Zhanthi

Zhanthi () was a merchant prince in Port Nyanzaru, Chult during the late 15 century DR. She controlled the sale of gems, jewelry, colorful Chultan cloth, and armor within the city.
==Description==
Zhanthi was an old merchant, trader, and nobelwoman who traced her ancestry back to Chultan royalty.
==Personality==
She was considered to be very wise, and few in Port Nyanzaru dared to question her judgment. She was calm and collected even during times of crisis, and was known to sit for drinks with her business partners, including adventurers and smugglers. She had sentimental attachments to the memory of ancient Chultan dynasties, and was keen to collect objects of significance to Chultan royalty, such as the Skull Chalice of Ch'gakare.
==Activities==
Zhanthi held a monopoly over all trade in jewels from the Chultan mines and the jewelry made from them, as well as cloth and nonmagical leather, studded leather, and hide armors.While Zhanthi sold armor, a different merchant prince, Ekene-Afa controlled the sale of shields. The sale of any magical equipment would require the cooperation of yet another prince, Wakanga O'tamu. Anyone wishing to engage in the trade of these goods had to deal either with her or her consortium. As part of her control of the jewel trade, her agents and guards policed the Jewel Market in Port Nyanzaru's Merchants' Ward.
She had a network of spies who worked undercover to deter jewel thieves and pickpockets and to keep her apprised of the activies of rivals. She was also served by a number of sorcerers and was known to hire adventurers, whom she might supply with acid bombs or reward with magic items to help them complete their assigned missions.
As a member of the merchant princes' council, she helped to govern Port Nyanzaru from the palace of Goldenthrone.
==Possessions==
Zhanthi owned a lavish and well-defended villa atop Port Nyanzaru's Throne Hill in the Merchants' Ward. This villa was decorated with murals, large potted plants (including flowers), and suits of gold-plated armor, and Zhanthi displayed the bejeweled skulls of her noble ancestors in glass cases and in niches in the walls. She received visitors to her villa while seated on a gilded throne while being fanned by her servants.
==Relationships==
Zhanthi was a secret member of the hidden Ytepka Society, which worked to maintain social harmony and to support the rule of the merchant princes from the shadows of Port Nyanzaru. To offend her was also to offend the Society. She also had strong professional ties to the Zhentarim (despite personal disagreements) as well as spies among the Flaming Fist, mostly for the purpose of keeping tabs on these factions' activities. Zhanthi also had spies within the mercenary army of Mother Sibonseni, Port Nyanzaru's wealthy and powerful high priestess of Waukeen: this included Sibonseni's master-at-arms, Kwalu Mosi.
Her only son, Shago, worked as a guide for the Flaming Fist at Fort Beluarian as of the late 15 century DR. While it was her understanding that he served as her spy within their ranks, he was in fact more loyal to the Flaming Fist, who he believed to be better equipped to fight back the undead plaguing Chult. As such, he would only rarely give her any valuable intel, making him one of her less useful spies among the Flaming Fist.
If a rival noble required placating, Zhanthi was known to send entertainers to perform rare plays for them, such as Winter in the Midnight Garden. While it was not clear if Zhanthi was aware, her fellow merchant prince Kwayothé hated her, meddled in her affairs, and wished her and her son dead.
Zhanthi once secured a job for a smuggler named Jailo Mek working as a beast herder for fellow merchant prince Ifan Talro'a at the dinosaur pens in Tiryki Anchorage.
==History==
As of the late 15 century DR, Zhanthi was one of the richest people in Port Nyanzaru and the eldest among the merchant princes.
At some point, she discovered the relationship between Liara Portyr, the leader of Fort Beluarian, and the pirates of Jahaka Anchorage. While she did not make this knowledge public, she did arrange for Port Nyanzaru's harbormaster, Zindar, to be able to offer a large reward to dispose of the pirates.
When the fiendish pirate Idrianne Smoke laid siege to Port Nyanzaru during the events of the death curse, Zhanthi leveraged her personal connections to try to force Sibonseni's mercenaries to join the city's defense as well as to learn more about Captain Smoke's true nature.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Humans
Category:Chultans
Category:Merchants
Category:Merchant princes
Category:Nobles
Category:Nobles (5e)
Category:Royalty
Category:Members of the Triceratops Society
Category:Inhabitants of Port Nyanzaru
Category:Inhabitants of Throne Hill
Category:Inhabitants of the Merchants' Ward
Category:Inhabitants of Chult
Category:Inhabitants of the Chultan Peninsula
Category:Inhabitants of Southwest Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Faerûn
Category:Inhabitants of Toril