Kurnok

"The Kurnok were masters of survival until they weren't. Their wisdom turned to ash when they trusted a half-orc's words over centuries of caution."

— Kurgan Weinrich

The Kurnok: A Tribe Divided and Conquered

The Kurnok tribes once held a fearsome reputation in the northern jungles of the Kanonos Region, within the sprawling nation of Nolavor. Split between the western and eastern clans, these reptilian humanoids carved out their territories along the poisoned waterways and verdant depths of the Serpent's Mire. While sharing common ancestry, the two branches evolved distinctly different cultural practices and arcane traditions over centuries of separation.

The Western Kurnok: Diplomats and Traders

Under Chieftain Krolok's leadership, the western Kurnok developed a complex society blending dark magic with pragmatic diplomacy. Their village, nestled within the treacherous swamps bordering Bloodclaw territory, served as a rare neutral ground where different factions could engage in cautious trade. Though still feared for their cannibalistic rituals and expertise with toxins, the western tribe had moderated some of their more extreme practices to facilitate relations with outsiders.

"In the depths of their village, where shadow and flame dance as one, the Kurnok's witch doctors weave magic from flesh and bone. Their powers come not from gods or spirits, but from the very essence of those they consume."

Witch Doctor Tila and Shaman Grik served as spiritual leaders, conducting powerful rituals involving the consumption of "smart meat" - their term for the flesh of sentient beings. Their healing abilities, though feared by outsiders, proved invaluable to travelers who could earn their trust. This was demonstrated when they created a Bag of Cursed Herbs for Thronn Zamda after healing his poisoned arm, a token of respect rarely granted to non-Kurnok.

Scout Nok: The Bridge Between Worlds

Scout Nok emerged as perhaps the most enigmatic figure in the western tribe's final chapter. Born bearing unusual scale patterns of midnight blue rather than the traditional emerald hues, he was marked for a path different from most warriors. Trained from hatchlinghood in the arts of stealth, toxicology, and languages under Witch Doctor Tila's tutelage, Nok developed unparalleled skills in navigating both the physical territory and cultural boundaries of Nolavor.
His regular dealings with Kurgan at The Jungle's Claw Tavern brought valuable information and resources to the Kurnok, while establishing him as the rare tribesman who could move between worlds with relative freedom. What few knew was the blood debt binding Kurgan and Nok—years earlier, Nok had betrayed his eastern kin by revealing a sacrificial ritual site to Kurgan, allowing the mercenary to rescue his captured lover from certain death. This act forever marked Nok among the eastern shamans while creating an unbreakable bond with the tavern keeper.
When Thronn Zamda, a former member of the Bloodclaw, sought healing from the tribe's witch doctors, Nok served as intermediary. His instinctive recognition of a kindred spirit—another being caught between two worlds—led him to advocate for Thronn's treatment, ultimately setting in motion the chain of events that would lead to catastrophe.

"The waters remember what the Bloodclaw did that day. Even now, the rivers run red with the memory of Kurnok blood."

— Anonymous River Trader

Betrayal and Destruction

The western Kurnok's destruction came swiftly after Thronn betrayed his own blood ties. Having shared crucial intelligence about Bloodclaw operations with Chieftain Krolok, Thronn enabled a Kurnok attack on the Bloodclaw basecamp. However, this victory proved short-lived. Chief Gruznak the Ruthless, Thronn's own father, retaliated with devastating force, leading to the complete annihilation of the Kurnok village. During the assault, Chieftain Krolok was captured and tortured, forced to reveal Thronn's betrayal before meeting his end.

Scout Nok survived the initial massacre, managing to lead a small group of younglings and elders to safety before returning to assess the carnage. Later, he warned Thronn of the consequences of his actions—a three-hundred-warrior hunt dedicated solely to capturing Nolavor's most infamous betrayer son. In a final act of loyalty to both his destroyed tribe and the man who had earned his respect, Nok helped Thronn and his companions escape the Bloodclaw's vengeance through hidden mountain passages.
In the narrow confines of ancient Goliath tunnels, Nok's preternatural senses detected a trap too late. A barbed net designed to snare and mutilate descended upon him, its hooks and razors piercing even his tough hide. As the tunnels trembled with approaching Bloodclaw forces, Gherman made the brutal calculation that saving Nok would doom them all. Despite Thronn's hesitation, the group abandoned the agonized scout, his blood-slicked form still writhing in the mesh of razored steel as they fled deeper into the mountain.

The Eastern Kurnok: Keepers of Ancient Ways

Far from the diplomatic machinations of their western cousins, the eastern Kurnok maintained traditions considered extreme even among their own kind. Their territories stretched along the northern reaches of the River Vo, approaching the borders of the dreaded Kalnith Jungle. Where western shamans had moderated their practices, eastern witch doctors delved deeper into primal magic, blood rituals, and direct communion with entities best left unnamed.
The eastern tribes remained particularly hostile to outsiders, practicing cannibalistic rites with religious fervor rather than pragmatic necessity. Their settlements, hidden among poisonous bogs and toxic tributaries, were forbidden to all but the most desperate or foolish travelers. Even the western Kurnok approached their eastern kin with caution, recognizing the unpredictable nature of their more primitive cousins.
What few outsiders understood was that this isolation preserved knowledge lost to their western brethren—rituals of such potency they could allegedly restore life to the brink of death, bind multiple spirits within a single vessel, or pierce the veil between worlds. The price for such magic was always steep, paid in blood and souls rather than mere gold or favors.

