Jahaka Anchorage is a hidden pirate haven located inside a sea cave in Jahaka Bay, serving as a base for three pirate ships: the Dragonfang, the Emerald Eye, and the Stirge. The anchorage functions as one of several dangerous but potentially rewarding side locations in Chult that can prepare characters for the threats awaiting them in Omu.
Location and Defenses
The anchorage sits within a sheltered sea cave with a 60-foot ceiling above the water. The cave entrance features two natural stone columns with only a 25-foot gap between them, requiring ships to be carefully towed inside. The perpetual mist in Jahaka Bay helps conceal the location—alert lookouts can spot it automatically within half a mile, but beyond that distance (up to 2 miles) requires a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check.
A quarter-mile offshore, a ring of submerged rocks provides the first line of defense. Ship captains attempting to navigate through must succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence check or risk striking rocks that can damage or sink their vessel. The pirates know where these rocks are and avoid them easily.
Structure and Facilities
The pirates have constructed a ramshackle fort inside the cave using scavenged ship materials—planking, barrels, deck grates, and spars. The complex includes:
- A pier for docking ships
- A warehouse (area 4) for storing stolen goods until they can be sold
- A prison cage (area 5) for holding captives until they’re ransomed or sold into slavery
- Bosco’s Bilge (areas 6A-6C), a tavern where pirates carouse
- A watchtower (area 6) with an elevated walkway to the warehouse, featuring crenelated parapets that provide half cover
The prison cage consists of palm log bars held in place by sturdy pins. It’s positioned where high waves sometimes wash in, and 1d4 + 1 reef sharks inhabit the water below. Pirates atop the watchtower keep watch on the cage at all times.
Pirate Operations
Only one pirate ship docks at the anchorage at any given time, while a second ship anchors outside the harbor (up to a mile away) ready to defend the location. The third ship is always at sea hunting for prey. The captain of whichever ship is docked commands the anchorage from aboard his vessel.
The Three Captains
Captain Elok Jaharwon (NE male Chultan human wereboar) commands the Dragonfang. He staged a mutiny a year ago and threw the former captain overboard. Impatient and humorless, he wants to end the profit-sharing arrangement with Fort Beluarian and is building support among the rank-and-file pirates of all three crews. His crew includes first mate Kalita (LE female Chultan human spy), fifteen Chultan bandits, three Chultan thugs, and sea witch Eye of the Deep (N female Calishite human druid).
Captain Zaroum Al-Saryak (LE male Calishite human bandit captain) commands the Emerald Eye. Calculating and fond of gemstones, he wears a coat sewn with glittering gems (750 gp) and carries a gem-encrusted scimitar (1,250 gp). A long-ago injury cost him his left eye, leaving an X-shaped scar across his face. The empty socket now holds a magical gem that reveals ghostly pathways leading to treasure—it works for no one else. He holds the sending stone matched to Liara Portyr’s at Fort Beluarian. Al-Saryak has a habit of decapitating those who displease him and dangling their heads from his ship’s mermaid figurehead. His crew includes first mate Voltan (CE male Calishite human berserker), twelve Calishite bandits, two Calishite thugs, and five Chultan tribal warriors.
Captain Laskilar (NE male Tethyrian human bandit captain wearing a cape of the mountebank) commands the Stirge. This flamboyant, rakish pirate has grown tired of chasing merchant ships and now prefers pursuing adventurers to steal their hard-earned plunder. He maintains contacts with wealthy patrons in Port Nyanzaru and distant ports who pay premium prices for rare stolen goods. His crew includes first mate Heel (NE male half-orc gladiator), twelve Chultan and Tethyrian bandits, six Chultan thugs, and sea priest Caldos Hellingskorn (CE male Illuskan priest of Umberlee).
Alliance with Fort Beluarian
The pirates’ most valuable asset is their alliance with Liara Portyr, commander of Fort Beluarian. Portyr provides intelligence about vessels sailing into and out of Port Nyanzaru via a sending stone (found in a locked strongbox under her bed, requiring DC 18 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to open). She also warns them of upcoming naval patrols from mainland nations. In exchange, the pirates leave ships flying Baldur’s Gate’s ensign alone and share a portion of their profits with Portyr, who uses some of it to pay bonuses to her garrison.
Security and Secrecy
Every pirate swears a blood oath to protect the anchorage’s secret location. Any ship sailing within visual distance is attacked and chased if necessary. Strangers who wander into the anchorage from jungle or bay are rarely allowed to leave. The pirates will claim it’s a trading post or exploratory base established by the Flaming Fist or a merchant consortium, putting up a convincing front before killing or capturing intruders.
Inhabitants
Besides the rotating pirate crews, the anchorage is home to a handful of pirates who answer to Bosco Daggerhand (NE male human thug wearing a ring of animal influence), proprietor of Bosco’s Bilge. Bosco never shakes hands without his other hand resting threateningly on his dagger. He keeps a semi-tame deinonychus named Knuckles as a guard animal, controlled with his magic ring. At any time, 2d6 pirates (bandits) carouse in the tavern, with another 1d6 passed out on tables or the floor.
Adventure Hooks
The prison cage often holds captive sailors, merchants, Harpers, Zhents, or adventurers—including possible members of the Society of Stalwart Adventurers from Cormyr. Characters who haven’t yet encountered Artus Cimber and Dragonbait might find them nearby, plotting to free prisoners (Artus is a former member of the Society and would be motivated to help other members in danger).