1491 DR

Baldur’s Gate

In Baldur’s Gate, a large trading city on the Sword Coast, Syndra Silvane laid in her bed dying. The famed retired adventurer and merchant summoned Caspar, Dimble and Lazlo to her bedside. Caspar a member of the Baldur’s Gate Exploration and Anthropology Society, Dimble his loyal friend, and Lazlo a captured criminal headed for death’s row. Not Syndra Silvane’s first choice for an adventuring party but the best she could find in Baldur’s Gate at short notice. She believed that she was suffering from a magical curse emanating from the mysterious jungle continent of Chult. Syndra has called upon the help of Pirate Captain Edgar Hackney to take the party to Chult. Captain Hackney led a fleet of pirate ships against the Baldur’s Gate navy recently beating them forcing the city to allow pirates to dock in their ports, Dimble was involved in this battle. Syndra gave the party the best map of Chult she could find with much of it covered in terra incognita and promised treasure on their adventure and Lazlo’s freedom.

Captain Hackney’s Ship

Captain Hackney took the party to his ship where they were expected to act as part of the crew for the duration of the journey. Hackney and his crew took a liking to Dimble and Lazlo, but Caspar was sent below decks to peel potatoes with a mute Tortle chef. The ship was attacked by a giant green monster rising out of the ocean, it spawned Koalinths that boarded the ship. The party, Hackney and his crew dispatch the Koalinths easily and Dimble found a magic conch inside the stomach of one of the fish men.

After the fight the ship’s passengers have dinner together and the party was poisoned. They woke up in the ship’s brig. A young pirate named Jindo Sailway helped the party escape the cell and they climbed up the ship’s levels. The party found out that Captain Hackney had enslaved the Tortle population of the Snout of Omgar. Hackney’s second mate had a twin staying on the island. The twins could communicate instantly with each other, one of the two writes a letter with their blood and the other spills their blood on the page and it matches the writing written by the other. The party snuck into the room of the second mate while he was sleeping and murdered him. They stole his compass that spun uncontrollably rather than pointing north. The party reached the ship’s deck and found a rowboat tied to the bow. The party jumped in just as Captain Hackney came up behind them and lifted up Jindo by the neck. As the rowboat descended Hackney snapped his neck and his limp body fell knocking the rowboat and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. The giant green monster returned to distract the pirates and the party managed to sneak away.

The Bay of Chult

The party began aimlessly rowing north of Chult. Eventually they came across Amerag the dragon turtle that guards the bay of Port Nyanzaru. Amerag demanded treasure to enter the bay, the party handed over treasure from Hackney’s ship they gathered when they were escaping. Lazlo managed to convince Amerag to help them get to Port Nyanzaru and so Amerag flung them into the harbour.

Port Nyanzaru

Once the party arrived in the vibrant city, they met the local harbour master Lerek Dashlynd that told them if they managed to find the locations of Orolunga and Nangalore he would trade them the knowledge for a ship. They trade for supplies in the market and find their way to the inn The Thundering Lizard. The party looked for work in the city to gather coin for the expedition. They found someone looking to hire muscle for a collections job. They were sent to find a man who owed a gambling debt. They found him at executioners run. He refused to give up the money he owes, a fight ensued. Dimble let out an explosion that pushed the party into the pit with the velociraptors. The party won the fight, escaped the run, and collected their reward for the debt collection.

The party returned to the Thundering Lizard here they met Shago a gregarious man who turned out to be the nephew of Waknaga O’Tamu one of the seven merchant princes of Port Nyanzaru. Syndra Silvance mentioned Wakanga as a useful contact in Chult. The party arranged for Shago to introduce them the following day at noon.

The party waited for Shago at the Temple of Gond, this temple to the crafter god Gond has become a prison for the town’s greatest craftspeople. A craftsperson can win their freedom from the temple by creating and selling something truly unique to a merchant prince. Due to their abundance of wealth the princes found they had all they could ever want in the world and so had to find a new way to have things to spend their money on. Shago mets up with the party and took them to Wakanga’s villa. The eccentric Wakanga is of little help but let slip that they were not the first party Syndra Silvance has sent to Chult. Wakanga told the party that they should look for a guide to help them in the jungle.

The party met Faroul and Gondolo at the House of Respite they were useless gamblers who talked a big game but are not any use in a fight. However, the pair had a triceratops named Kungo that they wished to enter in the dinosaur race. They couldn’t afford the entry fee so the party offered to pay and split the winnings and Faroul and Gondolo agreed to travel with them in the jungles of Chult.

On the way to the dinosaur race entry coliseum the party ran into an albino dwarf named Musharib, he lamented the loss of his hold Hrakhamar to Lava Goblins. He begged the party to help him, and they accepted. After entering Kungo into the race and Dimble as his rider the party met the Emerald Enclave druid Qawasha and his partner the vegepygmy Kupalue. Qawasha and Kupalue agreed to join the expanded party into the jungle. Dimble managed to win the anything goes category of the dinosaur race however enraged the Tyrannosaurus Rex Kungo was racing against with his magic during the race. Kungo battles the weakened Tyrannosaurus Rex killing it. Qawasha sensing the danger of the situation knowing the authorities will want to seek compensation for killing a racing dinosaur teleported the party to Malar’s throat on the city’s outskirts.

