QUEST 104 · MEMBERS

Swan Song

Out on the edge of the known world, the Piscatoris Fishing Colony stands on the brink of disaster. Angry sea trolls are emerging from the sea and attacking the colonists, preventing them from harvesting the valuable monkfish that live in those waters. A highly experienced adventurer will be needed to drive back the trolls for good. The Colony's director, Herman Caranos, has a particular adventurer in mind: the notoriously amoral Wise Old Man of Draynor Village (allegations of his involvement in

Swan Song — OSRS Wiki quest image
OSRS Wiki image for Swan Song. OSRS WikiGame image © Jagex Ltd
Difficulty
Master
Length
Medium
Quest points
2
Released
2 May 2006
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Before you start

Where to start

Talk to Herman Caranos in the Piscatoris Fishing Colony, accessed via a boat trip from the river to the west of the Tree Gnome Stronghold.

Requirements

Items required

Recommended

STEP BY STEP

Walkthrough

Follow the chapters below. Click any screenshot or diagram to view it at full size.

Before you begin

Note: Starting this quest will temporarily prevent you from progressing through part of the Sir Amik Varze subquest of Recipe for Disaster. The reason for this is the Wise Old Man's Swan Song dialogue option prevents you from talking to him about the Evil Chicken during the Sir Amik subquest. You must complete Swan Song up through the "Repairing the Colony" section to enable you to continue with Sir Amik's subquest.

Note: You will only unlock the colony for Treasure Trails on full quest completion, as the colony will be instanced during the quest. Digging or talking to Arnold Lydspor for hard clues will not work during the instance.

Starting the quest

Items recommended: 50 coins or a ring of Charos unless using fairy rings. A teleport to Draynor Village or nearby.

The easiest way to reach the Piscatoris Fishing Colony is to teleport using the Piscatoris teleport scroll. It can also be reached by boat, from the river west of the Tree Gnome Stronghold. To use the boat, you must either pay Kathy Corkat 50 coins, or charm her while wearing the ring of Charos. After you have started the quest, you will not need to pay her again. You can also use the fairy ring code AKQ, and run north-east to the Colony.

Once you reach the Colony, walk a short distance north-east, and speak to Herman Caranos. When you agree to help him, the quest will start. He will ask you to find the Wise Old Man of Draynor Village and secure his services. Agree to this, and travel to Draynor Village.

Tale of the Wise Old Man
The jingle that plays during the flashback.

The Wise Old Man

Items needed: 10 lava runes, 10 mist runes, and 5 blood runes.

Talk to the Wise Old Man. After some conversation, he will tell you that he requires 10 lava runes, 10 mist runes, and 5 blood runes before he will help you. Give him these runes and return to the Fishing Colony.

Battle at the Colony

Items needed: Combat equipment to fight 8 level 79 Sea trolls with no Ranged/Magic safespots.
Items recommended: A teleport to Yanille, 5 iron bars, logs, a hammer, and a tinderbox. Fishing level boosting item if you're below 62.
This fight takes place in an instance.
On death, all unprotected items will be moved to a grave outside the instance. Any items left on the ground will be lost.
The player and the Wise Old Man confront several sea trolls.
The player and the Wise Old Man confront several sea trolls. Image source ↗

Travel back to the Piscatoris Fishing Colony. The Wise Old Man will be waiting in place of Herman Caranos. Talk to him to enter the main Colony grounds, where you will be attacked by eight (8) level 79 Sea trolls. The Wise Old Man will help you by casting Saradomin Strike on the trolls (he hits super high, sometimes over 40); however, after 10 casts, he runs out of runes and resorts to throwing stones at the trolls, with a maximum hit of 2. Note that you can "use" blood, air, and fire runes on The Wise Old Man during the fight to give him more runes. However, he will only take one rune each time you use them on him, making this not recommended as the trolls will continue to attack you. The trolls only attack with melee so using Protect from Melee will prevent you from taking any damage.

Once you have killed the trolls, enter the gates of the Colony. The Wise Old Man will tell you to find Herman Caranos, after which he will disappear. Herman is in the building at the eastern end of the Colony.

Tip: Pick up the bones that the trolls drop as you'll need 7 of them later in the quest.
Optional: You can search Herman's desk for a book, which tells you about the Wise Old Man's past. If you have a house with a bookcase in it, this book will become available after the quest.

When you talk to Herman, the Wise Old Man will reappear. You will then be told to do some odd jobs around the colony.

Repairing the Colony

The following two tasks can be done in any order:

  1. Talk with Arnold Lydspor, and refill the Fishing Colony's food stocks.
  2. Talk with Franklin Caranos, and repair the Colony's walls.

Arnold Lydspor

A player is attacked by a sea troll while attempting to fish.
A player is attacked by a sea troll while attempting to fish. Image source ↗

Arnold Lydspor can be located in the bank to the west of Herman Caranos, at the bank sign on the minimap.

Note: Arnold's bank and general store cannot be accessed until the quest is complete.

