Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet

Surveillance Contract: Investigate a Starving Poet's Contacts Actions for the Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Venture are all found in Ladybones Road. You will need to raise your Investigating… quality to 5 to advance the Venture. When your Invesigating… reaches 5, actions appear to advance your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Venture. Once this Venture is available, you can complete it multiple times.

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Accepting the Contract

Surveillance Contract: Investigate a Starving Poet's Contacts

Your nosing around's attracted attention: you've been offered work. This gentleman believes a Starving Poet may be in contact with a revolutionary group. He'd like you to find out more.

[You'll need to build up a Investigating… quality to at least 5 to complete this.]
Unlocks: Watchful 9 (No longer available at Watchful 20)

Accept the contract.

'Come back when you've gathered enough evidence, one way or the other.'

Reward spoiler

You've accepted the contract.

You have his address, and the addresses of the places he frequents.
Begun a new venture! Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet
Investigating… shows your progress in the venture

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Investigation

Surveillance Contract: Investigate a Starving Poet's Contacts

Let's see if the rogue is really plotting against the Masters of the Bazaar.
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 1

A straightforward approach… Ask around in the places he frequents

Lengthy, but fairly safe.
(Watchful challenge; modest at 13, straightforward at 14)

Reward spoiler

You pick up some useful gossip.

Interesting. Thin, but interesting.
Watchful increase
Investigating… increase

Failure spoiler

You're being stonewalled.

Loyalty, ignorance or fear seals their lips.
Watchful increase

This might be faster… Break into his rooms

Now we're talking. He sleeps lightly at the top of a crowded boarding-house with men and women going at all hours. Being caught might compromise your investigation. Go carefully.
(Shadowy challenge; modest at 11)

Reward spoiler

You move like the ghost of a ghost.

The poet's snores are epic. You scan his journals and his correspondence by the light of a shuttered lantern.
Shadowy increase
Investigating… increase

Failure spoiler

Damn it!

Your ascent of the building wall is rudely broken when someone opens a window in your face. You fall four storeys into a huge and stinking compost heap. Dogs bark. Lights go on in windows. On the way home, picking potato peelings out of your hair, you wonder whether the nature of your landing should be considered fortunate or unfortunate.
Shadowy increase

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Making Progress in the Venuture

When your Invesigating… reaches 5, actions appear to advance your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Venture.

Investigate a Starving Poet's contacts: a poetry recital

Listening to his poetry would be a good start. If he is consorting with villains, it will probably come out in his work.
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 1, Investigating… 5

Track down a recital

The Starving Poet is hardly a major figure of London's literary scene. His recitals are infrequent and sparsely attended. Finding one may be difficult.
(Investigating… challenge; low risk at 6)

Reward spoiler

Not the most elegant surroundings

The Starving Poet is reading his latest work at a baker's shop. The owner specialises in rat pies and is herself a patron of the arts.

The poem is awful. It's clumsy and heavy-handed. The worst thing you've heard that isn't about mushrooms. But… was that a clever dig at Mr Veils? Yes, and a few scathing lines about the other Masters of the Bazaar, too. Well, if nothing else, the Starving Poet does have somewhat radical politics. It's a good start, even if you have to duck a flying rat pie. The audience is getting restless. Anyway, you should investigate further.
You succeeded in a Investigating… challenge!
Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has increased to 2!
Your Investigating… quality has gone!
Connected: Bohemian increase
Gain: 20 x Rat on a String

Failure spoiler

Not this week

The Starving Poet won't be reading his work anywhere this week. No wonder he's starving.
Investigating… decrease

Investigate a Starving Poet's contacts: a meeting

The Starving Poet has a rendezvous in an alley behind a particularly odorous eel shop.
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 2, Investigating… 5

Follow him

He didn't tell his friends where he was going. And he's carrying a package. Interesting.
(Investigating… challenge; modest at 5)

Reward spoiler

Anarchists and pies

The Poet meets a skulking gaggle of suspicious figures. You observe the meeting from the shelter of a rat-ridden rubbish heap. He asks a great many excited questions. What are the latest outrages perpetrated by the Masters of the Bazaar? Are the heights of the Flit still safe from the Constables? What is the next target for the next bombing?

The Poet's acquaintances are clearly anarchists, but they're not telling him much. They're more interested in the package he's carrying. He hands it over. They open it to check the contents: pies. The Starving Poet has been starving himself to feed anarchists.
You succeeded in a Investigating… challenge!
Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has increased to 3!
Your Investigating… quality has gone!

