ergotism: poisoning by ingestion of ergot-infected grain products; characterized by thirst and diarrhea and nausea and cramping and vomiting and abnormal cardiac rhythms; in severe cases it can cause seizures and gangrene of the limbs
golden fleece: in Greek mythology, a fleece of gold owned by the king of Colchis and guarded in a sacred grove by a dragon; recovered by Jason and the Argonauts