Embarking on quests is a cornerstone of the Elden Ring experience, leading you through the Lands Between’s intricate narratives and hidden depths. Among the most impactful questlines is the intertwined journey of Irina and Hyetta, a path that delves into the mysteries of the Frenzied Flame and can significantly alter your ending. Warning: This questline is known to potentially lock you out of other endings depending on your progress. The initial stages can lead to a point of no return, while the latter half provides the “key” to navigate this lock. It’s crucial to understand that progressing too far past the Fire Giant and lighting the Forge may prevent you from completing the latter part of this quest, potentially locking you into a specific ending without the means to change course. While not definitively confirmed, it’s highly recommended to complete the latter stages of this quest before confronting the Fire Giant to avoid unintended consequences and maintain flexibility in your endgame choices. Be aware that even if you manage to obtain the “key” after a certain point, the sequence of events leading to the game’s conclusion will be irrevocably changed.
Starting Out on the Quest
Your journey begins in Limgrave, the starting region of Elden Ring. Head south-east from the Stranded Graveyard, the game’s initial area. You’ll traverse past the Bridge of Sacrifice and encounter Irina. She is located on the roadside, marked clearly on the map once you approach. Engage in conversation with Irina, and she will entrust you with a letter to deliver to her father, Edgar.
Your next destination is Castle Morne, situated further south of Irina’s location in the Weeping Peninsula. As you approach Castle Morne, be cautious of the siege weaponry – arrows will rain down upon you as you near the castle gates. Navigate through the castle’s defenses, battling through the enemies within, until you locate Edgar. He can be found on the ramparts of Castle Morne. Delivering Irina’s letter to Edgar is your immediate objective.
A straightforward route to Edgar is as follows: After taking the elevator within the castle upwards, proceed right, moving around the worshipping enemies. Enter the room, ascend the ladder, and then another ladder immediately after. Continue taking left turns, navigating through the castle structure. Eventually, you will encounter Edgar on the ramparts. Speak with him to deliver Irina’s letter.
After delivering the letter, your next objective is to conquer the boss of Castle Morne. Once the boss is defeated, return to Edgar within Castle Morne. Exhaust his dialogue, and then travel back to the location where you first met Irina outside the castle. You will find Edgar there, but the situation has tragically changed.
Choice Point: At this stage, you have a choice regarding Edgar’s fate. If you choose not to kill Edgar during your initial encounter at Castle Morne and exhaust his dialogue after the boss fight, he will reappear later in the questline at Revenger’s Shack. Alternatively, if you defeat Edgar at Irina’s location after completing Castle Morne and reload the area (or potentially travel back to his rampart location within Castle Morne and then return, or even after meeting Hyetta), you can still obtain all the necessary quest rewards. However, choosing to kill him early will mean missing out on a couple of extra encounters and dialogue later in Hyetta’s questline.
The Taste of Shabriri Grapes
To continue this quest and intertwine Irina’s storyline with Hyetta’s, you need to locate Hyetta and provide her with Shabriri Grapes.
From the Stranded Graveyard, head north-west, progressing past or through Stormveil Castle. Your destination is the Lake-Facing Cliffs Site of Grace, situated north of Stormveil Castle in Liurnia of the Lakes. Hyetta can be found near this Grace.
The first Shabriri Grape is located in Stormveil Castle itself. Return to Stormveil Castle and locate the throne room. The entrance to the area beneath the throne room, where the grape is located, is accessible from the cliffs nearby, outside the castle walls. Acquire the Shabriri Grape and return to Hyetta at the Lake-Facing Cliffs Grace to give it to her.
For the next grape, travel north-west until you reach the water in Liurnia of the Lakes. Then proceed north along the water’s edge to reach the Purified Ruins. Within the center of the Purified Ruins, discover a hidden floor concealed beneath a cluster of pots and barrels. Break these objects to reveal the hidden floor and descend to find another Shabriri Grape.
Locate Hyetta again on the north-west side of the Purified Ruins, near the shore where you likely arrived from the lake. Give her the second Shabriri Grape.
Next, proceed north-east to find the Liurnia Highway North Site of Grace at the fork in the road. This Grace will be a useful reference point later.
From the shore of the Purified Ruins, head north-west again to the western shoreline of Liurnia. Stay in the water and travel north along the shore until you encounter a ghost NPC. This ghost will be talking about a “crazy man.” Head in the direction the ghost is facing, which is north-west, and follow the trail of corpses. This trail will lead you to the Revenger’s Shack Site of Grace. Here, Edgar the Revenger will invade your world. Defeat him to obtain another Shabriri Grape.
Return to the Liurnia Highway North Grace and follow the road north, passing through the spectral soldiers and through the tunnel ahead. Obtain the Gate Town Bridge Site of Grace. Just north of this Grace, you will find Hyetta once more. Speak with her, give her the Shabriri Grape obtained from Edgar, and listen to her dialogue as she consumes it. Afterward, tell her what it was she just ate. Witness her reaction, and then reload the area by resting at the Site of Grace or fast traveling away and back. Talk to Hyetta again to hear her rationalize her experience.
This part of the quest becomes slightly more intricate. From the Gate Town Bridge Grace, enter the water and follow the cliff wall going north-west. Eventually, you will find a Spiritspring jump (a point where Torrent can use his spectral steed jump ability) near a Walking Mausoleum. Utilize the Spiritspring jump and proceed north to locate the Bellum Church Site of Grace. Hyetta will be present at this location.
