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Session 2 - Port Nyanzaru and the Smuggler's

General Summary

Party arrives in Port Nyanzaru. Upon disembarking from the ship, they are greeted by Zindar, a gold half-dragon who acts as the cities Harbormaster. He welcomes them to the city, asks what brings them here, and offers his assistance in familiarizing them with the city’s layout.
  The party asks him some questions about the city and the death curse, though he knows little about the later. he informs the party that five other factions have recently been ramping up operations within the city in an effort to explore the island, deal with the undead, and question more of the death curses origins. The Harpers, The Zhentarim, The Lord's Alliance, The Order of the Gauntlet, and The Emerald Enclave. In addition to members of The Flaming Fist operating out of Fort Beluarian to the north. He also mentions The Merchant Princes, seven wealthy merchants that function as Port Nyanzaru's defacto ruling unit. He directs the party to points of contact for each of the factions operating within the port city, as well as the locations of two different Inns they could stay at. The Thundering Lizard, cheaper and host to a more raucous crows, and Kaya's House of Repose, which he describes as "the fancy-man’s inn".   The party heads to the Merchant's Ward to buy some supplies and gather some information. They find themselves in a merchant’s stall known as "The Weave of Life". A general supply store stocked with fine silks, food supplies, weapons and more. The party purchases a few supplies, including a self-published guidebook to Chult's Customs and a map of the explored regions. They strike a deal with Klevin Van'Sheran, who owns and operates The Weave of Life. He presents himself as a member of The Lord's Alliance and offers the party a bit of work in exchange for working his connections with the Alliance to provide them with assistance in their quest. He mentions that his local merchant contacts have been complaining of an increase in illegal and stolen merchandise being smuggled through the Harbor District. His contacts have sent word that there is some sort of dangerous artifact being smuggled into the city using a secret passage leading from the docks in the Tiryki Anchorage to somewhere near the dock area of the Harbor District.   The party agrees to his offer, and he provides them with the location of the passages exit in the harbor as described by his contact.   Upon arriving at the location, the party finds themselves in a small alley with a large grate leading underground guarded by two smugglers. After playing the part of lost tourists to see if they can get some information, they cause a distraction to pull one of the guards out of the alley. A fight breaks out, and three dead smugglers later the party manages to capture one. They attempt to get information out of him, but he refuses to cooperate. While interrogating him Elijan finds a key on one of the other smugglers bodies and uses it to open the grate.   The party descends the ladder beneath the grate into a dimly lit tunnel. They immediately come upon a small room with a desk and a few crates of clothing and foodstuffs, with clear signs that other crates of goods were recently moved out. Investigating the desk, they find ledgers detailing various goods that have been recently smuggled through the tunnel - illegal weapons, poisons, and dangerous flora - as well as a key and a letter:   "Sanuya,
It has come to my attention that our operation may have been discovered. If the princes or the Ytepka learn of our existence, destroy everything. Leave no trace!
--Nahu"

Following the tunnel, they discover an odd circle carved into the wall, Baldur and Caspain piece two and two together and trace the circle with their fingers, revealing a secret door that opens to a second tunnel. They follow the second tunnel which curves around to another door but notice a pressure plate. Half the party returns to the first hall while the other half sets off the trap safely before opening the secret door at the other end (with a similar circular carving to the first one.)   They exit the tunnel to find that it simply bypassed a portion of the original tunnel that was setup with a network of ropes and bells to act as an alarm. Elijan attempts to navigate his way through the ropes like a thief in a laser grid... he fails and sets of the alarm bells.   The tunnel came to an end at a set of double doors, through which the party found themselves in a small room with a desk, a crate, and a staircase leading up to an exit. But they were not alone. They had found a group of smugglers ready for combat, alerted to their presence by the bells. Five thuggish men, and a younger red-haired woman in robes. A fight broke out, several of the smugglers were killed and the party gravely wounded before the Woman surrendered.   She named herself as Sanuya and offered the party the artifact she was instructed to smuggle and what little coin she had on her in exchange for her freedom. She informs them she was instructed by her employer, whom she identified as "Nahurali" to steal the artifact and wait for further instructions. The party takes her offer and lets her, and the remaining smugglers go.   The "artifact" appears to be a small silver snake's head, though it is visibly broken off at the bottom end. Investigating the desk and crate the party finds some more money, a potion of healing, and a dinosaur egg. They take the egg and vow to take care of it until it hatches.   They return to Klevin Van'Sheran and tell them what they learned, and upon hearing the name "Nahurali" mentions that he suspected this might be the case. He has been investigating a group known only as "The Twelve" that has been involved in a lot of illegal activity in the city and suspects they are somehow involved with the artifact and perhaps even the death curse. He mentions that they should head to Kaya's House of Repose to make contact with one of the local Harpers, Soggy Wren, who has been helping him with his investigation into The Twelve.   With their newfound information, the party set out to The Thundering Lizard to procure lodging for the night.

Character(s) interacted with

Report Date
21 Aug 2020
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