Clay Men
"The Clay Men are cheap, strong, contented immigrant labour imported en masse across the Unterzee. Are they really clay? Well, that's a very personal question. They don't ask you if you're really meat."
"IN POLYTHREME THE BED I SLEPT ON WAS A SLAVE. THE ROOM WHERE I SLEPT WAS HACKED FROM SCREAMING STONE. THE WATER I DRANK BEGGED ME TO STOP. THEY PAID ME IN COIN THAT PLOTTED MY DOWNFALL. THE MEMORIES ARE TROUBLING. THIS PLACE IS BETTER."
Clay Men are living statues from the far-off land of Polythreme. They come to London as workers, and you’ll often find them among the Docks hauling cargo. Though they have their own language, called Loamsprach, Clay Men can speak English. If you don’t recognize them by their grey countenances, you can instantly recognize one by his DISTINCT AND PECULIAR SPEECH PATTERN.
Many Clay Men reside in the Clay Warrens, which can be found under Ladybones Road. Though most Londoners treat these humanoids as second-class citizens, they are diligent and obedient workers who wouldn’t dare hurt anyone. So the next time you see your local Clay Coalman walking around, maybe smile and greet him. Or lend a hand. You see, he's very knowledgeable in all things Dangerous, and that kind of friendship can come in handy when navigating the city.
Note: if you think you see a Clay Man who’s missing a few pieces, be very careful. This is likely one of the Unfinished Men. And Unfinished Men are capable of awful things.
That being said, it can be difficult to distinguish between an Unfinished and a Clay Man who was simply wounded. This leaves the Clay Man as a whole one of the more mistrusted and oppressed factions of Fallen London, rivaled only by the Rubbery Men. Sadly, many unionized dock workers are rather irked that the Clay Men are replacing their jobs, leading to strikers destroying Clay Man shipments and occasionally smashing the poor things themselves.
Original by NiteBrite/Mrs. Brite
