The Elden Ring Dung Eater quest puts you in service of one of the foulest beings in the Lands Between, the Loathsome Dung Eater. It’s a scavenger hunt of sorts with a secret variant on the Elden Lord ending waiting for you at the finale, ushering in an age of pestilence, death, and misery. If that sounds like your kind of ending, you’ll need a bit of patience. Most of the items you require are locked in late-game areas.

How to start the Dung Eater quest in Elden Ring

The Dung Eater quest has a drawn-out beginning that starts in the Roundtable Hold and picks up much later in Leyndell, the capital city. The Dung Eater shows up in the room beyond the Husk Maidens at some point after acquiring your first Great Rune. It’s easy to miss unless you explore the Hold after every major event, but when Roderika the Spirit Tuner says she senses a great evil, that’s your sign the Dung Eater has arrived. Speak with him in his chamber, and he’ll essentially tell you to go away because you aren’t tainted enough.

You need a Seedbed Curse to gain his approval. The first one is in Leyndell, near the East Rampart Site of Grace. Exit the room, and follow the ramparts along until you reach a dim chamber with several candles. Descend the stairs, and take the elevator at the end of the path. Keep moving forward until you reach the room with the cloaked enemy. Quickly climb the ladder, then the stairs, and you’ll find the Seedbed Curse on a rather tortured looking corpse.

Show this to the Dung Eater in the Hold. He’ll command you to release his body in the sewers under the capital and hands over the Sewer Gaol Key to help you along.

Dung Eater Location in the Sewer Gaol

The Leyndell sewers are a nightmarish labyrinth, but the path to the Dung Eater’s cell is fairly straightforward. Travel to the Balcony Site of Grace in the capital. Turn around and head down the steps, take a left, and hop over the balcony. Jump into the manhole.

Now, just keep going straight. The “Subterranean Shunning Grounds” location tag appears when you reach a staircase. Instead of turning left to descend, go through the door, which opens onto a vast hall. Drop down, turn left, and enter the first big doorway, also to your left. This is the Underground Roadside Site of Grace and a good checkpoint if something untoward happens moving forward. (You’ll also come back here later if you want the Lord of Frenzied Flame ending)

Go back into the tunnel, turn left, and run ahead until you see a grate. Drop down, turn left, and keep moving forward. There are rats in this first tunnel, but they’re slow and won’t follow you. Continue moving ahead past the plants, and climb the ladder. You’ll emerge into a large, flooded chamber. Turn right, and approach the cell door. Tell the Dung Eater to leave his cell.

Dung Eater not invading in Outer Moat

The next step is visiting his room in Roundtable Hold again, where he’s left a message demanding you meet him at the Outer Moat. Before doing this, though, make sure to speak with Blackguard Boggart, the thief who stole Rya’s necklace at Boilprawn Shack in Liurnia. Purchase prawns from him, then later, you’ll find him near the moat, which is south of the road leading to the Draconic Tree Sentinel. Speak with him again, then reload the area. The Dung Eater should invade once you enter the water.

Some players report the Dung Eater’s invasion won’t trigger unless you speak with the thief first. Either way, you’ll find another Seedbed Curse on his corpse after defeating the invading Dung Eater.

Seedbed Curse locations in Elden Ring

Speak with the Dung Eater again at Roundtable Hold, and he’ll ask that you bring his real body more Seedbed Curses. You need five to get his Mending Rune.

• Leyndell, Fortified Manor: In the area that’s meant to be an alternate Roundtable Hold, you’ll find it on the chair in the Dung Eater’s room
• Volcano Manor: After taking the portal to the Rykard fight, turn around and go up the stairs. Use a Stonesword Key to unlock the fog door, then descend into the put via the giant metal cages. The Curse is at the bottom.
• Haligtree, Prayer Room: Exit the Prayer Room to the right of the altar, and follow the ramparts past the crossbowman. Hop onto the masonry at the end of the balcony, then jump to the square with a gazebo and several candles. Use the masonry at the other end of the platform to reach the balcony above, and follow that around until you find another body tied to a chair.
• Haligtree, also Prayer Room: Exit the Prayer Room to the right again, but before reaching the crossbowman, drop down to the right onto a balcony. Do the same thing again, and then at the doorway with the corpse, drop down to the right again. Head left under the archway, drop off the staircase’s right side, and you’ll find the last Curse on a body tied to a chair.

If you got the Curse off the thief after the Dung Eater’s invasion, you can skip one of these. Take your Curses back to the Dung Eater’s body and feed them to him. After the fifth one, you’ll get the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse. That’s all you need from the Dung Eater, so feel free to end him and collect his armor if you want. Use the Fell Curse rune on Marika’s remains after the final boss battle to usher in the Age of Despair.