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Swan Song (#104)


Released		2 May 2006 (Update)
Members		Yes
Quest series		None
Lead developer(s)		Ashleigh B

Swan Song is a quest about the adventuring life of the Wise Old Man. His help is requested in aiding the Piscatoris Fishing Colony get rid of a sea troll invasion. He views this quest as his "swan song", that is, his final adventure before retiring.

Details

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Start point	The Piscatoris Fishing Colony. It can be reached via a boat trip from the river to the west of the Tree Gnome Stronghold. Show on map
Official difficulty	Master
Official length	Medium
Description	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 a spectacular bank robbery have never been substantiated). If you're in the mood for a bit of combat, jump on the boat on the west side of the Gnome Stronghold, speak to the Colony's director and prepare to fight alongside the Wise Old Man as he embarks on his final adventure - his swan song.
Requirements	100 Quest points 66 Magic ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} 62 Cooking ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} 62 Fishing ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} 45 Smithing ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} 42 Firemaking ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} 40 Crafting ^[boostable] ^{[not required to start]} Completion of the following quests: One Small Favour Rune Mysteries Shilo Village Jungle Potion Druidic Ritual Garden of Tranquillity Creature of Fenkenstrain Priest in Peril The Restless Ghost The ability to defeat a combat level 170 monster, which is able to use Magic, Melee and can drain Prayer.
Items required	10 mist runes 10 lava runes 5 blood runes 7 bones (obtainable during the quest) An airtight pot – created by using a pot lid on a pot Soft clay if making your own pot lid during the quest (2 if also making the pot), or a pickaxe to obtain the clay during the quest 5 iron bars, or a pickaxe (obtainable during the quest) if mining your own iron during quest 1 set of logs of any kind, or an axe (obtainable during quest) if chopping your own logs during quest A tinderbox (obtainable during the quest) A hammer (obtainable during the quest) A small fishing net (obtained during the quest) A brown apron (obtained during the quest)
Recommended	60 Combat level Teleportation method to the Piscatoris Fishing Colony: Several Piscatoris teleports can be used to teleport there directly A Dramen staff or Lunar staff – if using fairy rings AKQ 50 coins or a ring of charos – if using Kathy Corkat's boat from west of Tree Gnome Stronghold An amulet of glory (to teleport to Draynor Village) A skills necklace (to teleport to the Crafting Guild) Watchtower teleport runes or tablet (requires completing Watchtower), or Nightmare Zone Minigame Teleport It is best to bring 4 to 5 Admiral pies if boosting Fishing level. Some prayer potions (to offset the Sea Troll Queen's magical Prayer-draining attacks) Some good food/healing Cooking gauntlets (to reduce the chance of burning the 5 Monkfish caught during the quest)
Enemies to defeat	11 Sea trolls (1 each of levels 65/87/101 and 8 of level 79) Sea Troll Queen (level 170)
Ironman concerns	Consider purchasing the necessary combination runes from the Rewards Guardian in the Mage Training Arena.
League notes	Unlocking Desert✓ will auto-complete the quest Unlocking Fremennik✓ will auto-complete the quest Unlocking Kandarin✓ will auto-complete the quest

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.

Walkthrough

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Starting the quest

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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.

Killing an Ogre shaman
Killing the Drunken Dwarf
Subduing The Shaikahan
Fighting the Kalphite Queen
Fighting Dad

The Wise Old Man

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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

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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.

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

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The following two tasks can be done in any order:

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

Arnold Lydspor

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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

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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:

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

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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.

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

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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 Sea Trolls rise from the ocean depths.
This means war!
The Wise Old Man kills the Sea Troll General
The Wise Old Man is badly hurt by a powerful water spell.
You must fight the Sea Troll Queen!

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!

Rewards

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2 Quest points
15,000 Magic experience
10,000 Prayer experience
50,000 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)

Required for completing

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Completion of Swan Song is required for the following:

Transcript

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This article on a quest has an associated dialogue page.
Click here for a transcript of possible conversations encountered throughout the quest.

Changes

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Date	Changes
30 November 2022 (Update \| poll)	The xp rewarded to the Fishing skill was increased from 10,000 to 50,000.
17 January 2019 (Update)	Mobile The chatbox interface no longer obstructs cutscenes on mobile.

Trivia

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Swan song is an idiom referring to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any final work or accomplishment.
At the start of the quest when Herman Caranos explains that he needs an expert adventurer, players who have finished Legends' Quest will remark "Expert adventurer? I'll have you know I'm in the Guild of Legends!"
Monkfish is the common name of a number of different species of fish. The species of monkfish found in Piscatoris Fishing Colony, which will be available for players to fish after this quest, receives its image from a deep sea monkfish known as anglerfish, whose Latin name is Lophius piscatorius.
Early into the quest, Franklin instructs the player to smith several iron sheets by heating up and smithing iron bars. The player mentions cold-smithing bars all their life without a problem, to which Franklin retorts that would no doubt make all products horribly brittle (as would happen in real life). The player responds that you're probably just that talented.
The Sea Troll Queen looks nothing like a Sea troll at all, but more like a giant squid or octopus. Her model indicates she's a variant of the Kraken.
During the final cutscene of the quest, the player's character begs the Wise Old Man for his blue partyhat as a reward, only to be completely ignored. This is a reference to the insane value of partyhats in RuneScape 2, the blue partyhat frequently being one of the most expensive to buy. Even the least expensive partyhats often went for millions to tens of millions of coins each at the time of this quest's release.
Release of this quest introduced a bug that would randomly hit high numbers and cause an unsafe death for players standing in specific locations on the same world as somebody who is doing the quest fights with the Wise Old Man. This bug was confirmed and fixed on May 16th, 2006 with no roll back.
If the player talks to the Wise Old Man with the necessary runes already in their inventory, the Wise Old Man will remark how efficient the player is, and the player will respond "Sometime I amaze even myself." a reference to Star Wars: A New Hope.

Swan Song

NPCs

	Arnold Lydspor Wise Old Man Kathy Corkat George Laxmeister Franklin Caranos Herman Caranos Devin Mendelberg Ramara du Croissant Wizard Frumscone Malignius Mortifer
Enemies	Skeleton Mage Sea troll Sea Troll General Sea Troll Queen

Items

Locations

Piscatoris Fishing Colony

Music

Related