OLEANDER
1 Dramatic Wound / 1 day / 12 days

Oleander (pictured above) is a brightly-colored flowering plant found primarily in warmer, dryer climates. The entire plant is poisonous, especially the leaves and stems. These can be boiled with spinach or a similar dark green, leafy vegetable to create a toxic (but tasty) side dish, with the poison statistics listed above. The poison lends the dish a distinct sweet flavor, so experienced food tasters (or poisoners, for that matter) may be able to recognize the danger in the tainted food. The symptoms of ingesting oleander (largely extreme stomach pain and gastrointestinal distress) may masquerade as a simple stomach bug or a bout of food poisoning…at least until the remedies prove ineffective and the symptoms linger on and on.

As dangerous as oleander is when ingested, when the plants are burned and the smoke is inhaled, the poison acts much more quickly: the interval is reduced to five minutes and the duration is shortened to one hour. Just three plants burned in a dampered fireplace with the damper closed will affect everyone in the adjoining room, causing labored breathing, followed by a quickened heart rate, extreme sweating, and convulsions, ultimately leading to death.

Like many poisons, oleander will continue to inflict damage even after the victim is Knocked Out, and no damage from the poison may be healed while the poison remains in the victim’s system.