He will tell you that the Fishing Colony has no food and that he needs five cooked fresh monkfish. He will give you a small fishing net with which to catch fresh monkfish. The fishing spot for them is located to the north-west. If you are using a boost to exactly level 62, bring at least eight doses because trolls will spawn each time you try to fish, which will take up time and your level may drop. Catch a few extra as you may burn the fish.

While fishing, you will be attacked by three Sea Trolls whose levels get progressively higher - levels 65, 87 and 101. You must kill these in order to continue fishing. When you have caught the fresh monkfish, you can cook it on a range to the south. When you have five cooked fresh monkfish, take them to Arnold. If you burn some, you can give him the cooked ones and go back to fish for more. Despite being quest items, once cooked the left-click of fresh monkfish is "eat", and they will heal 1hp if eaten.

Franklin Caranos

Franklin Caranos is near the entrance gate of the Colony. He will ask you to make five iron sheets to repair the west walls. He will give you a tinderbox to heat the metal press. If you have the iron bars and logs, you can skip the following steps:

A player fixing the colony walls.
A player fixing the colony walls. Image source ↗

Pick up a pickaxe and an axe from the pile east of Franklin. Exit the Colony via the gate, and head back underneath the hole. To the south, you should find several rocks; mine enough iron ores to make five iron bars (you will be able to smith them with the usual 50% success rate at the Colony), and cut down a dead tree for some logs. Return to the Colony and smith your ores into bars, returning to the rocks and mining more ores if required, until you have five bars.

Go into the building with the furnace, and use your logs on the Firebox east end of the press then use the tinderbox and light them. Then, use your iron bars with the press to make iron sheets. Tell Franklin that you have the sheets and he will give you a hammer, with which you can repair the walls to the west. Once you have done this, talk to Franklin again.

Note: When you repair the wall, you need to use the iron sheets on the broken wall. If you use the hammer on the broken wall, your character will yell and hammer the wall. You'll receive a message that you feel a lot calmer, but it didn't achieve anything, and to use the iron sheets on the wall instead.

Important: Keep the pickaxe since you'll need it to mine clay in the next part if you didn't bring any.

Raising an army

Items needed: A pickaxe (to mine the clay, needed only if you didn't bring any).
Items recommended: 7 bones, a pot, and a pot lid. (If making a pot lid, bring a pickaxe.)

Next, go back to the Wise Old Man and Herman Caranos, who tell you that they need an army to fight and defeat the Sea trolls once and for all. The Wise Old Man tells you to visit Wizard Frumscone, in the basement of the Wizards' Guild.

Note: This is where you need to boost your Magic level if it is lower than 66.

You may find it advisable to pick up a pickaxe, if you have not done so already, before you leave for Yanille. You can use any recommended methods as mentioned to travel to Yanille. If you use the minigame teleport to the Nightmare Zone you will need to leave the area through the tunnel first.

At Yanille, you may get seven normal bones, pot, and pot lid from the bank if you have them. Head into the Wizards' Guild and go down the ladder. Wizard Frumscone will appear and refuse to help you, but he does tell you of one who may - Malignius Mortifer.

Important: Be sure to bank any Saradomin-related items prior to talking to Malignius, or he will refuse to help you. The Saradomin Cape does not count. As he teleports you to Piscatoris Fishing Colony when you speak to him, it is not advised to drop any items.

After making the pottery, however, you may wear your items.

Malignius Mortifer's location. Open interactive map ↗Map data and tiles: OSRS Wiki · Game imagery © Jagex Ltd

You can use your charged amulet of glory if you have them to teleport to Draynor Village, and head west to find Malignius, who is accompanied by elemental wizards, slightly north-west of the Port Sarim magic shop.

Alternatively, you can use the southern portal at the top of the Guild to take you to the Dark Wizards' Tower. The dark wizards drop bones, so you can kill seven of them for seven bones if you still need them. Walk south, through the gate, and then south-east from here to find Malignius.

Malignius will tell you that he needs seven normal bones. You can kill highwaymen or the chickens in the farm nearby for these. (You cannot kill the surrounding wizards, as they drop ashes.) When you give them to him, he will tell you that you also need some way of storing the seeds he will give you, and that you should ask in the Crafting Guild to the west. He will give you a brown apron, which will allow you access.

Ask the master craftsmen (the one with no skillcape) about how to store the seeds until you find the one that will tell you; you will need simply a pot with a pot lid. You may skip the rest of this paragraph if you have both items. Mine two pieces of clay in the Guild mine; use the jug in the northern end of the Guild filled with water from the sink to the south to soften the clay, and then shape them on the potter's wheel. Fire them in the pottery oven.

Warning: Now, you may wish to restock your combat supplies for the upcoming fight at a bank as Malignius will, without any warning, teleport you to the Piscatoris Fishing Colony after you have finished talking with him.

Now, return to Malignius with your pot and pot lid, and he will teleport you to the Fishing Colony.

The final battle

Items needed: Bone seeds, Combat equipment to defeat a level 170 Sea Troll Queen, which is able to use Magic and Melee and can drain Prayer. Ranged/Magic safespots are available but not advisable.
This fight takes place in an instance.
On death, all unprotected items will be moved to a grave outside the instance. Any items left on the ground will be lost.

