Serpent's Coil

Serpent's Coil was a secret underground tunnel used by smugglers to move goods in and out of Port Nyanzaru, Chult.
==Description==
This winding tunnel was made of dirt and roughly hewn stone, and the ground was damp and somewhat uneven, leading to small dips and many puddles. The passage was very dimly lit by a long series of makeshift sconces, and was rigged with traps to alert the smugglers to the presence of intruders. The air was stale and cool relative to the humidity aboveground.
Near each end of the tunnel were spaces where crates and barrels of smuggled goods could be stored, alongside a desk that could be used by guards or for the smugglers to leave correspondence for each other.
Deep in the tunnel was an area that dipped into a section of smooth walls with wavy lines and circular patterns carved into them. This area concealed the entrance to a second, parallel tunnel that was much more ancient and apparently untouched by the smugglers. This older tunnel was decorated in indecipherable glyphs, but appeared to date to the same time period as the ziggurats in Port Nyanzaru's Old City.
==Geography==
The tunnel connected the lawless docks of Tiryki Anchorage outside the city walls to the heavily-policed docks of the Harbor Ward inside the walls.
The entrance on the Tiryki Anchorage side was located in a dead-end alleyway on the western end of the docks not far from the city walls. An iron grate in the road concealed a ladder as well as a pulley mechanism that could be used to raise or lower a small cargo platform.
The entrance within the city's Harbor Ward was hidden inside an abandoned building at the edge of the ward by the easternmost docks. A flight of wooden stairs descended to meet a steep ramp that continued into the tunnel.
==Trade==
Serpent's Coil was used to move all manner of contraband or stolen goods in or out of the city, including clothing, dinosaur eggs, food, plants, poisons, and weapons.
==Defenses==
In addition to an intricate alarm trap consisting of a web of strings connected to bells and poisoned needles, a final door beneath the Harbor Ward exit was rigged with a pulley system that would cause a stone block to seal the passage and a flood of water to drown intruders if the door was opened improperly. Only a couple of guards maintained a presence in the tunnels.
==History==
Serpent's Coil was one of the most important smuggling routes used by Nahurali, a member of an elusive cabal of powerful smugglers known as The Twelve. Keeping the tunnel secret from both the merchant princes and the Ytepka Society was of utmost importance to Nahurali.
The tunnel was not intended to be used by any more than a few hirelings of Nahurali, however during the time of the death curse in the late 15 century DR, the traffic of stolen goods through the tunnel accelerated. Within just a few tendays, this had begun to cause a serious problem for law-abiding merchants in Port Nyanzaru. Around that same time, rumors began to spread of a dangerous artifact that was to be smuggled into the city, and Klevin Van'Sheran—an agent of the Lords' Alliance—was informed that it might be arriving via Serpent's Coil. He thus hired adventurers to intercept it.
In truth, Nahurali had indeed arranged for a piece of an artifact known as the Dreamer's Amulet to be retrieved from a ship in Tiryki Anchorage and then taken into Serpent's Coil. This task was done by a mage named Sanuya, who acquired the amulet and then found herself waiting further instruction after Nahurali became suspicious that the Ytepka Society was also seeking the amulet in the belief that it was connected to the death curse.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Tunnels
Category:Trade routes
Category:Underground locations
Category:Locations in Port Nyanzaru
Category:Locations in Tiryki Anchorage
Category:Locations in the Harbor Ward (Port Nyanzaru)
Category:Locations on the Bay of Chult
Category:Locations in Chult
Category:Locations on the Chultan Peninsula
Category:Locations in Southwest Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril