Hornsent Questline and Location

Hornsent is an NPC in the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, initially found in Gravesite Plain. Read on to learn more about Hornsent's questline walkthrough, location, armor and weapon drops, and lore!

Hornsent Location

By the Three-Path Cross in Gravesite Plain

Map Location	World View

Your first encounter with Hornsent is at the Three-Path Cross. This cross can be found on the north side of the Gravesite Plain.

Questline Will Be Locked After Burning the Sealing Tree

After defeating Messmer in the Shadow Keep and Romina in the Church of the Bud, and burning the Sealing Tree, all NPC questlines involving Miquella's followers will be locked.

This means you won't be able to continue their questlines after completing the aforementioned events, and they will skip to the encounter with Leda at Enir-Illim.

Be sure to check each NPC's events and complete the necessary steps before burning the Sealing Tree to avoid getting locked out of the quest rewards!

All DLC NPC Quests and Locations

Hornsent Quest Walkthrough

Quest Objectives
Talk to Hornsent by the Three-Path Cross Give a Scorpion Stew to Hornsent Find Hornsent by the Highroad Cross Approach the Shadow Keep Return to Hornsent Help Leda Decide Who to Go After Assist Hornsent Against Leda Summon Hornsent Against Messmer Talk to Hornsent in the Boss Room Defeat Hornsent at the Ruins of Rauh

1. Talk to Hornsent by the Three-Path Cross

Your first encounter with Hornsent will be at the Three-Path Cross where he appears alongside Redmane Freyja. This cross is located on the north side of the Gravesite Plain, right next to a site of grace.

Upon meeting him, exhaust his dialogue and he will give you a Cross Map where three of Miquella's crosses will be marked. You can check out the map in your inventory under the Info category.

2. Give a Scorpion Stew to Hornsent

If you give Hornsent some Scorpion Stew he will reward you with 3 Furnace Visages. Giving the Scorpion Stew will prompt him to speak about his past, alluding to what Messmer's forces did to the Hornsent. Any attempts to give another Scorpion Stew to Hornsent will be rejected.

How to Get Scorpion Stew from Hornsent Grandam

You can obtain a Scorpion Stew by speaking to Hornsent Grandam with the Divine Beast Head equipped. You will need to defeat the Divine Beast Dancing Lion in Belurat to obtain the headgear and speak to Hornsent Grandam.

Hornsent Grandam Questline

3. Find Hornsent by the Highroad Cross

Your next interaction with Hornsent will be at the Highroad Cross site of grace to the north of Castle Ensis. Defeat Rellana, Twin Moon Knight, to get to this location in Scadu Altus.

Speak to Hornsent and he will give you the New Cross Map info item. Afterward, he'll direct you towards the misshapen tree of umbra (the Scadutree) off in the distance. While you're here, make sure to speak to Leda as well. She will share more info about Hornsent.

4. Approach the Shadow Keep to Break Miquella's Charm

After exhausting Hornsent's dialogue, continue following the road north until you reach the Shadow Keep. As you get closer to its gates, a message will appear on your screen saying:

This message references Miquella finally shedding his Great Rune (you'll find it in the possession of the Scadutree Avatar). When this triggers, NPC questlines will advance, so make sure to speak to everyone before exploring the Shadow Keep and the rest of Scadu Altus.

Somewhere a Great Rune has Broken Meaning

5. Return to Hornsent

After Miquella's Great Rune breaks, go back to the Highroad Cross and talk to Hornsent. This time, he will tell you about going to the Shadow Keep to exact revenge on Messmer, the Impaler. Reloading the area after exhausting his dialogue will make him move to the Shadow Keep.

Note: Before following after Hornsent, make sure to speak to all of the NPCs you've encountered so far. This includes Freyja, Ansbach, Moore, Thiollier, and Leda.

Summon Hornsent and Freyja Against the Golden Hippopotamus

Since he moves to the Shadow Keep, Hornsent will be available as a gold summon for the legacy dungeon's first boss - the Golden Hippopotamus.

You'll be able to summon both Hornsent and Freyja for this fight. Their summon signs should be visible after riding the elevator up to the Shadow Keep.

Golden Hippopotamus Boss Guide

6. Help Leda Decide Who to Go After

After defeating the Golden Hippopotamus, return to the Highroad Cross and talk to Leda. She will tell you that she's starting to doubt the devotion of Miquella's followers.

She will then ask you to suggest who to investigate first. Hornsent will be among the choices along with Thiollier if you have already met him. You can also choose not to suggest anyone.

This part can be skipped as Leda will go after Hornsent regardless of what you do.

Should You Suggest Hornsent?

Regardless of your choice on who to suggest, Leda will still go after the Hornsent. If you chose Hornsent, make sure to reload the area and talk to Leda again. If she says I believe it wisest to eliminate the hornsent, it means the invasion signs should now appear at the Shadow Keep.

7. Assist Hornsent or Leda

Return to the Shadow Keep by fast traveling to the Storehouse, First Floor site of grace. Take the lift and head to the room at the bottom left of the Shadow Keep icon on the map and you will find two summoning signs.

Should You Assist Hornsent?

We recommend assisting Hornsent here to continue both questlines, as you can still get Hornsent's drops later on. Killing Hornsent will end his questline, but helping him won't kill Leda and her questline will continue.

8. Summon Hornsent Against Messmer

If you decide to help Hornsent against Leda, a gold summon sign for him will appear inside the room where you fight Messmer. It will be near the middle of the arena to your right as you enter Messmer's boss room.

Note: If you also managed to assist Ymir and Jolan, then Jolan's gold summon sign should also be in the arena. Be warned since summoning Jolan here locks you out of the rewards you get from Hornsent.

Messmer the Impaler Boss Guide

Will Appear in Enir-Ilim Instead If Not Summoned

The rest of Hornsent's questline (up until the Church of the Bud encounter) will be skipped if you didn't summon him and win against Messmer. He will instead appear as a hostile NPC during the encounter against Leda in Enir-Ilim.

9. Talk to Hornsent in the Boss Room

If you summoned Hornsent against Messmer, you'll find him again inside the boss room after reloading the area or by simply resting at the newly spawned site of grace. Talk to him and exhaust his dialogue to continue the questline.

10. Defeat Hornsent at the Ruins of Rauh

Exit the Shadow Keep through the west gate and keep heading west until you reach the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. The area you'll need to find next is the Church of the Bud, located near the west edge of the map.

Once inside the church, take the first rot-infested stairs that you see and you will be invaded by Hornsent. Defeating him here will complete the questline and reward you with Hornsent's armor set and the Falx as drops.

Can Appear in Enir-Ilim if Not Killed

If you sided with Hornsent against Leda and did not kill him in the Church of the Bud, he will make his final appearance in Enir-Ilim as an enemy. He will still drop his items upon his defeat in this encounter.

Hornsent Armor and Weapon Drops

Get Hornsent's Weapon and Armor

Hornsent will drop these items if he is killed in the encounter at the Shadow Keep (siding with Leda) or at the Church of the Bud.

It is recommended to spare him in the first encounter for the sake of both Hornsent and Leda's questlines as you'll still get these items in the final encounter. Otherwise, Hornsent's story will end prematurely and a portion of Leda's will be skipped.

Elden Ring Related Guides

Shadow of the Erdtree NPCs

All Elden Ring NPCs

Other NPC Guides