The Survival and Transformation of Scout Nok

Contrary to common belief, Scout Nok's story did not end in the mountain tunnels. Unknown to Thronn and his companions, Kurgan had long ago placed a tracking rune upon Nok—not out of distrust but insurance against catastrophe. When the scout's life force began failing beneath the barbed net, this rune activated, alerting Kurgan who dispatched specialized operatives positioned near the mountain range.
While the Bloodclaw discovered and claimed a mutilated Kurnok corpse, it was not Nok but a glamoured substitute. The true Scout Nok, barely clinging to life, was extracted through dimensional magic and delivered not to The Jungle's Claw but deep into eastern Kurnok territory—a calculated betrayal of trust driven by Kurgan's larger designs.

"The true measure of a scout isn't just how well he can track—it's how long he can survive being tracked. Nok? He turned survival into an art form."

— Thronn Zamda

The eastern shamans subjected Nok to a nightmarish thirteen-day ritual requiring sacrificial blood and the hearts of albino river predators. Their motivation stemmed from recognition of his unusual scale patterns—marks matching their sacred cave paintings predicting the arrival of "the vessel." Through their forbidden arts, they saved his physical form while forever altering his spiritual essence, binding additional entities to his consciousness.

The wounds of the body are but shadows, The wounds of the spirit leave no scars. He who returns from the threshold Walks with feet in separate worlds. |Eastern Kurnok healing chant

Kurgan maintained absolute silence regarding Nok's survival, even with trusted associates like Thronn. This served multiple purposes: preserving the strategic advantage of the Bloodclaw believing Nok dead, maintaining the psychological tether of guilt binding Thronn to his service, and concealing the disturbing truth—that what emerged from the eastern shamans' ritual was no longer merely Scout Nok but something far more ancient and terrible.

The Scaled Shadow Rises

Six weeks after Nok's presumed death, reports emerged of Bloodclaw patrols disappearing in the northeastern jungles. The bodies, when discovered, bore the distinctive purple stains of Kurnok blow darts. Unlike traditional tribal warfare, these attacks displayed surgical precision—officers and shamans eliminated first, common warriors merely incapacitated, and ritual items methodically collected.
In the Rustwater District of Grizburg, merchants encountered a hooded figure trading authentic Shadow Fang venom at premium prices, his scaled hands bearing ritual scarifications matching known Kurnok patterns. His distinctive three-note whistle signal confirmed what veterans of the river trade dared not openly discuss—Scout Nok, or something wearing his form, had survived.

As surviving Kurnok from both eastern and western tribes began receiving mysterious aid—caches of supplies marked with Nok's distinctive blazon, maps leading to safe havens, and assassinations of threats—a network formed among the scattered remnants. Guided by an unseen hand with intimate knowledge of every survivor's location, these fragments began moving toward some unknown gathering point.

The Rustleech Encounter

The appearance of eastern Kurnok along the Rustleech's journey north represented no coincidence but a carefully orchestrated rendezvous. Their flaming arrows, ineffective against the vessel's treated hull, served as signals rather than attacks. Kurgan's peculiar behavior—remaining below decks during the barrage, dismissing Thronn's warnings, and focusing intently on mysterious documents—betrayed a man awaiting a predetermined exchange.
The three high shamans positioned strategically along the riverbank prepared not for war but for transfer—a ritualistic handover of "the vessel" that now housed both Scout Nok and whatever entities the eastern Kurnok had bound to his consciousness. This elaborate performance maintained the necessary facade of tribal hostility while enabling the next phase of Kurgan's inscrutable plans.
As the iron-hulled Rustleech continues its journey toward Grizburg, the truth regarding Scout Nok's transformation remains hidden from those who once abandoned him in the mountain tunnels. Yet as flaming arrows rain upon the vessel's reinforced plating, the reckoning approaches—a convergence of paths that diverged in blood and shadow, now drawing together in the treacherous waters of the River Vo.

"The Kurnok knew the price of power was blood. They just never expected it would be all of theirs."

— Shittisk of the Sinister Six

The fall of the western Kurnok serves as a grim reminder of the precarious nature of power in Nolavor's unforgiving jungles. Their legacy lives on through the scattered survivors gathering under the guidance of the Scaled Shadow, through the eastern tribes who preserve their darkest arts, and through the transformed being that was once Scout Nok—now moving with purpose toward a destiny that may reshape the very foundations of Nolavor's fragile balance of power.

Related Organizations

• Industries of the Kanonos Region

Related Locations

• Kanonos Region
• Nolavor