Tremmil's Folly

Nestled on a riverside deep within the Kingdom of Artiim lies a town of magic, mystery, and wonder. Built surrounding the University, Tremmil’s Folly exists to support the school and its students. As such, there is an overabundance of taverns, herbalists, and clothiers within the town limits. Interspersed among these enterprises are a great number of abandoned homes, towers, and small forts; remnants of when Tremmil’s Folly served as headquarters for the winning side of the Spellwars. Some of these abandoned buildings are protected by powerful magical wards that have prevented both looting and re-purposing. Others stand empty simply because the current population of Tremmil’s Folly does not require so many structures.
The population of Tremmil’s Folly, even those not directly affiliated with the University, is highly academic by nature. Tavern owners are more likely to be graduates of the University or retired professors than they are to be immigrants from other areas. Shop owners, by the nature of what they sell, tend to be highly knowledgeable in magic and the sciences. Even agriculturalists in the area tend to assist their crops with magic and spend a great deal of time experimenting with alternate seeds, plants, or growing and harvesting techniques. This prevalence of academia leads to a reputation of Tremmil’s Folly being proud and aloof with little understanding of the way life works in the rest of the Nine Kingdoms and beyond. Part of this reputation is based on the types of discussions one might overhear at a tavern — such as an assertion that the orcs of Ghash have been abused and oppressed by imperialistic humans who robbed them of their lands — and part of it is the disdain with which many in Tremmil’s Folly treat those who do not show an understanding of nature, science and magic.
The magical and academic nature of Tremmil’s Folly has spurred a profitable export trade in minor magical trinkets (such as everburning lanterns) along with new tools and techniques for the various traditional trades. There is also a robust import trade of herbs, mineral dusts, and other spell component materials. Further, it has occasionally lead to some interesting, unusual, and sometimes chaotic events within the town. Past examples have included unsuccessful attempts to cultivate zombie farm hands, an unnatural fog that settled over the area for almost five years straight, a myriad of magic-caused fires, and the turning of an entire dormitory into mud.