The Goblin Town (Manhattan)

Goblin Town is an Unseelie Nocker Freehold Barony in Manhattan, New York. Buried deep in the bowels of Manhattan, Goblin Town is one of two major freeholds on the Island. It's claimed territory stretches under sixteen blocks of the eastern midtown area of the city and includes tunnels directly beneath the Ford Foundation Building. The west side of its boundaries touches the Grand Central Terminal, and to the east it reaches the United Nations Building, the East River, and the Queenstown Tunnel. The freehold's center is right beneath the Chrysler building. A combination of Glamour and clever architectural contraptions hides the territory from the outside world. Subway workers, homeless sewer dwellers, and even supernatural entities nearly pass through the center of the freehold all completely unaware of its existence.

Opulent by even the most jaded standards, the decor is a combination of Baroque and Victorian excess: polished wood and brass, muted amber lighting from ingenious oil lamps, glittering gold, mirrors, and great works of art, both human and Kithain. Even the secret passages, of which their are hundreds, are luxurious with dark mahogany paneling and minor art treasures. The floors are mostly fine wood parquet adorned with oriental rugs. A wide array of stained glass is backlit by oil lamps. Clever nocker inventions decorate the freehold and hundred of artificial creatures wander the halls; clockwork masterpieces animated by Glamour. They come in every breed and variety: brass storks, jade alligators, silver dragonflies, gold leopards with onyx spots, etc..., and outnumber the changeling inhabitants 10 to 1. Most have a rudimentary intelligence and they are a formidable force if needed for defense. It's all so dazzling that most visitors fail to see the fiendish (and occasionally sadistic) intelligence that underlies each detail. The architecture is a mechanical marvel and, in a sense, is itself alive.

Few of the inhabitants know all the freehold's complexities. The secret passages move as well. It's every nocker childing's dream to find an undiscovered secret passage; rumors of hidden treasures in such locations are common. The freehold's growth has paralleled the city's over the years. Each new element is painstakingly built in according to the master plans left by Doctor Tapp, which have been carefully preserved by the freehold's successive Master Builders as the work to integrate that growth with the city's construction. The freehold has purchased much of the surrounding property to allow this.

On top of all this, the freehold's bizarre construction has begun to foster a degree of paranoia and schizophrenia in its inhabitants. In this vertiginous world, few things are constant and few of the dwellers have their feet firmly on the ground. Political alliances are mercurial and social conventions change at lightening speed. Despite this, the freehold's leader, Baroness Cadmium Redd, has managed to stay on top for over 25 years. The freehold's mood has grown increasingly frenetic recently and it is doubtful her reign will last much longer.

Children of the Sword
As the (mostly) Nocker Freehold of Goblin Town becomes more and more chaotic due to many factors, certain fae, sensing the distress, have formed doomsday sects within the territory. The Children of the Sword is the most bloodthirsty and militant of these groups. They represent all the worst that Seelie fae say abut the Unseelie. The Children know that High King David's sword, Caliburn, was hidden in the freehold briefly during the Accordance War and interpret this as an omen to shed blood. They are not loyal to David but to the sword. They often go to the surface world of New York to cause trouble and are vicious, even by Unseelie norms. Among other crimes, they are known to have conducted human sacrifices.