As some of the group sought more information on the final destination, others went to find any agents of the Order of the Gauntlet. Speaking with members of the order, the group spoke of their tale, the raid on Greenest, the ancient Tiamat temple and the kobolds they defeated, and the request from Ontharr Frume to find out more information. The Order of the Gauntlet agreed that discovering the final location of the cult and the baggage train of treasure was of importance. They asked the group to continue their mission and provided funds to help with any travel.
While this was happening the other members of the company were slipped a note from a street urchin. The parchment written in elvish had a brief message, ‘The Handmaiden to Chult. - Q.’ It seems as if Quel'thalas Silvermoon was able to continue his ruse of being a novice cultist and learned of the cult’s destination.
The group convened, making their way to the docks in haste, only to find that the ship had left. They decided to find their own passage to Chult and approached a Kellet Bene and her cutter, the Pink Pearl. She was willing to take them to Chult the following day. Her ship was a smaller craft and likely could catch up with the sluggish Handmaiden. She offered a fair price for passage but also made a stipulation that the party pay any taxes requested by the Chult harbormaster. The group agreed and spent a restless night preparing for their voyage.
Their two week voyage to Chult was not without incident. They were raided by sahuagin and further misfortune visited them. A brutal storm hit and Captain Bene felt it more prudent to alter course. Being a smaller ship compared to the Handmaiden, they likely could not traverse the pitched waves. Skirting the edge of the gale would mean added days to their journey, but they would not suffer the brunt of the storm.
Days later they made sight of the jungles of Chult. Miles of pristine beaches and thick carpets of green jungle forest lay before them. They saw mountains and fiery peaks jut from the deep canopies of rain forest, with the peaks slightly hidden from low rainclouds. Barely in the distance approaching the Bay of Chult they could make out Port Nyanzaru, with its array of brightly colored houses and twisting network of streets and alleys.
As the Pink Pearl sailed to the mouth of the bay the water churned. The ship pitched and rolled, buffeted by a monstrous dragon turtle that broke the water’s surface. Belching a cloud of steam the beast roared something in draconic over and over. Captain Bene leaned back against the ship’s wheel and waved her hand towards the beast. She offered a weary smile and said, ‘Time to pay the harbormaster’s tax.’