Failure spoiler (unknown)

Surveillance Contract: Investigate a Starving Poet's Contacts

The Starving Poet has been associating with anarchists. What to do now?
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 3

Look into the anarchists

It's best to be thorough in these matters.

Reward spoiler

After anarchists

Is the poet a patsy? A victim of blackmail, perhaps? One should be sure of these things.
Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has increased to 4!
Your Investigating… quality has gone!
Although it doesn't seem to tell you this.

Track down the poet and finish this

You've seen enough.

Reward spoiler

After the poet

He crept away from that meeting with his revolutionary contacts and disappeared. But you'll find him soon enough.
Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has increased to 5!

Investigate a Starving Poet's contacts: the revolutionaries

Is the Starving Poet a hardened revolutionary? A patsy? A victim of blackmail?
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 4, Investigating… 5

Investigate the revolutionaries

Perhaps Fallen London's dynamite faction can throw some light on the mystery. They're more accustomed to throwing bombs than light, but still…

Reward spoiler

Pies and progress

You place yourself at a table near the revolutionaries and stare blindly at your Unexpurgated London Gazette. They gossip about rival cells and complain about the price of explosives. Talk turns to the Starving Poet. He's a joke among the revolutionaries. Apparently, the Poet is spicing up his insipid verses with political satire, and paying the revolutionaries in pies to provide inspiration. He's no more a hardened revolutionary than he is a goat. Still, he is associating with them, which is enough to buy him a spell in New Newgate Prison. You're on the last leg of this investigation…
Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has increased to 5!
Your Investigating… quality has gone!

Failure spoiler

The gentlemen in blue

You place yourself at a table near the revolutionaries and stare blindly at your Unexpurgated London Gazette. They have barely opened their mouths when the constables raid the coffee shop. What rotten luck.

You extricate yourself with a series of indignant explanations. Your name goes into an official notebook nonetheless.
Investigating… decrease
Suspicion increase

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The Conclusion

Your Investigation is complete—you now have a decision.

Surveillance Contract: Investigate a Starving Poet's Contacts - the conclusion

The Starving Poet has been associating with anarchists. That's enough to send him packing to New Newgate. What will you do with this information?
Unlocks: Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet 5, Investigating… 5

Turn in the poet to the authorities

That, after all, is what you are being paid for.

Reward spoiler

The Constables are pleased

You turn over your dossier on the Starving Poet. The constables seem disappointed that there is no mention of murder or bomb-making, but they arrest him anyway. He is sent to New Newgate and the constables pay you generously for your work. On your next trip to Veilgarden you are repeatedly referred to as a "spineless lackey of the establishment", and nobody buys you a drink.
Your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Quality has gone!
Your Investigating… Quality has gone!
Connected: Constables increase
Connected: Bohemian decrease
Steadfast increase
You've gained 300 x Rostygold

Go to the authorities, but warn the poet

Perhaps he's not all that bad. Or perhaps you'd like to impress his bohemian friends.

Reward spoiler

But when the Constables came, he wasn't there

You turn in your dossier. The constables march off to arrest the Poet, but by the time they get there he's long gone. Perhaps his work will be better appreciated in the tomb-colonies, where he's kicking his heels for a month or two. The constables pay you decently, but they're bitter about the lack of a collar. The Poet's friends toast your discretion.
Your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Quality has gone!
Your Investigating… Quality has gone!
Connected: Bohemian increase
You've gained 250 x Rostygold

Warn the revolutionaries that the poet is being investigated

The fate of the Starving Poet is irrelevant. The coming revolution is what's important.

Reward spoiler

Come the revolution!

You tip off the revolutionaries. Their poetical friend has attracted some constabulary attention, you say, and he's not good at knowing when he's being followed. The revolutionaries are sorry to lose their source of rat pies, but decide not to meet him again.

In you, the revolutionaries see a fellow radical spirit. They offer you some alarming literature before disappearing into the back streets of Spite.
Your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet Quality has gone!
Your Investigating… Quality has gone!
Connected: Revolutionaries increase
Connected: Bohemian decrease
You've gained 75 x Proscribed Material

Give up on the whole business

You've had enough of poets, pies and anarchists. Just walk away.

Reward spoiler

'A Starving Poet, you say?'

'No, can't say that I've ever heard of the fellow.'
Your Surveillance Contract: Starving Poet has gone!
Your Investigating… quality has gone!
Melancholy increase

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