No Stupid Questions

well you can try to look it up - slow acting poisons in minecraft.

on a more serious note, as others have noted heavy metal poisoning like mercury or lead.

I have another one - sulphur. Readiy available throughout ancient times, and non-toxic by itself (S8 form that is). But many of it's compounds are toxic in varying degree. You can look its wiki page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur) for some commonly available toxic salts, but I also have some ideas to incorporate in story - burning of sulfur (in incomplete form producing SO2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfur_dioxide). You can incorporate it very easily (someone tampered someone elses fireplace or incense sticks if we also want to hide any wierdities with flame). By itself it iis not very toxic, almost odorless, and not a strong color. It has existed even in food stored for long time due to degradation of sulfur containg organic compounds, wiki page also lists that wine this (another potential vector to supply this). When in body, it can produce H2SO3 (sulphurous acid) and by inhaling/ingesting small amounts for long time - it will gradually destroy alveoli/stomach inner lining and liver. Sulfur by itself is very cheap (you can find ores in a lot of places around the world, relatively easy to mine, also found near volcanic places), humans have used it in trying to make medicine out of it, and it has huge amount of history in alchemy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemical_symbol, https://www.thoughtco.com/tria-prima-three-primes-of-alchemy-603699). In fact, since it is present in humans naturally, and msot organic matter for that matter - small amount of sulfur being present in someones' reports will not raise a special eye, and they would just be recommended to not eat food that is traditionally know to have much sulfur (for example garlics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allyl_isothiocyanate). Garlic extract can also be used to deliver large amount of isothiocynate, but this would be a seperate method of poisoning all together - it is much more lethal, so not very slow acting, but one can keep giving a dose of this below lethal dose to keep damaging liver, and a final blow sometime.

I hope you find this helpful, and I hope no villagers in minecraft are killed by this.

There is a way, and it might already be somewhat of a trope but you can use fruitpits to extract amygdalin which can be then refined with a homelab to a cyanide like substance. Although not pure or concentrated enough, but it could be added to food by a wife on a very long period of time and make the Victim very I'll with fatal results.

Amygdalin is extracted from almonds or apricot kernels by boiling in ethanol; on evaporation of the solution and the addition of diethyl ether, amygdalin is precipitated as white minute crystals.

There was a theory a while back that Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning due to the damp Mediterranean climate causing the decay of a green wallpaper using an arsenic based dye. It didn't end up being entirely true but he may have been slowly poised by environmental arsenic throughout his life. Here is an article about it.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in the Earth's crust as metallic crystals or combined with other elements. Being a heavy metal, arsenic bioaccumulates. That is, it builds up in the body over time, so slow poisoning is possible.

don't be Don, don't be Don, don't be Don

Oh thank God.

At work I learned that cyanide is actually very dangerous because it accumulates its effects. Like you have a little now and a little later, then suddenly you can't get up from bed so you call in sick. Its dangerous stuff.

Source of radiation given to someone to hold in their wallet/pocket

Ricin was used in Breaking Bad. Fairly easy to produce and administer.

If you want long-term, look to the liver. Alcohol will destroy it over time, but so will viral hepatitis. Have you considered slow acting diseases like hepatitis or HIV? Or something intensely carcinogenic?

Thallium was pretty famous for this until its mechanism of toxicity and antidotes were better understood. Slow acting, tasteless, odorless, colorless, symptoms weird and mimic other things. Used to be used for rat poison but the risk of accidental exposure was too high. Requires late 1800s technology.

Alcohol is a very effective slow acting poison.

Hey siri, remind me!

Am not sure if helpful, or if this would be somewhere you could visit for reference.

The Alnwick Victorian poison garden is fascinating and perhaps even has ideas for you.

https://www.alnwickgarden.com/the-garden/poison-garden/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alnwick_Garden

Hope this helps. Am hoping to get to visit one day.

Does anyone remember when the writer googled a recipe for their historical novel and copy pasted the first result - which turned out to be fictional from Zelda BOTW

edit: https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2020/8/3/21352299/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-red-clothes-dye-traveler-gates-of-wisdom-john-boyne-google-search-results