Just seeing if anyone can give me a hint on something (no wiki referrals, please)--

There is this place I found--it's called Alchemist's Shack (east of Helgen)--and in it I found this jar that has a butterfly in it (Its literally titled "Butterfly in a Jar"). I thought it looked rather odd. I examined it and noticed this strange writing on the underside of the lid. Does anyone know what it means? What's its significance? I get the impression that it might be a clue to something. You cannot open the jar or anything like that--and it shows up under Miscellaneous.

Apparently there was an alchemist that lived at this shack, because I found his journal inside the shack (her? the journal doesnt let on whether the alchemist is male or female). Where he/she is I don't know--when I first found the place there was no one there. I've even come back a few times and still no alchemist.

Second question--has anyone seen or found this alchemist? I suppose he could've gotten killed by a wild animal or something else but I haven't found any corpse.

It just all seems strangely peculiar. Can someone give me any hints...and is this a precursor to some quest? I've looked at my quests and miscellaneous quests but nothing seems to refer to the butterfly in the jar nor this missing alchemist nor the odd symbols on the lid of the jar. And the butterfly won't talk...lol

I'm sorry, but that's one of the things you need to search. There have been so many conspiracy theories to count.

Some involved:
Thalmor
End of the world
Dragons

Basically a whole bunch of stuff.

Edit: also, there are 5-7 of them with various bugs in them.

My favorite is the Thalmor-Runes-Towers "End of the World" Conspiracy.

If it were not for the Bugs in a jar, I'd say it's believable, but using these as evidence puts the whole theory firmly in "Tinfoil hat" territory.

There's no quest associated with them. They're just unique items you can collect and decorate your house with if you're so inclined.

As far as the alchemist goes, I don't think anyone's ever found him. He's just some guy who lived there at some time and disappeared for reasons unknown.

Whoa whoa guys...slow down a sec. I can't make sense of anything you posted! Conspiracy Theories? End of the world? What are you referring to--the missing alchemist or the weird symbols? I'm assuming you're not referring to the butterfly--unless the butterfly has plans for world domination!

I read the title as "Butterfly in a Jarl?"

I thought it was going to be some kind of weird Balgruuf fanfic.

There's several "Alchemist" camps in the game, and bodies of "Alchemists" can usually be found nearby. I assume this particular alchemist got eaten by the Snow Bear that lives in the hills behind his house.

Ok this is a response I can understand lol. So there's no quest you say...hmmm. Well that's surprising to say the least. I was sure there was some sort of mystery involving the symbols and/or the alchemist. Makes sense though...I can sleep in the bed if I want to. Im sure if the alchemist was still around it would be considered an "owned" bed.

I guess I'll just decorate my house with the butterfly jar then!

having no known use, butterfly in a jar spawned a plethora of theories as to why it was implemented. some are rather far fetched.

I always use the shack in my games - it's a nice little way station for storing loot or catching some sleep if I don't want to be out wandering at night.

It's a practical joke by Sheogorath wearing his Dementia hat.

Ahhhhh I see.... ( lightbulb going off)

Wait you can store loot at the Alchemist's Shack? Where? And how sure are you...? I heard that a lot of storage places reset after awhile unless its a house...

That is where the uesp is useful. It has a page of all the safe locations where storage is safe.

I must be either utterly lacking imagination or just blind as a bat, because I never did see any of these mysterious "runes" or "secret Thalmor messages" or any of the other stuff people were going on and on about.

The drawer in the nightstand is safe for storage. I've never lost anything I've put in there. Not sure about any of the other containers because I haven't used them. I avoid using any barrels in the game for storage since so many of them do respawn.

I think you're right on this one Shadow_Titan17. I don't like using the wiki, but finding safe storage places seem harmless. I already used one of the wiki websites so I could print out a map of the Holds and the borders (as per another conversation) so I'm aware of when one Hold ends and another begins...

Ok...cool. great! You've been a big help today, Gator Country. Much appreciated. I was thinking I needed another place to store my junk. And if this alchemist is dead, then I'm sure he won't mind if I hole up at his place. And it has an Alchemy table, to boot! Heh