Urchins

"A suspicious number of orphans call the tangled streets of the Fifth City home. The child-gangs that plague us include: the Fisher-Kings, the Naughts, the Crosses, the Regiment, and the Knotted Sock." (Aw. Look at their sooty little cheeks. Hey, where'd my wallet go?)

Urchins are the probably futureless street-roaming orphans of London. They have territory throughout London, but they're particularly noticeable around Spite and in the Flit.

There are several infamous gangs, listed in the sidebar snippet above; each has its own peculiar customs and traditions, some allegedly dating back to the Second City. For example, the Naughts and Crosses seem to be playing a giant game of, well, naughts and crosses (aka tic-tac-toe), and the Fisher Kings actually fish for head adornments! The urchin gangs have an age limit and will cast out members when they grow too old.

Urchins are often used as couriers and informants.

Who is Slivvy?

Slivvy is an urchin who can talk to the wind. He answers to the zee-god Stone and sometimes kills people at her request by dropping large rocks on them from the great heights of the Flit. It is revealed that the port-wine birthmark on Slivvy's face, along with his stutter, are signs of "the Lightning's Kiss," which he received during a storm. For the right price in jade, Slivvy can use an Aeolian Scream to partially heal the ravages of Seeking Mr Eaten's Name. He can't erase it permanently, though. If one wants to sell the location of the Cave of the Nadir, Slivvy will offer to buy it in exchange for a Correspondence-covered stone called a Starstone Demark (worth over 300 Echoes). During this exchange he reveals that the urchin gangs may go back even further than the Second City. He hints that the urchin gangs may originate from the "other children" of the Bazaar. During Hallowmas, Slivvy will purchase secrets and confessions kept from a previous year, if one has any.

At Sacksmas...
...the urchins gather up the best lacre available from the streets and rooftops of London and collect it into pails of "snow," which they sell at exorbitant prices.

At Hallowmas, if one pays a rather valuable Night-Whisper...
...one will learn an interesting snippet of knowledge: the Knotted Sock doesn't get its name solely from the nail- and brick-filled socks they wield as weapons. Their name comes from an "ur-sock" (really, a glorified sock) said to contain a star.

Those who seek their Heart's Desire...

...will be told that Knotted Sock is one of the only urchin gangs that is brave enough to venture into the Forgotten Quarter. Their headquarters are located in a building in Spite known as Old Downy, which is rumored to be haunted. Later, one will learn that the building isn't haunted; rather, it is alive due to the influence of a large shard of the King with a Hundred Hearts' heart which they have stolen. This is the gem in the "ur-sock" mentioned in the spoiler above.

Hostile To

Docks: One of the urchin gangs uses a clock-tower-mounted cannon to extort protection money from dock residents.

The Gracious Widow: The Widow sometimes attempts to convince an urchin girl to leave her gang and become the Widow's adopted daughter.

Hell: Devils will often try to take advantage of the impressionable urchins in order to collect their souls. This isn't to say they won't work together...

Who Works with the Urchins?

• 
  Tricksters
• 
  Conjurers
• 
  Crooked-Crosses

Hiring Workers At One's Orphanage
Conjurer: Convinces urchins to join up with the devils of the Brass Embassy. Correspondent: Teaches the Correspondence to urchins. Midnighter: Regales the urchins with terrifying tales from their work as a spy disguised as ghost-tales.

What do the Urchins Deal In?

The zee-god Storm exerts influence over those who live in or spend a lot of time in high places - like the Urchins. The Flit, home to many urchins, is one of the highest places in the Neath. This is why the Urchins deal in Storm's wild words.

• 
  Maniac's Prayer
• 
  Correspondence Plaque
• 
  Aeolian Scream
• 
  Storm-Threnody
• Rookery Password (a mark of recognition)
  Rookery Password (a mark of recognition)