In classic FromSoftware fashion, players can interact with unique and eccentric NPCs in the world of Elden Ring, where you can either do a few tasks for them or see them follow their own journey as you go through yours. Of course, all these are extremely cryptic, and finding these NPCs in the vast and open world of Elden Ring can be a problem, making it difficult to complete questlines offered by various NPCs. Tanith is one of the major NPCs you can find in Eden Ring and embark on her questline. Tanith’s questline is also important as it allows players access to one of the game’s major optional bosses, the demi-god Rykard.
This guide will help you find Tanith and complete her quest in Elden Ring.
How to start Tanith’s quest
Players first need to find Tanith herself and talk to her to start the quest. Tanith can be found in the Volcano Manor, one of the more far-off locations in Elden Ring. Let us see how players can get to Volcano Manor.
To get to the manor itself, you can either follow Rya’s questline or go straight to the manor.
If you are following Rya’s questline, Rya will meet you in Altus Plateau, depending on how you got there, and she will teleport you to the Volcano Manor.
Path to Volcano Manor
If you have decided to get to Volcano Manor directly, it’s quite the walk. Start from Erdtree Grazing Hill Site of Grace, next to the Lux Ruins. From here, head north up the hill to Wyndham Ruins. You can ignore the Tibia Mariner boss here and head to the northeast corner of the ruins. Behind the ruins, you will see a small, somewhat hidden path leading into the mountain.
Follow the path, and you’ll enter Mt. Gelmir. Follow the path to Seethewater River Site of Grace, and continue north. From the first fork you see, head to the left and continue north until you get to Fort Laiedd. From the fort, turn left and continue south. Along your way, you will come across a small lava lake and Magma Wyrm in this lava lake. If you want to avoid battle or damage, just stay on your horse and run across the lake.
Continue south, through Hermit’s Shack, and follow the path to Hermit Village. Across the village, you’ll find Demi-Human Queen Maggie, but you can ignore her and just run on the slanting rock formation here and jump to the other side, in front of Gelmir Hero’s Grave.
Head north from Gelmir Hero’s Grave, across the watch tower, to the other side through the rock bridge, towards the campsite. Here, a Grafted Scion will attack you, so hurry onto the ladder right in front of you. Climb the first ladder, then the second ladder to your left, and then the third ladder in front of you.
After you get to the top, get back on your trusty stead, and from the small campsite to your right, head west across the hanging bridge, towards the ninth Mt. Gelmir Campsite.
Here, use the vent to jump up on the cliff, where a Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast awaits you. You can ignore the beast and look west to find a small rocky plank. Use this jump to the other side and continue. From here, the manor is right in front of you. Run to it and enter the main hall of the manor.
Tanith is sitting to the right of the Volcano Manor Site of Grace inside the main hall. Honestly, we recommend you go through Rya’s quest to get here. The questline is relatively small and easy, and you’ll save yourself the long journey.
Reach Volcano Manor through Raya Lucaria Virgin Abductor
There is another way to get to Volcano Manor. From the Schoolhouse Classroom Site of Grace in Raya Lucaria Academy, use the west exit to the moving lift and ride the lift down to the bottom.
Here, you can find a Virgin Abductor enemy. You need to die inside this enemy. Virgin Abductor has an attack where it locks you in its chamber to hit you. You need to die to this attack, and the Virgin Abductor will teleport you to Volcano Manor.
However, you are teleported to the depths of Volcano Manor, the volcano itself, and you’d need to parkour your way through the lava filled area to get to the top, so we don’t really recommend this path.
Tanith’s questline Walkthrough
Now that you have reached Volcano Manor, talk to Tanith, and she explains how she is waging war against the Erdtree. And if you want to help, you can see the letter left in the side hall detailing your task.
From Tanith’s throne, turn around and head into the lobby to your left. A single door will be open here, and in the hall, you can interact with the item on the table to collect the letter.
Old Knight Istvan
The first letter leads you to Istvan. The target can be found back in Limgrave, north of Warmaster’s Shack Site of Grace and next to the Limgrave Coloseum. A red mark here will tell you where to go, and once you get to the location, players can interact with the red invasion sign here to attack Istvan.
The sign takes you to fight Old Knight Istvan. The fight with Istvan is quite clear. Istvan is like all other Tarnished NPCs you fight in Elden Ring. Defeat Istvan and then head back to Tanith to collect you reward.
You get the Magma Shot spell as a reward for defeating Old Knight Istvan.
Rileigh the Idle
Now, head back to the side hall and collect the second Letter from Volcano Manor. Again, you have a new target to find and kill; this time, it’s Rileigh the Idle.
Rileigh the Idle’s invasion sign can be found north of the Old Altus Tunnel. You can interact with it to travel to Rileigh’s world. Releigh the Idle is like all other Tarnished NPCs you fight in Elden Ring. Defeat Releigh and then head back to Tanith to collect your reward.
You get the Serpentbone Blade as a reward for defeating Releigh the Idle.
Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood
After you pick up the third Letter from Volcano Manor, your new target is Juno Hoslow. Juno’s invasion sign is found in the Mountaintops of the Giants, so you need to defeat Morgott, the Omen King, to proceed.
On the Mountaintops of the Giants, players can find the invasion sign for Juno Hoslow southwest of Castle Sol, right next to Shack of the Lofty.
Defeat Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood and return to Tanith. You get Taker’s Cameo for defeating Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood.
Time to kill Rykard
After defeating the three targets, Tanith decides it’s time you meet the true lord of Volcan Manor, Rykard. Before you agree, talk to everyone in the manor and then go off to face Rykard. Rykard’s Location could be tricky, so check our dedicated guide on this boss.
Rykard is a gimmick boss fight, so you won’t have much trouble getting rid of Rykard. Just use the weapon you get inside the arena to defeat Rykard.
What Happens After You Defeat Rykard?
After you have defeated Rykard, and when you come back to the Site of Grace where you defeated Rykard, you will find Tanith sitting beside the corpse of Rykard and eating it. Here, you can do a couple of things: choose to kill her, which will spawn Tanith’s Knight (which you will need to defeat), and give you the Aspect of Crucible Incantation. Or you can leave her be and give her Dancer’s Castanets Patches gave you. However, this won’t give you anything as a reward. And if you reload the area by sitting at the Site of Grace, you will get Tanith’s Clothing.
