Kulilk

## Background

Not much is known about Kulilk's origins, however, it is known that Kulilk was kidnapped at a young age by a roving band of rogue sorcerors. Under their tutelage, he learned the art of magic despite possessing no natural inclination, unlike his sorceror mentors. For years, his intellect and lessons in magic served him well, transforming him into a skillful wielder of illusiory magic, allowing him to join the ensemble of sorcerors as they performed various magic tricks to make a living during their extensive travels.

Eventually, the group of travelling magicians was disbanded when many sought to settle down for good. Abandoned and without purpose, Kulilk looked to his hobbies for a new destiny. Fortunately for the rock gnome, he had spent much of his free time not dedicated to magic dwelving into the esoteric field of soap securities and acquisitions. His new-found quest to find the most profitable market for soap sent him straight to the Badlands - where everyone was allegedly dirty and homeless. More so, the grandiose plans that Goldhawks had in store would become a fresh source of inspiration for his antics, for which he lived, and ultimately, died.

## Appearance

Kulilk's appearance is quite inconspicuous, often putting on a simple robe and commoner's shoes, but the bucket he wears as a hat helps his friends spot him.

## Mannerisms

Although Kulilk genuinely means well, he tends to pass off to others as socially awkward and gruff, perhaps owing to his years of isolation with only a small cadre of unstable sorcerors to emulate and interact with. Even so, Kulilk's past acquiantances have remarked that he is funny when drunk, which is a pleasant yet unsurprising characteristic for a professed teetotaler.

## Kulilk's Final Expedition

After assembling a party with his closest friend, Jacob Pembroke, along with new acquaintances like Sebastian Krauss, Flyn Toottoot, Gark and Psalm, The Honest, Kulilk set out on a daring scouting mission to investigate rumours of high gnoll activity between the Sunlord's Vigil and Valezij.

### The Party's Journey

En route to their destination, the party visits the Goldhawk outpost, Sunlord's Vigil, to briefly resupply, after which they set off once again into the desert. On the first night after the visit, the party successfully defeats a curious gnoll patrol. The following day, they spot and subsequently ambush another patrol of gnolls and hyenas, who were dispatched with ease. However, the party was soon alarmed by what was revealed to be another, more powerful gnoll patrol, accompanied by a large, strange beast, composed of both the head of a hyena and horse-like hooves. Kulilk's party was forced to withdraw from the battlefield, and set up camp once again in the cold desert.

### Deception and Ambush

With the sun far below the horizon, plunging the entirety of the desert into darkness, Kulilk took the first watch on the party's second night in the wilderness since their visit to the Sunlord's Vigil, setting multiple alarms around the encampment as a standard precautionary measure. His shift, as well as that of Sebastian Krauss, passed uneventfully except for the onset of a strange and unpleasant scent which lingered in the vicinity. However, on Jacob Pembroke's watch, desperate cries for help were suddenly heard, prompting the ranger to alert his sleeping allies. The cries drew Jacob, and ultimately, the rest of the party away from the camp, both in search of the sound's source in separate directions, while Kulilk remained in the safety of the campfire's light.

Isolated and momentarily without allies to provide an adequate defence, the camp itself was assailed by another large hyena-like hybrid creature, similar to the one ecountered previously. Despite turning invisible and attempting to flee, the strange beast successfully tracked Kulilk and delivered a blow with its hooves. The beast was immediately battered from behind by a flaming sphere which Kulilk had evoked, prompting it to leap at the helpless gnome and knocked Kulilk unconscious. The disintegration of Kulilk's flaming sphere sends Psalm, The Honest, who was the first to notice the gnome's absence, into a contagious state of panic which overtook the remnants of the party.

### Aftermath

Sebastian Krauss, the most fleet-footed surviving member of the party, was the first to arrive back at the camp and retaliate against the strange beast, which was preparing to leave with the unconscious gnome. The show of force compelled the beast to drop Kulilk from its jaws, whereupon he succumbed to his wounds, seconds before anyone could rush to his aid.

Kulilk's body was carried by the party during the rest of the expedition and returned to Ashgate. He now rests in Ashgate's graveyard.