From Bellum Church, head east/north-east towards the cliff wall and stick close to it as you proceed around. You will need to evade the gaze of the Frenzied Flame Tower (often jokingly referred to as “Sauron’s Eye” by players due to its visual and thematic similarities). Carefully navigate your way towards the tower. Defeat the Mad Pumpkin Head enemies guarding the base of the tower. While the original guide mentions climbing Mt. Doom and destroying the Ring, it’s a humorous, out-of-context reference to Lord of the Rings. The objective is simply to proceed past the tower and head south to Frenzied Flame Village. Traverse through the village, heading to the other side, and ascend the slope going north to find a ghost NPC. This ghost will speak of Vyke. Head north to the Church of Inhibition. Festering Fingerprint Vyke will invade you near the church. Defeat him to acquire the Fingerprint Grape.
Return to the Bellum Church Grace, and you will find Hyetta nearby. Give her the Fingerprint Grape.
Catching the Frenzied Flame
To progress further in this questline and towards the Frenzied Flame ending, you need to have acquired at least two Great Runes. By this point in the game, you can typically obtain Great Runes by defeating major bosses such as Godrick the Grafted in Stormveil Castle (Limgrave), Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in Raya Lucaria Academy (Liurnia of the Lakes), Starscourge Radahn in Redmane Castle (Caelid), Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy at Volcano Manor (reached via the Volcano Manor questline), and Mohg, Lord of Blood (requiring White-Faced Varré’s questline and the Pureblood Knight’s Medal). Defeating any two of these bosses will grant you their Great Runes. You do not need to activate the Great Runes at the Divine Towers; simply possessing two is sufficient to progress into Leyndell, Royal Capital.
(Note: While the original guide mentions a possible alternate path into Leyndell, the standard and intended path is through the main gate after acquiring two Great Runes).
Proceed through the game, entering Leyndell, Royal Capital. Advance through Leyndell and defeat the boss encountered at the Erdtree to obtain the Rold Medallion.
Exit Leyndell to the east and continue along this path until you reach the Grand Lift of Rold. Ascend the Grand Lift. Near the top, you will find the Zamor Ruins Site of Grace, and NPC Shabriri will be nearby. Speak with Shabriri to learn about the Frenzied Flame hidden beneath Leyndell. Optional: You can choose to kill Shabriri at this point to obtain his armor set, or you can wait and acquire it from him after fully embracing the Frenzied Flame later in the questline.
Return to Leyndell, Royal Capital. From the East Capital Rampart Site of Grace, head west and take the lift downwards. From that lift, take the next lift down. Proceed to the right, and you will enter a large, open area where a Defiled Root Monster enemy spawns. Directly ahead, you’ll see an enticing doorway, and to your left, a tempting bridge offering an escape route. Ignore both. Just to the right of the doorway, slightly hidden, is another door that requires a jump to reach. Jump to reach and go through this door. On the other side, you will find an area containing a well. Descend into the well to enter the Leyndell sewers, officially known as the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, and continue through to find the Underground Roadside Site of Grace.
From the Underground Roadside Grace, proceed left and jump down into a large, open grate. Turn around and go down the long tunnel, then make a right at the circular opening. Enter this opening and follow the path until you encounter a group of slugs. Jump over the hole in the floor and continue forward before turning the corner to ascend the slope. At the top of the slope, there will be another hole to jump over. Jump over it and continue, taking a right at the fork, passing through an open doorway. Continue straight to a ladder. Climb the ladder, then go through the door. Before opening the next door, turn right and pull the lever to open a gate, creating a shortcut back to this area.
Return to the door you have not yet opened and proceed through it. Turn left and hop down to the path below, then descend the stairs. Follow this path until you reach a ledge with a ladder and a giant flower enemy below. Instead of going down, turn around and take the path on the left. Continue on this path, past the Basilisk enemies, ignoring the first opening on the right, and enter a room with a large Ogre enemy and a ladder. Ascend the ladder, pass through the doorway, and cross the bridge to open the shortcut door directly in front of the Underground Roadside Grace.
Rest at the Site of Grace if needed. Then, re-enter the shortcut. On the bridge, look to your right to see three sets of pipes. Two are below, and one is at a walkable level. Take the walkable pipe and follow it to its end, then jump down to the left. Turn left, hop up, and go through the door to find a ladder on your left. Kick the ladder down to create yet another shortcut. Now, look over the edge in front of the door to spot a pipe with a Mario-style pipehole opening on top. Jump into it.
Once inside the “Mario-style pipehole,” follow the path as it goes around a corner (you should see a rat enemy). Do not take the path with the open doorway immediately to your right. Continue following the path and look for an opening on the left. Take this opening and go down, then around the corner. You will see a hole in the floor. Jump INTO the hole, not over it. After dropping down, you will see a corner. Going around this corner will lead you to a shortcut back to the area with the Basilisk enemies encountered earlier. Open this shortcut and turn back around, continuing down the tunnel.
Proceed down the tunnel, and you will reach a ladder. Descend the ladder, and you will find yourself in a room with several Albinauric enemies wielding pots. To the right, you will find a Cage Elevator. Take this elevator down to reach the Forsaken Depths Site of Grace. (This sewer section is notoriously convoluted, filled with twists, turns, falls, enemies, shortcuts, and secrets).
At the Forsaken Depths Grace, proceed through the nearby door and along the path to the boss room where Mohg, the Omen awaits. Defeat Mohg. After defeating him, attack the altar located behind the chest in the boss room. This will reveal a secret passageway, leading deeper into the questline.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2
