District: The Market District.
Other Names: Bartertown, Merchant District.
Government: Economancer's Council.
Police Force: The Merchant's Guard.

Situated between the Port District and one of the largest Steamworks, the Market District is the beating heart of the city's commerce. Despite what you might think, the Market District is not a market. It has alot of banks and offices, but it's mainly warehouses.
This district is laid out largely on a grid pattern, with lots of portals and big thoroughfares for carts to move down. Primarily, this is the city's distribution hub. Goods that come in from elsewhere, raw materials, or mass produced good from the steamworks are collected here, then sent out to smaller merchants throughout the city. Some of these warehouses are split up and subdivided, some are owned by massive corporations, some are owned collectively by a conglomerate of merchants.

Between the warehouses there are merchants. Every couple days part of the district is shut down (Usually areas where the Warehouses contain goods that are not going anywhere for awhile) and the wide streets are turned into an open market. The Economancer's council declares open market for a certain type of good, and merchants and craftsmen from all over the city bring their goods to the district while people looking for that type of good come to shop.

Of course, these markets are chaotic affairs, and the Merchant's Guard can often barely keep order, making them ideal places for black market deals. The Alliance loves using these markets to launder money or move stolen goods.

The district is also one of the most accessable in the city. It has several Stations (From different lines), and lots of portals open here. The streets are patrolled by the Merchant's Guard, a police force largely recruited from the nearby commons. All people who use warehouses or make sales in the district (Outside of the chaotic Markets of course) pay taxes (And they ARE enforced, the district isn't run by economancer's for nothing) which go to the upkeep of the district. The Merchant's Guard sticks to patrolling the streets, but for an extra fee you can have them take up security duties on your business. If you want something extra, there are lots of private security firms that will gladly keep your merchandise safe. Some business owners have taken the extra step of paying the Alliance to declare their business off-limits. Of course, considering the decentralized nature of the alliance, and the fact that ANY dealings with the alliance are illegal (therefore, you're not exactly going to spread the word if the Alliance reneges on your deal), this is uncommon and not exactly reliable. It's better to invest in some good security, or just deal in goods nobody will bother stealing (While there's good money in Iron ingots, stealing enough to make a profit is more trouble than it's worth).