After entering the Colony and talking to Herman Caranos, you will be shown a cutscene of your army of Skeleton Mages defeating the Sea trolls and then the Wise Old Man killing the levelless Sea Troll General. However, while he is celebrating, he gets hit for 254 damage (which doesn't make the slightest dent on his health bar). He will be disabled for the rest of the fight, so you must take on the Sea Troll Queen yourself.

The Queen cannot move from her location, so anywhere not directly next to her is suitable for long-ranged attacks. The Queen uses the Magic attack Water Wave and a basic Melee attack where possible. If you are using overhead protection prayers and are not within melee range, the queen will use a Prayer-draining attack. This means that long-ranged attacks are inadvisable unless you are confident in your armour to protect you from powerful magical spells (e.g. Armadyl armour). Meleeing the queen means she will not use her prayer draining attack; however, she uses both Melee and Magic attacks. She is much more damaging with magical attacks, with a max hit of 37, so it is best to use Protect from Magic and wear melee armour. She is not too hard for a skilled fighter, though she should not be taken for a pushover either, as her melee can still hit up to 16.

It is possible to wear full Mystic robes and use the Mystic Might Prayer. This way the queen splashes more often. Be careful though, she can still hit 25 consistently. Use the best Wave spell you can.

After defeating the queen, talk to Herman to finish the quest.

Congratulations, quest complete!

Quick checklist 27 instructions

Use this when you already know the route. The full walkthrough above includes explanations and diagrams.

Trollish

  1. Talk to Herman Caranos at the Piscatoris Fishing Colony (north of Fairy ring AKQ); cutscene is optional.

    Say: What's the rush? → Do you need any help? → I'm a brave adventurer! Can I try?

The Wise Old Man

  1. Talk to the Wise Old Man in Draynor Village.

Battle at the Colony

  1. Return to the Colony and talk to the Wise Old Man.

  2. Kill the level 79 Sea Trolls and enter the Colony (collect 7 of their bones if needed).

  3. Talk to Herman (east building). Note: You will need to click inside of the building as clicking directly on Herman (or the Wise Old Man later) will make your character run outside the building to the north.

Repairing the Colony

  1. Talk to Franklin Caranos near the entrance.

  2. Use a log on the firebox (not the furnace) and light it in the building with the Furnace symbol. (Franklin will give you a tinderbox if you speak to him again.)

  3. Use each of the five iron bars on the Metal Press.

  4. Use iron sheets to repair the western colony perimeter's broken walls. (Franklin will give you a hammer.)

  5. Talk to Arnold Lydspor in the bank. (He will give you a Small fishing net if you do not already have one.)

  6. Fish 5 fresh monkfish at the fishing spot to the north-west, you may need a few more if you burn some while cooking.

    • Kill sea trolls when they spawn, as they will increase in difficulty. After 1-3 kills, the sea trolls only drop big bones and cannot be used in the next section of the quest.

  7. Cook the monkfish in the kitchen, south of the fishing spot. Note: you cannot bank with Arnold to make use of cooking gauntlets.

  8. Talk to Arnold.

  9. Talk to Franklin.

  10. Talk to the Wise Old Man and Herman in the far eastern building.

Raising an Army

  1. Talk to Wizard Frumscone in the basement of the Wizards' Guild in Yanille.

    Say: I'll see what the necromancer needs me to do.

  2. Talk to Malignius Mortifer south of Falador.

    Say: I need help with saving a fishing colony. He will give you a brown apron in order to be allowed entry to the Crafting Guild.

  3. Talk to the Master Crafter with dreadlocks in the Crafting Guild on the east side.

    • If you brought soft clay, use it on the potter's wheel, then the potter's oven to make a pot and pot lid. If you brought a pickaxe, mine some clay and follow the step above.

  4. Use Pot and Pot Lid together to make Airtight Pot.

  5. Talk to Malignius Mortifer to teleport back to the Fishing Colony.

    Say: I've spoken to the master crafter...

The Final Battle

  1. Talk to Herman to begin the fight.

    Say: I'm ready. Let's fight!

  2. Kill the Sea Troll Queen. (Use Protect from Magic in Melee range, and use Ranged or Melee to kill her)

  3. Talk to Herman.

  4. Congratulations, quest complete!

    • (Optional) Catch and cook a monkfish to complete a hard Western Provinces Achievement Diary task.

QUEST COMPLETE

Rewards

  • 15,000 Magic Magic experience
  • 10,000 Prayer Prayer experience
  • 50,000 Fishing Fishing experience
  • 25,000 coins
  • Access to the Piscatoris Fishing Colony
  • The ability to fish monkfish
  • The ability to use Skeleton Mages for training
  • Use Kathy Corkat's boat for free
  • Access to the following items from Malignius Mortifer upon request:
  • A brown apron
  • Bone seeds (requires an airtight pot)

OSRS WIKI CONTRIBUTORS

Sources & credits

Walkthrough text and preparation lists are adapted from Old School RuneScape Wiki contributors under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Game imagery © Jagex Ltd; individual image sources are linked in their captions. This page is fan-made and not affiliated with Jagex.

Game icons © Jagex Ltd, via the OSRS Wiki. Interface icons by Lucide.