Sapphire:Sessions:20180811
Chalker picks the lock on the door of the second-floor room at The Hawks where Ahn-Lee had fought the night before. Inside Chalker and Ahn-Lee recoil from the smell of sulfur and burnt wood, though there is no evidence of fire and no fumes. Chalker asks Ahn-Lee, "If there had been a demon in here, you'd have known it, right?" Alastor has no reaction, explaining that he is anosmic. Ahn-Lee and Chalker determine that the smell is coming from four palm-sized drawstring bags, one in each corner of the single room. On each bag is embroidered or woven a different pattern of crisscrossing lines, which seem to shift about; Chalker recognizes them as an obscure symbol used by adherents of Assaraah in uncivilized parts of the world. Other than the bags, the room has been magically cleaned. Ahn-Lee starts to feel dizzy, but walking into the fresh air in the hallway for a few moments relieves the dizziness. Alastor opens one of the bags and finds seeds and leaves from a variety of rare plants, most of which are poisonous or have other physical effects, but nothing to explain the sulfurous smell. He starts to feel dizzy, but when he closes the bag he soon feels better. To Chalker Alastor says, "Good call. Let's examine these someplace with better preparation."
In the hallway on their way out, Ahn-Lee spots near the ceiling a tiny irregularity which, as he watches, resolves into a thumbnail-sized spider which begins to creep away. Ahn-Lee fast-draws a knife and throws it, killing the spider. He points out the spider to the others, then pulls the dagger out and thrusts the impaled spider toward Alastor's face. Alastor identifies it as a very rare spider created by dark elves at least a thousand years ago. He thinks there's a merchant in Sapphire with whom Jules does business who might have such an arachnid in his collection. He seals the dead spider in a specimen jar.
Chalker writes to Shawna in his journey book, then heads for Temple Row. Ahn-Lee and Alastor go to Jules' Apothecary. Alastor shows Jules three of the bags and the dead spider. Jules says the poison produced by the spider is deadly to all races, though less so to elves. Jules names Christopher Norsick, a wealthy merchant, as the "collector of spiders and vermin." "Be diplomatic," Jules warns Alastor; "He's one of our best customers."