Siem

Siem is the capital city of Great Siem, nominally making it the center of all goblindom, at least so far as the culture of The Underkingdoms is concerned, and is located in the Deeping somewhere below and roughly south of the city of Val Verra. Because it's relatively sallow and decidedly central position means it is well insulated from the attacks of enemies of the goblins, and because it is the chosen seat of the Great Goblin - and by extension, all the Red Masters - the city has become a great cultural touchstone for Goblinkind, at least the goblins of the Underkingdoms, which are all those north of the Transoccident Mountains and west of the Atlas Mountains. Therefore, where many cities would have a citadel or primary fort, Siem instead has a grand central temple complex, the so-called City of Mysteries, surrounded on all sides by various subordinate districts.

Visitors to Siem - almost always goblins from elsewhere in the Underkingdoms - can keep these districts straight as each has a subordinate colour associated with it - see the Geography section.

Geography

Siem exists in a large and vaulted cavern that is (for the standards of the Deeping) well lit, chiefly by luminous lichens along the surface of the ceiling and by the fruiting bodies of 7-foot-tall mushrooms that emerge in the proper conditions like trees in orchards around the city and the wilder immediate environs; for convenience as much as clarity, the Goblins also call this entire cavern Siem. A river, or what passes for one, flows alongside the western side of the populated portion of the city, and both the channels it enters and exits the cavern, as well as other entry and exit tunnels, are heavily fortified.

Each of the districts has an associated colour for the aid of the largely-illiterate golbin underclasses, and new visitors to the city, each of which is then prominently displayed as paints, dyed awnings, banners, etc within that district. The districts are seperately walled, as they're often seperated by some short distance from each other with the "wilderness" of the cave.

The districts are:

• The City of Mysteries (Scarlet) - a centrally-located district with the best walls and the toughest guards, which even citizens of the city may not enter without official business. The City of Mysteries is the haunt of the Great Goblin and his attendant Red Masters. In addition to being a realpolitikal bastion and secular fortress, the City of Mysteries is the absolute physical center of the church of Gob. It serves as a minor military strongpoint, administrative center for the entire Church of Gob, and as a location for interface between the secular-clerical and -admministrative factions of the city and with the Great Goblin. The City of Mysteries includes temple, gallery, and library complexes that put it at the center of religious life for the entire Underkingdoms, and certain promotions within the church heirarchy can only be performed through rites conducted at the City of Mysteries, especially in the Temple of the Saints Below Stone.
• The City of Whispers (Violet) - located near both the river (for convenience) and the City of Mysteries (by necessity), the city of whispers is the font of secular administration and, to some extent, power, in Siem. There is a goblin saying that the Great Goblin might control the will of Gob, but whoever controls the City of Whispers controls him; that is, that the powerful (and almost universally rich) in the City of Whispers control reality, or at least how reality is presented to the Great Goblin, to the extent that deceit, spin, and propaganda can be leveraged in their favour. This district is known for its power games in a city of power gamers, and so it's possibly not a surprise that the most famous of all goblin assassination guilds, the Seminary of Life and Death, is to be found in this city.
• The City of Silks (Yellow) - located rather far down the river toward the south, near a cave-gate that heads off through Greater Seim to the kingdom of Novyhorad, forming a sort of silk road to the city of Baghar. Powerful reagents and secrets flow in both directions through the City of Silks, and in addition to many merchantile concerns, trade guilds, and so-on, the district is home to the Yellow College, one of the most powerful, advanced, and respectable wizarding circles in all of Goblindom.
• The City of Shouts (Blue) - is located furthest north along the river, itself near a gate. The city is known for arrival of news from the northern Underkingdoms (who are almost always at war with someone) and is unsurprisingly home to several different martial guilds and mercenary companies, the most famous of which is the Black Company. The Black Company, directly, or indirectly by extortion, controls all surface raiders in Goblindom - at least, any that want to be able to sell their "salvage" in the underkingdoms.
• The City of Lights (Orange) - is located just a short distance north of the City of Mysteries and is a wealthy district, full of tax-collectors and the merchants that have moved in to - as it were - support their wealth. This district is best known for its bars and brothels, and especially for the Bank of Infinite Ledgers.
• The City of Saintliness (White) - if not slightly ironically named, the largest of all the districts by surface area and population is the City of Saintliness. This district serves as the major economic hub of the city. Raw materials go in, finished products flow out, and the city-within-a-city self stratifies into the have-enough and the has-the-rests. Those who can't make their obligations in the City of Saintliness or buy their way (with blood and gold) to other districts are on the short rail to the City of Shadows.

- The City of Shadows (Grey) - is a ramshackle shantytown of a district, centrally located to not much else besides the refuse - both goblin and material - of the other district. It's a horrifying, abject place to live, one of those murder-an-hour type settlements where having food might be as deadly to you as not having it.

Economy

Siem's central location and the system of tithes and taxes in the Underkingdoms makes it the wealthiest and grandest goblin city in the west. It produces relatively little of its own that's not a luxury good or weapon - even foods are imported from other nearby cities.

Politics

Goblin society is an ever-shifting morass where everyone is constantly jockying to move upward, hoping, if not to become the Great Goblin, than to at least become the Greatest Goblin In The Immediate Area. Everything with goblins is a power game, and in a city like Siem, the only real rules are the ones you can't figure out how to get away with breaking (considering the cleverness of goblins, this chiefly concerns only the laws of physics). Assassinations are rife at almost every level, whether it's four hungry urchins banding together to kill the tough that's been taking them for their bread, or a quiet drop of something extra potent secreted into the Great Goblin's wine by one of the comfort-women he certainly isn't supposed to be taking up with. As the goblin saying goes: if it can't be ordered, it must be blackmailed; if it can't be blackmailed, it must be hobnailed (referring to the practice of nailing closed coffins).