Eku

Eku () was a couatl working as a guide out of Port Nyanzaru in Chult during the late 15 century DR.
==Description==
Disguised as a human, she took the form of a middle-aged Chultan woman, tall and , and wearing light-blue robes. She had a walking stick carved to resemble a stylized couatl.
==Activities==
Eku was a skillful jungle guide. She made regular trips to Nangalore to retrieve rare flowers, and could also lead the way to Orolunga, where she knew that a powerful oracle dwelt. 
She was among the few people in all of Chult who knew the location of the lost city of Omu, although she was cautious about revealing this fact. She was well-versed in the city's ancient history as well as the Legend of the Nine Gods. She was also aware of the mysterious and evil giant four-armed gargoyles that had come to haunt the ruined city, but had never faced them. 
==Personality==
Eku would only work with travelers of good nature, and in fact sought out clients who were willing to help her battle the forces of evil. She believed that there was strength in unity, and warned all visitors to Chult to be wary of imposter guides promising to lead them to gold.
==Relationships==
Eku had good relations with the aarakocra of Kir Sabal. She bore much love and respect for the folk of Mbala before they were tricked and devoured by the green hag Nanny Pu'pu, whom she counted as among the worst evils in Chult and encouraged heroes to rid the jungle of her evil. She was also not fooled by Valindra Shadowmantle's magical disguise, and knew she was a lich.
Operating as a jungle guide out of Port Nyanzaru meant that she worked for the merchant prince Jobal, and had to pay him a portion of any earnings. While she charged the same rate as his other guides—5 gold pieces per day with a one-month advance—she had little need for money, and so donated to charity whatever she did not pay to Jobal.
==History==
When the death curse struck Toril, Eku sought out heroes to put a stop to it. She cooperated with the merchant prince Jessamine, who required a number of dangerous favors from Eku's group—such as slaying the Great Ape—before her diviners concluded that the source of the curse lay in Omu.
As the location of Omu came to be known to adventurers, Eku traveled there to scout the ruins and find a safe place for a camp. She sought to aid any who would drive the evil of Acererak out of the Tomb of the Nine Gods. To that end, she began communing with the entombed Trickster Gods, and worked to gain their trust and to grow their strength in hopes of discovering what secrets they knew. From them, she learned of the existence and nature of the Soulmonger, and ultimately of the atropal which it fed. Her activities soon attracted the attention of the yuan-ti within the Fane of the Night Serpent, and brought her into conflict with Fenthaza.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===Gallery===
File:Eku tales.png|Eku's portrait from Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation.
File:Eku - Neverwinter.jpg|Eku as depicted in the videogame Neverwinter's Chult Module.
===References===
Category:Couatls
Category:Guides
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