Editing Spirifage

''"There's a healthy export [[The Soul Trade|trade in souls]] from Fallen London to Hell. But like all trade, it's licensed and overseen by the Bazaar. Spirifers are those rogues who bypass the Bazaar to sell directly to Hell. A soul may be a final desperate payment against a bad debt; it may be gambled unwisely; or it may be tricked from its first owner."''<ref name="what is spirifer 2">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Devils_and_Hell|What is a spirifer? (2)|Fallen London|}}</ref>[[File:Forkbrass.png|thumb|A Spirifer's Fork.]]'''Spirifers''' are soul-merchants who lack permission or licensing from the [[Bazaar]] or [[London]]'s authorities.<ref name="what is spirifer 2" /> Most are human, and they usually try to trade souls directly to [[Hell]] instead, bypassing London's tariffs and strict regulations.<ref name="what is spirifer 2" /> Their trade is called '''spirifage;''' it can be lucrative, but spirifers are prosecuted severely if caught.<ref name="trade in souls">{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Devils_and_Hell|A trade in souls?|Fallen London|}}</ref>

== Soul Thievery ==
Spirifers are infamous for their preferred means of obtaining souls: stealing them from invalids and other incapacitated parties.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Sidebar_Snippets#Devils_and_Hell|What is a spirifer? (1)|Fallen London|}}</ref> To do this efficiently, they use '''spirifer's forks''', brass-colored metallic instruments that can wind out a person's soul from their mouth or some other orifice. Unfortunately, victims tend to die of shock from the extraction process.<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Watch_from_the_rooftops|Watch from the rooftops|Fallen London|}} ''"...a spirifer [...] leans over a bedside [...] device like a brass tuning fork..."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Soul_Trade_(Story)|The Soul Trade (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"You roam around [...] extracting souls. The spirifer's fork works [...] winding the souls [...] from the mouth or eyes. A few [...] victims [...] killed by the shock..."''</ref> Apparently, spirifer's forks work because they're specialized in removing souls that are considered "loosely tethered".<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/Spirifer's_Fork|Spirifer's Fork|Fallen London|}}</ref>

To be established as a spirifer, an aspirant needs a patron, such as a [[devil]] from the fringes of the [[Brass Embassy]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Soul_Trade_(Story)|The Soul Trade (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"The Brass Embassy pays well for souls. [...] A serious spirifer needs an infernal fence for the goods. [...] There are devils around the Brass Embassy [...] those that indulge in unlicensed soul commerce are circumspect."''</ref> They may be forced to pass a grueling test before the patron will accept them and provide them with a spirifer's fork,<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Soul_Trade_(Story)|The Soul Trade (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"Was this a test?. [...] A devil finds you at home. He congratulates you [...] offer you a commission. [...] You will be there [...] how is this [...] soul extraction device operated?"''</ref> but after paying for it, the newly-minted spirifer can sell souls to their patron for a better rate than at the [[Echo Bazaar]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/The_Soul_Trade_(Story)|The Soul Trade (Story)|Fallen London|}} ''"[...] sack of bottled souls in tow [...] pass on some to the fence as payment for the spirifer's fork. [...] you are an established spirifer now: you will get a better deal on souls than the Bazaar offers..."''</ref>

== Even An Ape Can Do It? ==
[[File:MonkeySSea.png|alt=A grinning monkey.|100px|thumb|A Pentecost ape.]][[The Empire of Hands]], in the far eastern [[Unterzee]], is a colony of intelligent monkeys who have managed to acquire and absorb many human souls within themselves - several in one body, in some cases. Being monkeys, they often go overboard and conclude that more is better; social status in the Empire is in fact based on how many souls a monkey possesses,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Empire_of_Hands#Port_Stanton|An Audience with the Flea-Ridden Mayor|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> and they actively try to acquire souls from donors as well as from careless zailors.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Empire_of_Hands#Port_Stanton|Help your navigator sell his soul|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Empire_of_Hands#Port_Stanton|Shore leave (A walk in the woods)|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> Apparently, they "absorb" human souls with the intention of inheriting the soul's traits and becoming more human-like,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Empire_of_Hands#Port_Stanton|Recover your soul|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> due to a burning envy for their less fur-covered counterparts.<ref name="her master's voice">{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Sovereign_Island#An_Audience_with_the_Emperor|Her Master's Voice|Sunless Sea|}}</ref> Much to their anger, the [[Admiralty]] considers their activities a form of spirifage, and has cut them off from any business with London as a result.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlesssea.gamepedia.com/Empire_of_Hands#A_Stern_Reminder_from_the_Admiralty|A Stern Reminder from the Admiralty|Sunless Sea|}}</ref><ref name="her master's voice" />

== Spirifage in the Skies ==
[[File:SpiriferEngine.png|alt=A strangely decorated flying train engine.|100px|thumb|A Spirifer Engine.]]Given the abundance of souls within the [[Blue Kingdom]], it's not surprising that illegal spirifage would be an issue even there. Spirifers in the [[High Wilderness]] travel in '''Spirifer Engines''', strange locomotives that often disguise themselves as funerary locomotives, decorated in a crude imitation of the Blue Kingdom's burial customs and rites.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Spirifer_Engine|A Spirifer Engine, Stopped|Sunless Skies|}}</ref><ref name="scrap the engine">{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Spirifer_Engine|Scrap the engine|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> They may also appear to be merchant ships, or take on other disguises are that less well-known;<ref name="retrieve otherworldly artefact">{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Spirifer_Engine|Retrieve an Otherworldy Artefact|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> unfortunately for them, the [[Logoi]] that patrol the Blue Kingdom are rarely fooled by this ruse, and as such attack them on sight.<ref name="scrap the engine" />

Spirifers in the High Wilderness may also possess strange artifacts that can open the various '''Vaults''' that pepper the Blue Kingdom;<ref name="retrieve otherworldly artefact" /> these treasure troves are filled with souls, but are frequent targets for raiders and ambushers due to their lucrative contents.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Discoveries#Vaults_of_Souls|Vaults of Souls|Sunless Skies|}}</ref>