“he consorted with thieves and coiners and knew the mysteries of their trade”

[epigrammatical]

(Yes I know that quote refers to Dorian and not Harry but bear with me here.)

So our Victorian bad ideas generator is running into a tobacco shortage. Being a selfish bastard, he is now determined to acquire as much for his own personal use as he can, but at times like this, it's only a gentle sidle from there to providing it to others to fund, in turn, one's own habit. And as one ill-gotten good leads to another, one may soon find oneself deep in the black market without having intended to do so.

(Ordinary trade and commerce is terribly common, but this is a matter of acquiring life's finer indulgences through under-the-table skulduggery. An entirely valid pursuit for a gentleman of means.)

So: who else wants to be a player in the black market: customer, seller, or something else? Lord Henry's starting with tobacco, with a single initial NPC contact by way of a bookseller in the Wood sector, who Knows People and is his current employer friend. He will soon be looking for someone (a PC) who can act as a delivery person, and may also personally contact any friends of his who are smokers to let them know that should they find themselves lacking, he might be able to help.

Subsequently, given incentive he will coordinate with anyone else doing business on the side—if you can offer wine, he might exchange for tobacco, and so on. And I am not at all averse to him getting busted at some point. Because that can only be hilarious.

Chime in if you're interested, and let's see how much trouble we can get into here.

ETA: As noted downthread, I am completely okay with people hearing Vague Rumours about people who Get Things, and using this as an excuse to sidle up to Henry (you might think that he would know about Those People, not that he actually is one, for instance). Whatever facilitates the advancement of shenanigans is fine with me!

Comments

[depicted]

Dammit, Harry! You have to learn how to do the crime without doing the time!