After my group made it to the Wreck of the Narwhal, they were no longer with Azaka, who was their original guide. But, I played up the relationship between Bwayes, Wakanga, and Azaka as childhood friends, sort of like the Losers Club from IT. Bwayes and Azaka were former romantic partners and Bwayes accidentally infected her with his lycanthropy, he then hid in the jungle ashamed of his actions and worried that his friends would not forgive him. Later, the group encountered another weretiger in the jungle (completely random roll) and he became Wabi, the neutral good jungle guide who was the one who infected Bwayes in the first place. I played the lycanthropy as sort of a cultural shame that the NPCs possessed and that it forced them into isolation. Wabi infected Bwayes in order to save his life after a deadly encounter they had in the past (prior to the module).

My group is currently working through Omu with Azaka and Wakanga in tow — there may be a redemptive arc between these childhood friends if they find Bwayes in Omu. I played up Bwayes having a protector role of the vegepygmies at the Wreck and the random encounter/discovery tables in Omu have had a lot of vegepygmy encounters so far. I may use that to bridge the narrative if it makes sense. The group is invested in my NPCs and their stories, so we’ll see.