ths majority vote on any major issue to pass, with the Elder Four being able to overturn any measure passed by the council. Generally, there aren't any real problems with anything because each of the Elders almost always has the support of other three beneath him.

Who Really Rules: The Elder Four usually lead the way in all issues.

Population: 17,500 (95% of the population is made up of elves, with the rest being an equal mix of humans, half-elves, halflings, and dwarves).

Major Products: Lumber, finished wood products, medicines, furs, paper, and Unicorn's Leap white wine. Elvish archer-mercenaries are also a common product of the region. Arrafel also produces Fey Bow, a delicious mead that is made only from a special honey that is cultivated from hives located within hollow cavities found in Great Birk trees, and Cartesian Phantom, a dark wine that produces a violet vapor when uncorked and poured. As its inventor proudly proclaims, "It smokes. Therefore it is!"

Armed Forces: Being a border town on the Chondath border, Arrafel supports a sizable armed force, numbering about 1000, with almost half of that made up of light troops that specialize as archer/scouts. The core of the military is made up of The Heart of the Oak, which is a 300-man strong force of plate mail clad heavy infantry. This force is actually made up of 150 elves, 100 dwarves, and 50 humans, and is comprised along the following lines: Captain Karr Stoneforge (CG, D, F12) and his personal bodyguard of 20 Fighter/Priests (led by an elf, Silvas Nightcrescent, LN, elf male, F/P 8/9) of various races, all F/P 6/6. Under Karr are three lieutenants (F 8), each of who oversees three sergeants (F7). Under each sergeant is a force of 9 infantry, ranging from level 3-6, with two Fighter Priests (3/3 - 6/6) in each platoon. The remainder of the military is a mixture of specialists and medium infantry. All members of the armed forces are adept at preparing snares and traps.

Notable Mages: Darasel (CN, Elf, W15), a former elvish adventurer who is overly protective of his city. Despite being the most powerful mage in the city, he refuses a seat on the council. Instead, he prefers to spend his time roaming the countryside with the archer/scouts or creating offensive spell scrolls that he stockpiles in case the city is ever attacked.

Dunwinigreellixa Thistrillianastorif (LN, Gnome Female, I12) is the only gnome in Arrafel, and as such she is well known by everyone in the city. An extremely talented artist, she creates animated, and expensive, tapestries and paintings for her customers.

Notable Churches: Solanor; Shrines to nearly all elvish gods; Clanggedon Silverbeard; Mielikki, Tempus, Eldath, and Vilvanus.

Notable Rogues' and Thieves' Guilds: The Broken Arrow is a small guild with 11 members, including its guild master, Ethelle Birchlimb (LN, Elf Male, T10). There isn't much profit to be made in town, so the guild spends most of its time waylaying orcs and the occasional wealthy citizen who is out an about in the woods. Their stealth skills are so good, in fact, that all the members of the guild have primary jobs as scouts for the military, a role that gives them a very good cover story.

Equipment Shops: Full.

Adventurers' Quarters: Non-evil adventurers of all types are welcome in Arrafel as they are a good deterrent to any unwanted denizens that occasionally come into the area.

Important Characters: Jeremiah (LN, Human Male, R12) roams the woods around the town, constantly on a vigil against anyone who would dare to harm his adopted homeland. If he is found, he will gladly talk with anyone friendly and provide any information that he can. He sometimes seeks out adventuring parties in the area to point them in a direction where their power could be used to great benefit. While he is very friendly and knowledgeable, he is extremely ugly (Cha. 6), and this sometimes puts people off before they get the chance to know him.

Dimitri Hawkeye (LG, Human Male, W6) gave up practicing magic to build spyglasses and telescopes, which are of highly exceptional quality.

Mallakilli Firebreath (CN, Gnome Female, P4) is the manufacturer of arquebus rifles and pistols, and the occasional bombard. Her creations are of average quality, which is quite exceptional as she started making them after having only seen one in use. Her designs, however, are absolutely beautiful and the esthetic value of her pieces is of the highest quality.

Misra the Pearl (LE, Half Elf Female, T7) is a pickpocket who has a fetish for pearls and silver. Anything else that she acquires is secretly donated to the church of Solanor.

Important Features in Town: Arrafel is not a very big town in terms of population, but the actual size of the city is about twice as big as most towns with the same population. The reason for this is that the city is made up of wide avenues with plenty of trees. About 15% of the population actually dwells in structures built amongst the trees. There is also a sizable community of Treants that live in the vicinity of the city, and they act as a secret weapon in case the city is ever attacked directly. The town also has an abundance of fountains within its walls.

Local Lore: Arrafel is a quiet town, but it is not a stranger to violence. The local area does suffer from a minor orc problem, so the armed forces are usually kept busy. Despite the vigilance of the patrols, an occasional orc raid makes it into the city. However, they almost never cause any serious damage and are usually quickly destroyed.

The presence of these orcs brings in a lot of novice adventurers looking to make a name for themselves. A lot of these bands have a high number of dwarves amongst them, and while the local dwarvish population lives in peace with the elves of the area, these outsider dwarves often result in some racial fights between the two. Fortunately, these are more along the lines of drunken brawls than serious melees.