After leaving Winterhold, I was traveling along the road looking to get into a fight so I could try out my shiny new Incinerate spell. A snow bear obliged me and after failing to strike it down in one fiery blast it had the nerve to try to chase me down and maul me to death. I ran for my life, like any sensible mage would, and we whizzed past an Orc skooma dealer on the road. She promptly joined the fight, though I suspect her fists didn't do much more than annoy the bear even further.
Shortly afterward, I and my follower brought the bear down and I turned my attention to the skooma dealer, figuring I would provoke her into a fight and take the spoils ... glorious moon sugar and at least one bottle of sleeping tree sap. Not than I'm addicted or anything. I can stop anytime I want to.
So I engage her in conversation and as she's telling me what she has to offer ... right in the middle of her sales pitch she dies. My theory is that she was running high on tree sap and had taken damage from the bear so that when it wore off ... well.
Don't do drugs, kids! Especially sleeping tree sap around angry snow bears.