The Narwhal is a seafaring galleon that mysteriously ended up deep in Chult’s jungle through some magical mishap. The ship lies upside down, its hull encrusted with barnacles and overgrown with ivy. Despite being far from any ocean, it now serves as an unlikely home to two distinct groups of inhabitants.
Current Inhabitants
The ship houses an unusual symbiotic community: a reclusive weretiger named Bwayes O’tamu lives in the captain’s cabin, while a tribe of vegepygmies (consisting of a chief, twelve vegepygmies, and three thornies) occupies the damp, dark areas under the hull and in the hold. The arrangement works because Bwayes kills more prey than he needs and leaves the surplus for the vegepygmies.
Bwayes O’tamu
Bwayes is a Chultan human male weretiger who has largely abandoned his human life, though he was once cousin to Wakanga O’tamu (one of the Merchant Princes of Port Nyanzaru). The family resemblance between them is strong enough that characters who’ve met Wakanga will notice the similarity when Bwayes assumes human form. He speaks Common and Vegepygmy, though he’s forgotten much of the former through disuse.
Encounter Details
When characters enter the same hex as the Narwhal, Bwayes may either be out hunting (detecting the party before they’re aware of him) or resting at the hulk. His initial approach is motivated by curiosity rather than hostility—he wants to meet the characters and learn their purpose. He may bring them to the ship and will trade gems for wine if they have any.
The vegepygmies are hostile toward visitors unless Bwayes accompanies them.
Information Source
If befriended, Bwayes can provide valuable information about Chult:
- He knows the location of Needle’s Bones (a grotto containing a great dragon’s skeleton to the southwest) and will lead characters there if asked
- He knows about Nangalore (ruins of a garden palace between the River Olung and Nsi Wastes, said to contain great treasure) and will lead characters there, though he won’t explore it out of respect
The wreck is also mentioned as a possible source of knowledge about Omu’s location or the death curse, should the characters struggle to find this information elsewhere.