The Snake-Skin Gift
an expensive sandalwood box bound in snakeskin
The box itself is fine sandalwood, bound in the skin of some southern serpent. Inside, wrapped in silk, lies what appears to be an ordinary dagger.
The dagger does d4 damage. On a 1, the target dies immediately of deadly poison weeping from the blade.
Who sent the box to the Wretched Royalty is not asked. Diplomatic gifts of this kind are not refused, and not opened in the giver's presence.
The southern serpent's species is unnamed — could connect to the Strange Serpent Drug Cult or to the Two-Headed Basilisks. The original sender is unwritten — any noble house, any cult, any Shadow King-courtier with a grudge. The poison weeps from the blade on a 1 — implying the blade is alive, or the curse is keyed to fumbling. Pick one.