Session 2: Fort Belurian

"Cheers mates!" Lucas says as they drink Tej the next morning.
 
We decided to pay a visit to Port Nyanzaru's slums, Malar's Throat, full of dilapidated buildings stacked upon one another. I didn't see how we'd find a respectable guide here. In fact, we had already been told the cat guide's operation was not above board. But Nhile was insistent we visit them. River Mist and Flask of Wine gave us the usual spiel, and Nhiel brokered a deal that should we employee them, they could each spit a full share of any treasure found in the jungle proper in leu of their standard fees.
 
Next we decided to cross the Bay of Chult on the Ferry to visit Fort Belurian, a stronghold/colony of Baldur's Gate. We were warned however that a beast called a Dragon Turtle lurked in the bay and if active, the Ferry would not run. This creature went by the name of Aramag. As we watched the ferry being loaded with supplies and cargo bound for the fort, a native bloke approached us. He claimed ships on the bay were being attacked by pirates. He said except for the Ferry ran by Fort Belurian. He suspected someone at the fort has struck a deal with the pirates. He wanted to slip into the fort unnoticed to get proof of this arrangement and asked if we would create a distraction for him to sneak into the fort. He offered to give us a charter of exploration into the jungle. He said the Baldurians would arrest adventurers in the jungle without a proper charter.
 
Kasimir and myself wanted no part in his ploy. Not only did we not know what this fellow's true intent was, we didn't want to be on the wrong side of Baldur's Gate and the Flaming Fists. We told him we would pass on the opportunity.
 
We arrived at the fort that afternoon after an uneventful ride across the bay. We visited the market square and then up to the keep where we met another guide named Qawasha. He was a druid who was determined to rid the jungle of as many undead as possible. He offered to waive his fees as long as we helped him destroy any undead. This fellow was much more to my liking than the catfolk. Kasamir decided to head over to the temple of Helm and pray. We went back to the market and had some dinner.
 
After Kasimir returned we decided to pay a visit to the Castellan, Gruta Halsdottier. She was happy to receive a party of adventurers and hoped to enlist our aid in destroying a pack of the undead that was harassing the area. She offered to give us a charter and 20 gp per ghoul/ghast head that we brought in. She also warned that the niece of Grand Duke Dillard Portyr, Liara Portyr was stationed here and that she suffered no interference with her operations here in Chult. She answered directly to Grand Duke Ravenguard.
 
We agreed to take the job. We decided to give Qawasha a go at guiding us into the jungle. A couple of days out and we indeed ran into the ghouls. It was a tough battle, but Taban proved to be the excellent warrior he claimed to be and wiped out several of the flesh eaters. As we returned to the Fort, we were ambushed by several small dinos called Velociraptors. Viscous little buggers.
 
We thanked Qawasha for guiding us and collected the bounty on the ghouls. We caught the evening ferry back to Port Nyanzaru and returned to the villa for the night. We plan to visit the dino races tomorrow and see what the fuss is about.