Sekre Glimmre

Literally secret glimmer, Sekre Glimmre is the subterranean "hidden" district of the Cities of Mercy and Wrath (specifically Mercy) that houses something of a black market (or, to be honest, more of a gray market).

Government

It's not really clear to people where the rent for the area goes; all anyone knows is there's an office you make your monthly payments, you receive invoices in the mail, the place stays upkept with that money, and if you don't pay you get in....deep trouble.

Defences

The district is far underground, with only the portals or maintenance lift as access. It is magically warded against floods and cave-ins, and whoever owns the space seems to have plainclothed guards dispersed in the area, as evidenced by how quickly fights are broken up. That said, people also self-police, with a "be cool or you ruin it for us all" moral agreement in place.
To enter Sekre Glimmre, one must first pay a password (or gold coin) to the keeper of the gates in the basement of one of the merchants that rotate the location of the portals on a weekly basis. The password is changed each time the location changes, though it cycles through a consistent list of 5-7 different merchants. The password is not hard to find (along with the location of this week's merchant asking around tends to net the answer within 1-2 business people you ask on the street. It is, after all, all about feeling like it's sneaky.

History

Sekre Glimmre was formed some hundred-odd years ago for what historians document as a sort of pseudo-secret society where the well-to-do could go to avoid scrutiny while indulging in vices and needing to feel a little 'naughty.' What started at first as a club meeting in the basement of different merchants' shops grew to be something that required permanent stalls and infrastructure, sending the whole thing literally underground as a crowdfunded effort hollowed out one of the caverns below the city and furnished it for permanent use.
The current state of Sekre Glimmre maintains this reputation of an almost tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top discretion, the secret everyone shares. Ironically, however, this glib reputation has also granted safety for some truly unsavory types to take up residence, relying on the police above's don't-ask-don't-tell policies of the area.

Points of interest

There is no standardization in the businesses set up in Sekre Glimmre, serving as more of a wide-open mall courtyard with different booths and stalls afloat in scattered rows, while larger establishments take up residence in buildings built into the walls of the wide cavern.

Tourism

People visit Sekre Glimmre to do, see, or find things they cannot (or feel they should not) aboveground. Roughly speaking, you can divide the offerings into 3 categories.

1. Things that are actually totally allowed aboveground but are enhanced by the feeling of being 'naughty' or 'sneaky' about it, such as visiting a cabaret, strip club etc. or a hookah lounge.
2. Things that are questionable in morality or that put someone in a vulnerable position they may not want seen, such as certain cosmetic surgeries, drug dens that include hallucinogens, and more unique sexual experiences.
3. Things that are definitely not moral or ethical in good society and may in fact actually be very illegal and bad. These are often obfuscated amongst the revelry and excess, using the noise and unseriousness of someone pretending to sneak into a strip club to hide themselves. Poison peddlers, contract killers, vendors of sapient creatures - the true underbelly of a society, relying on the policing forces above never taking this place seriously to protect themselves.

Architecture

Built into a hollowed out cavern shaped roughly like a teardrop with a large circular basin, Sekre Glimmre is reachable through a series of mono-directional portals: up, and down. There is also a maintenance lift tucked in the back, but who would dare use that?
The layout of the area is something akin to an open-air mall (though underground) mixed with a shopping mall courtyard. The floors are covered in fine white marble tile and globes hover overhead for illumination. Most of the area is left open, other than the occasional bench or trash receptacle, with businesses paying rent to set up shop in booths or stalls. Along the walls of the cavern, more dedicated buildings have been erected - like the shops of a mall, each paying its own rent to decorate the space as they please. These are shaped out of the stone of the cavern but the shop's facade and interior may differ wildly based on the business.

Type

District

Location under

Cities of Mercy and Wrath