The Silver Men

You may find standing, on one of the busy corners of New Croton, a strange statue, glittering in silver and completely motionless. No one ever sees a silver man coming or going, only standing in a place as if they were always already there, though they may not have been just that morning.

Deposit a silver or gold piece in the hat or case before them and they spring to motion, performing strange motions and gesticulations. Hours and days might go by, were you to stand and watch, and the silver man would remain motionless, without food or drink, until precisely the moment a token was put before them.


Attacking a silver man is a crime and considered abhorrent behavior, however it is also taboo to provide them with any support or engage with them beyond giving them coin (many would look down on this practice as well).


Rumors

• No one has ever heard a silver man speak, but were they to do so they would always speak prophetic truths.
• Some believe that the coin they collect is used not for material support of their activities, but in the creation of new silver men through alchemical or magical means. The proponents of this belief will share stories of silver men resembling missing friends and relatives 
• The motions of silver men are actually miracles, blessings and curses apportioned to someone, somewhere. It is even less certain whether proper offerings can allow the donor to wish for specific things.
• The silver men all worship the great rider of waves, and they have trained themselves to be in stasis that they may last until his return at the end of the world.
• The silver men are not and never were human beings, they are mechanical in nature, constructs whose original purpose is not known. Giving coins triggers some aspect of their long-lost programming
• A silver man is created when a miser dies, painfully fused with the coin they avariciously coveted.
• There are also gold and copper men.