Haldeth's Sleeping Death

**Haldeth's Sleeping Death,** also known by the colloquial name "Nightshade Blue #3", is a poisoned tube of lipstick that was created by the Haldeth Clan of Mezro several hundred years ago by Meiwen Haldeth, a renowned yuan-ti poisoner and daughter of the Haldeth clan.

## **About**

This poison was made from several different lethal plants as well as the venoms from different animals and creatures, including venom from the yuan-ti themselves. It was mixed into a salve-like oil, easily absorbed into the skin, and then it was mixed into beeswax lipstick, dyed bright blue with various berries and fruit, and sealed in an obsidian-embedded lipstick tube to be worn as lipstick.

This poison was made by yuan-ti for use by yuan-ti. Yuan-ti are typically immune to poison, so the intended use was for the poisoner to wear the poison as lipstick and give a kiss to their victim, who, if not a yuan-ti, would succumb to the poison's lethal effects.

The poison is a contact poison, which poisons an individual who comes into contact with it. While poisoned by the lipstick, a victim is unconscious and takes a level of exhaustion every two hours they are unconscious, which eventually is lethal if not cured in time. The poison typically takes around 12 hours to kill its victim and is devastatingly dangerous even in small doses.

The lipstick and the poison within is estimated to be worth around 3,000gp, but nobody in their right minds would sell something so dangerous.

## **History**

Haldeth's Sleeping Death was created by Meiwen Haldeth, a descendant of the Haldeth Clan, in the Chultan city of Mezro in the 11th century FR, as Meiwen wanted to provide a way to keep her nieces and nephews safe from the humans of Mezro that deeply distrusted her yuan-ti family. Meiwen felt similarly pressured by her own fraught and loveless relationship with her ex-husband, a human man, who she had to flee from after he was abusive and oppressive. She created Haldeth's Sleeping Death and presented it to her nephew Jielei as a coming-of-age gift, and he gave it to his daughter after him, and so on.

Haldeth's Sleeping Death was the clandestine secret weapon of the Haldeth Clan for nearly 4 centuries, as it could be traced back to the unexplained deaths of many an unwitting non-yuan-ti spouse who dared abuse a Haldeth bride or groom. When Zhipeng Haldeth left Mezro in 1385 with his wife Nyota and son Sibonelo for Port Nyanzaru, he took the Sleeping Death with him. Eventually, the Sleeping Death was passed from Sibonelo Haldeth to his youngest son Jian, and Jian passed it to his second daughter Najhia in 1469 as part of her dowry on her wedding day.

In 1488, Najhia Haldeth D'Marothek contracted sewer plague, and with time, it was clear that she would not recover easily on her own. During the summer of 1488, Shulssu D'Marothek, her spouse, took her fortune, including the Sleeping Death. He squirreled it off to Waterdeep, where it would remain in his possession until July of 1492, when he would gift it to the human Peia D'Marothek, his current spouse, under the pretense that it was simply ordinary lipstick and was not as dangerous as it truly was. This blundering error caused the Sleeping Death to be lost to him, however, when Peia D'Marothek returned it to Najhia Haldeth's son, Mariss D'Marothek, when Mariss met her and revealed how dangerous the substance truly was. It is still in his possession.

## **Notable Owners**

Meiwen Haldeth created the substance in the 11th century FR for her nephew, Jielei Haldeth, to which she gifted it when he came of age.

Zhipeng Haldeth had the Sleeping Death when he, his wife and son fled Mezro in 1385.

Sibonelo Haldeth received the Sleeping Death from his father Zhipeng as part of his inheritance.

Jian Haldeth received the Sleeping Death from his father Sibonelo when he came of age.

Najhia Haldeth received the Sleeping Death from her father Jian as part of her dowry on her wedding day in 1469 FR.

Shulssu D'Marothek stole the Sleeping Death from the ailing Najhia Haldeth D'Marothek in 1488 FR.

Peia D'Marothek received the Sleeping Death as a gift from her husband Shulssu in July 1492; however, this gift was barbed and was intended to kill her, as she is a human and could not properly use the Sleeping Death properly.

Peia D'Marothek returned it to Mariss D'Marothek, the rightful owner of Najhia Haldeth D'Marothek's heirloom, in July 1492 after Mariss revealed to her its dangerous nature.