In Malar’s Throat the party finished preparing for their expedition by visiting the black market at the back of Tymora’s Temple. Musharib agreed to gather a group of albino dwarves to wait for the party’s arrival at Hrakhamar to infiltrate the dwarven hold.

Jungles of Chult:

Firefinger

The party began to travel through the jungles of Chult and followed the Tiryki river down to the ancient beacon. Firefinger the last beacon of its kind in Chult was a 240 feet tall rectangular pillar with a blazing fire at the top. Kungo, Faroul, Gondolo, and Qawasha waited below as the rest of the party climbed the tower. As they entered a cave on the third level, they saw two elderly Pterafolk, Dimble decided to cast a loud explosion spell killing the two elderly Pterafolk but alerting the rest of the colony to their presence. The party reached the summit and fought a fierce battle against the Pterafolk. During the fight Caspar was mauled to death and his soul is seen leaving his body and flying over the jungle in a south-easterly direction. Lazlo found a beast like mask in a chest in the lighthouse atop Firefinger. When the party descended the tower Qawasha was nowhere to be seen.

Mezro

The party travelled east towards Mezro, during the journey the party was ambushed by a group of undead. An arrow flew out of the bushes straight into Farouls head killing him. Captain Ordin Kurtz of the Flaming Fists appeared in the fight and joined the party. He recommended setting fire to Faroul’s body to avoid him turning into a zombie.

The party arrived at the ancient capital of Chult, Mezro. The city appeared to be ruined, sacked, and empty. Dimble casts sight magic allowing him to see all the areas where the buildings are ruined to be filled in with a blue ethereal ghosts of buildings and senses the spirits of a whole city’s population. The party explored the Temple of Ubtao at the centre of the city. Here they saw a mural explaining the war between the Aeons and the Primordials. Artus Cimber and Dragonbait met the party in the temple and explain that the city hid itself from the rogue Brarae Ras Nsi. When Ras Nsi is defeated, the city will return.

Ataaz Muhahah

The party looking to cross the river Olong south of Mezro attempted to cross the bridge Ataaz Muhahah. Named after the colony of monkeys living on the bridge who’s screams echo throughout the gorge. Lazlo passed the statue at the centre of the bridge without praying at Ubato’s alter waking up the stone golem guardian. Gondolo ran away from the golem into the jungle and was never seen again. After a fierce battle the party managed to push the golem off the side of the bridge into the gorge. The golem remained alive. After crossing the bridge, the party encountered a tiger who stood on its hind legs and told Kupalue he is needed back home because his father has died.

he Wreck of the Narwhal

Kupalue returned home to find out he is to be coronated as chief of his village. His mind was wiped by the druid Qawasha for unknown purposes. The tiger named Bawaye O’Tamu that guided the party to the village explained he is a weretiger and Wakanga’s brother. He and his wife, Azaka, were banished from Port Nyanzaru after she murdered a crowd of people in a weretiger situation. Now the two of them lived mostly as tigers to retain their humanity in both forms. Kupalue goes through with the coronation and becomes chief of the village but decided to stay with the party to save his village from the Death Plague. Azaka asked Lazlo for the mask found on Firefinger and he gave it to her.

Needle’s Bones

The party came to a large pit with the skeleton of a dragon inside. Dimble decided he wanted some dragon bones, so he cast an ice bolt to create a bridge across the watery bottom of the pit. Dimble slipped off the ice bridge into the piranha infested water. The party managed to eradicate the infestation and found an alcove in the wall of the pit. Kupalue released his spores opening the cave revealing the dragon’s hoard.

Kir Sabal

The party found themselves at the base of a cliff near the vast Nsi wastes. After some trouble climbing Kupalue climbed alone and fetched the three aaracockra the party met previously in the jungle that flew them up to the top to meet the teacher of the aaracockra monastery Kir Sabal. Ashara is a harsh woman that upholds old fashioned traditions in her monastery. Princess Mwaxanare of Omu is being kept at the monastery and on sight fell in love with Kurtz. As the party goes to bed for the night two wounded aaracockra arrive. They warned of Emperor Hackney approaching. On the horizon a stone jaguar is leaped through the sky towards the monastery. Edgar Hackney could be seen on the back of the jaguar holding a tome from which he summoned stone gargoyles. Ashara revealed that Hackney had deposed Mwaxanare’s great grandmother as monarch of the Forbidden City Omu. A feathered serpent ridden by Qawasha came over the top of the monastery and fought the jaguar. As the aaracockra evacuate the party is called Eidolons by Hackney and he revealed them he needs them to keep killing for his plan to succeed and that they were the best the gods have sent yet. Qawasha managed to fight Hackney back long enough for the party to be taken down the cliff face and away from danger.