Investigating (Guide)

Early MYN Content and Onwards

Seeking... Summary

Variable-Length Activity

Setup

0 A

Progress

5+ A

End

1 A

Progress Details

Raise Investigating... to 5. All sources are fungible.

Items Inputs/Outputs

Outputs

• Foxfire Candle Stub
• Piece of Rostygold
• Cryptic Clue

Raw EPA

0.76

Special

Heights of Chicanery is the only repeatable, and thus only one included.

Investigating... is a progress quality that can be gained and spent in a variety of endeavours, most of which are interchangeable.

The best early-game sources of Investigating are part of the Making Your Name storylines:

• Intrigue: The Curate and His Sister, Persuasive ~40
• The Tricks of the Courier's Trade, Shadowy ~90
• Featuring in the Tales of the University, Watchful ~100 (see the Guides for Featuring and Term Passing... for a more comprehensive walkthrough of these storylines)

You can also exchange investigation notes with other players for Investigating that scales with your Watchful. Though weak in the very early game, this becomes a highly efficient source, eventually reaching +46 CP per letter at max endgame Watchful.

In the late game, you can continue to use the early-game sources as long as you haven't concluded the storylines that lock (i.e. the Curate, and the University). Additional sources open up at Helicon House in Ealing Gardens and when Captured by the Clay Highwayman! after building to Balmoral, both part of the Railway storyline.

Most uses for Investigating are related to the same storylines in which you gain it. Once you've finished these stories (i.e., you've opened all the areas in Helicon House, followed up rumours of Cornelius, and played through the Clay Highwayman story), there aren't many uses for Investigating. If you've kept the Curate and University stories open, you can conclude those at this point and use Tricks of the Courier's Trade to both gain and spend Investigating (mainly useful for grinding Cryptic Clues).

Gaining Investigating...

Intrigue: The Curate and His Sister

Can only be started with A Name Signed with a Flourish exactly 3 in Veilgarden once you have Persuasive 33.

Once started, this storyline can be completed at any time, but cannot be restarted once the Flourish storyline is advanced past 3. Meaning that, as long as you want to use these options to grind Investigating, do not play the Complete your acquaintance storylet! (Doing so is not necessary to advance Flourish.) Once you have Watchful around 100, the University grind below is a better source of Investigating, and this storyline can be safely completed.

The Heights of Chicanery

Investigating Gain

Storylet	Option	Req.	Challenge	Success	Rare Success	Failure
The Tricks of the Courier's Trade	Spy on the couriers		85	+2 CP	+2 CP  +1 CP (up to 7)	+1 CP
	Spy on those who supply them		90	+3 CP	+3 CP  +1 CP (up to 7)	-1 CP  +1 CP
	Spy on the Topsy King's court		95	+3 CP		+1 CP
	Deploy your Suspicious Iguana	Suspicious Iguana	70%	+2 CP	+2 CP  +1 CP (up to 8)	+1 CP

Featuring in the Tales of the University

Unlocked with Featuring in the Tales of the University 9–24 in The University (see Guide and Carousel).

It is worth noting that prior to the July 2026 update to the University, Talk to the Porters could be used to gain Sudden Insights, and to train Watchful by spending 5 of these on Every stone, which led to many players indefinitely delaying concluding the investigation for leveling purposes. The version of Talk to the Porters available during the investigation no longer grants second chances, but a new version of the Term Passing... (Guide) carousel becomes available once one is no longer Unwelcome at the University - . This includes the option to Exchange some gossip with the Porters, for (presumably) a larger than usual Watchful increase, though it still does not grant second chances, and it is locked once your unmodified Watchful exceeds 150.

The Clay Highwayman

While Captured by the Clay Highwayman!, you can draw Opportunity Cards with options that gain Investigating...

Spending Investigating...

Except where noted, these options reset Investigating...

Intrigue: The Curate and His Sister

Once Concluded, this cannot be restarted if your A Name Signed with a Flourish is not 3.

Option	Req.	Challenge	Success	Failure
Knock on the Melancholy Curate's door	18	19	39 x Silk Scrap 4 x Appalling Secret 1 x Extraordinary Implication Persuasive +200 CP Hedonist +3CP (up to 10) Austere -3CP	Investigating... -3CP Scandal +1CP
Knock on the Enigmatic Sister's door	18	19	42 x Silk Scrap 58 x Nevercold Brass Sliver 1 x Extraordinary Implication Persuasive +200 CP Hedonist +3CP (up to 10) Austere -3CP	Investigating... -3CP
Do you know...I think both of them are rather charming.	18	26	80 x Silk Scrap 1 x Scrap of Incendiary Gossip 3 x Extraordinary Implication Persuasive +200 CP Hedonist +5CP (up to 15)	Investigating... -20CP Scandal +3CP

Heights of Chicanery

These storylets are available in the later stages of A Name Whispered in Darkness in The Flit. They are repeatable except for What is Going on with These People?

Cashing In

Storylet	Option	Req.	Challenge	Success	Rare Success	Failure
The Heights of Chicanery	Raid a Message-Drop	5	4	+270  reset  +1 CP (up to 8)	+270  reset  +1 CP (up to 8)	-5 CP  +1 CP
	More than just Messages	5	4	+540  reset  +1 CP (up to 8)	+540  +10  +1  reset  +1 CP (up to 8)	-5 CP
	Dropping the Eaves	5  5	85	+536  reset  reset	+540  reset  reset  +2 CP (up to 8)	-5 CP  -5 CP  +1 CP
Making Use of Cats	Track a bat heading towards Veilgarden	5  5	85	Reset  Reset  540 x	Reset  Reset  540 x   +3 CP	-5 CP  -5 CP
What is Going on with These People?	Allows you to advance A Name Whispered in Darkness to 7 with Making Use of Bats, Making Use of Cats, Investigating... and Seeking... 5

Featuring in the Tales of the University

Each level of Featuring from 9–24 requires an expenditure of 5 levels of Investigating... to advance; the storylets are usually challenges based on 2. For a complete list of these, see Featuring in the Tales of the University (Guide).

The Clay Highwayman

In the clay highwayman's camp, you can use Investigating... 5 in Your Captor, the Clay Highwayman with Learn what you can about him in order to help progress the story. See The Tale of the Clay Highwayman (Guide) for details.

Helicon House

Unlock the Helicon House and new areas within it. Other than unlocking the House, each of these also requires Fitting in 3 and Time remaining 2. Investigating... is not reset by any of these choices.