Little Details

Research at the bottom, because it got long.

Setting: Sometime vaguely from 2006 to today, AU but functionally identical to modern-day US (specifically, California, vaguely near the Bay Area) for these purposes.

My MC is being held captive in a very damp environment. His captors want him to be coherent but somewhat pliable (and impaired for this AU's minor magic), so they keep him dosed with a sedative or tranquilizer. ( Collapse )

So, the upshot: What drug class, or if possible specific drug suggestions, am I looking for here? What would the post-overdose treatment timeline look like? What low-grade or nascent pulmonary illnesses, if any, can I plausibly saddle the character with given slight respiratory depression from medication plus a very damp environment?

( Collapse )

A couple of small questions.

1) What would the correct style and form of address be for a daughter of a Duke of Burgundy, single but of marriageable age?
2) Would the language spoken in Dijon have been easily understandable by someone who spoke the French of Paris?

Books:
John the Fearless Richard Vaughan
Phoenix frustrated Christopher Cope
The Golden Age of Burgundy Joseph Calmette
Encyclopaedia of Languages of Europe

Search terms: style “form of address” “duke of burgundy” “langues d'oil”

Any help is much appreciated!

ETA: Having followed up your links, I've decided to go for 'Lady Jeanne' since 'Princess' seems to be aiming a little high; but I'm sure the Duke would want to emphasise his daughter's noble birth.
My MC is an aristocrat so should be able to understand the Duke and his family no prob, while noticing the difference in the Common People's speech; pretty much as I'd hoped.
Thank-you, everyone! Quick and very helpful replies, as always.

ETA 2: For fear of provoking another shower of spam, I haven't replied inidivually. But I am grateful to everyone who's helped out!

Setting: Venice, Italy in the 1500's
Research: "historical buildings in Venice" "administrative/ noble buildings in Venice" "important buildings in Venice"

Question and context: I'm writing an Assassin's Creed 2 fic that involves breaking into a heavily guarded building in order to do an assassination.

I'm looking for any important building that has some sort of tie to the noble class.


I would've gone with the San Marco Basilica, but I wanted to do something that was a little less obvious.

Hey, everybody!

Getting straight to the point, I need a poison which is:

•  water soluble
• slow acting (three hours would be good, or if such a poison even exists, about a week would be optimal)

And also, preferably, but not necessarily:

• is colorless/odorless/tasteless
• is deadly in small quantities
• makes the consumer visibly ill fifteen to thirty minutes after drinking/eating/inhaling (e.g., vomiting, fever, change of skin tone)

Thanks in advance!

(Have tried Google searches, etc. on "slow acting poisons," "liquid poisons," "poisons used in assassination" and similar.)

Edit: the setting is modern fantasy, and the poisoner has access to pretty much any poison they want, at any cost.
Edit again: thanks to everybody who replied! I think I'm going with Polonium-210 :)