Jessamine

Jessamine () was one of the merchant prince of Port Nyanzaru in Chult during the late 15 century DR. She dealt in herbology goods and even poisons, along with sanctioned assassinations that were approved by her and fellow merchant princes.
==Description==
Although one of the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in Port Nyanzaru, she was a dangerous assassin by training. Her specialty was the use of poison, particularly torpor.
She dressed in billowing robes and black wrappings.
==Personality==
Jessamine was one of the more reserved merchant princes. She rarely spoke, and always carefully considered her words and actions.
She was not above scheming against other powerful figures in Port Nyanzaru, but always denied knowledge of any actions taken by her hirelings or spies.
==Relationships==
Jessamine had a daughter, Yemzra, who came as a result of a dalliance she had with a sea captain from Amn. She ensured that her daughter received a strong education, in order that she could continue her mother's business interests.
She was skeptical of Sibonseni, the wealthy high priestess at the Hall of Gold, whom she suspected of aspiring to become a merchant prince.
She had assassins, mercenaries, and more than one wizard in her service.
==Possessions==
She lived in a clifftop villa in the Merchants' Ward with a balcony that overlooked Port Nyanzaru. The mansion was often dimly lit by oil lamps and the walls were adorned with carvings of snakes. This home was protected by hooded warriors who stood like statues in the shadows.
She had a vast personal collection of poisons.
==Activities==
Jessamine held a monopoly over the sale of herbs, plants, and poisons within the city of Port Nyanzaru.While Jessamine controlled the sale of plants, she notably did not control the sale of fruit, which fell under the purview of the merchant prince Kwayothé. This included a prized local poison known as venomtail poison, however some hunters like Doriak of the Shells were known to trade for it amongst each other.
In addition, she controlled the sale of "sanctions", i.e., writs of assassination that licensed the holder to commit a murder via an approved method (usually poisoning or stabbing). She charged an extra fee to provide an assassin to carry out the killing, with satisfaction guaranteed. Her assassins made use of high quality, extremely sharp obsidian daggers.
In her capacity as a merchant princes, she met in council with the other six princes at their palace of Goldenthrone to make governance decisions. She often served as the deciding vote for issues on which they were split.
Jessamine often sent brave adventurers into the jungles of Chult to gather zabou mushroom samples for her. A dangerous but lucrative task.
==History==
In her youth, Jessamine worked as an assassin for one of the pashas of Calimshan. She died during one of her assignments, and was resurrected at great cost to her patron.
When the death curse was released upon Toril, Jessamine began to wither away as her prior resurrection began to unravel. To hide her affliction, Jessamine wrapped her body in black bandages and wore heavy scarves. At this time, she was targeted by a cult of yuan-ti, who hoped to convert her into an asset by planting the Dreamer's Amulet in her possession.
During the death curse investigation, Jessamine helmed the effort to make routes of Chult safe from recent increase of vegepygmy attacks. She instructed Eku and a group of adventurers to track down and slay one of the vegepygmy chieftains. Following its death, the plant creatures dispersed, fleeing into the jungle, making the paths relatively safe for travel once again. Shortly after, Jessamine asked the adventurers for one more favor, slaying the massive girallon known as the Great Ape, who was ravaging the routes outside of Port Nyanzaru. In exchange, she offered leads on the death curse investigation gained through her wizards' divinations.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Assassins (5e)
Category:Humans
Category:Chultans
Category:Assassins (occupation)
Category:Merchants
Category:Merchant princes
Category:Inhabitants of Port Nyanzaru
Category:Inhabitants of Chult
Category:Inhabitants of the Chultan Peninsula
Category:Inhabitants of Southwest Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Toril
Category:Inhabitants of neutral alignment