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Hornsent Questline
Hornsent is one of the new NPCs you’ll encounter in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree who has a questline that runs alongside the main story. Hornsent is a member of the tower people in the Shadow Realm, who puts his faith in Miquella hoping that he’ll get revenge against those who have wronged his tribe. To complete his side quest, here’s everything you need to know from where to find him, to the choices you’ll face, and the outcomes of those decisions.
Where to Find Hornsent in Gravesite Plain - Exact Location
When you enter the realm of the shadow, the first Site of Grace you’ll come across is Gravesite Plain. Make your way north from here, and you’ll reach a crossroads with a large withered tree nearby. This is the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace and you should be able to see one of Miquella’s Crosses glowing brightly as you approach.
Visiting the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace for the first time, you’ll find two NPCs waiting for you. The one facing northeast toward Castle Ensis is Hornsent. If you speak to Freyja first, she’ll encourage you to speak to Hornsent and tell you that he has a map of Miquella’s Crosses for you.
Unlike Leda and Freyja, Hornsent is less than welcoming to your visit to the Shadow Realm. Before offering any aid, he tells you that your kind is not forgiven or deemed worthy, and explains that the Erdtree is an enemy of his people.
Speak to him again and he’ll acknowledge that he has made an oath and believes Miquella has good intentions to right the wrongs of history, so everyone treading Miquella’s path together will benefit from his guidance. This results in him giving you a map of the surrounding area, that shows the locations of three of Miquella’s crosses.
Along with the map comes a warning, that you won’t become an enemy of the Hornsent, as long as you stick to following Miquella’s path.
After Belurat, Tower Settlement
Once you’ve beaten the Divine Beast Dancing Lion, you can speak to Hornsent Grandam wearing its head. She will give you Scorpion Stew and tell you to either take it or give it away. Take this to Hornsent and give it to him. Speak to him again and he’ll give you 3x Furnace Visage. If you try to give him another lot of Scorpion Stew, he’ll reject it.
Where to Find Hornsent at Scadu Altus
After completing Castle Ensis and beating Tap to Reveal Hornsent will move from the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace. You’ll now be able to find him at the first Site of Grace you’ll hit as you exit the castle and head north - the Highroad Cross Site of Grace. Here he stands with Needle Knight Leda.
Approach Hornsent and pick up the item just by him, which is the Monk’s Missive and a May the Best Win gesture.
Now speak to Hornsent, and he’ll tell you he found more crosses, giving you a New Cross Map. You’ll see that the map has been extended from the one you first received, and there are four additional ones for you to find.
- The first is the one you’re at, at Highroad Cross Site of Grace
- The second is Miquella’s Cross in the south of Gravesite Plain where Thiollier can be found at the Pillar Path Site of Grace.
- The third is at Moorth Ruins, which is also in the south but in Scadu Altus. Here you will find Dryleaf Dane.
- The fourth is at Shadow Keep in the northeast of Scadu Altus.
Speak to Hornsent again and he’ll explain that Miquella is shedding his flesh at each of these crosses, which Hornsent views as proof that Miquella is attempting to right the wrongs committed to his people.
Speak again, and he’ll tell you that you need to go to the misshapen tree of Umbra, and that you must spill the blood of your fellow Erdtree faithfuls. For now, Hornsent offers little else.
After the Breaking of the Great Rune
When you approach Shadow Keep, you’ll hear a loud noise and a notification will appear telling you that somewhere, a great rune has broken and along with it, a spell. This is when things will start to change drastically for the NPCs.
When you approach Hornsent now, he’ll be holding something in his hand and looking at it. Speak to him and he’ll tell you the enchantment mattered little to him, and he is still driven by vengeance. Talk to him again and he’ll tell you Messmer needs to pay for his crimes, and that the only peace of mind he can get is from revenge. Speak to him again and he’ll tell you not to stop him otherwise you’ll face his reckoning. After this, he will move on from the Highroad Cross Site of Grace.
Where to Find Hornsent At Shadow Keep
You can find Hornsent again at Shadow Keep, by the Shadow Keep Main Gate Site of Grace, but only as a summonable character to assist you in the boss fight against the Golden Hippopotamus. If he hasn't shown up for you here, make sure you return to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace and exhaust his dialogue. You can also summon Redmane Freyja to assist you here.
Once you’ve got to the Main Gate Plaza, you’ll work your way up to the Storehouse Front. There are two summoning signs in the south. One is red and says you can be summoned to help Needle Night Leda, and one is golden, where you can be summoned to help Hornsent.
Decision and Outcome in Hornsent's Questline
Summoned to Help Leda
If you’re summoned to help Leda, you can fight against Hornsent. Doing so will reward you with:
Return to speak to Leda after defeating Hornsent, and you’ll receive a Lacerating Crossed-Tree Talisman as a reward. Leda will then start to consider other comrades who potentially need eradicating. If you rest at the Site of Grace or go elsewhere and come back, Leda will then say that she’s targeting Sir Ansbach.
Later on, once you’ve fought Tap to Reveal, you can find the Message From Leda at Highcross Road Site of Grace, as Leda won’t have moved on to Shadow Keep. Choosing this option, however, will prevent you from being able to continue Hornsent’s questline.
Summoned to Help Hornsent
If you’re summoned to help Hornsent, you can fight against Leda. Doing so will reward you with:
- Ash of War: Swift Slash
- Leda’s Rune, which gives you 40,000 runes.
Leda will disappear from the Highroad Cross Site of Grace if you choose to fight against her.
Skipping the Fight
If you choose not to be summoned into either world and skip the fight, the questline can still progress. Leda will stop targeting Hornsent if you summon him in the fight against Messmer to help his questline move along. In this case, Leda will once again target Ansbach after shifting her focus from Hornsent.
You can summon Hornsent in the fight against Messmer (as long as you didn't side with Leda earlier on), but his summon sign is located within the boss arena itself, just to the right past the entrance. Help him defeat Messmer, and he’ll appear in the boss arena after resting and will thank you for helping him, but warn that his quest for vengeance cannot be sated.
Invasion at the Ancient Ruins of Rauh
If you sided with Hornsent against Leda (or skipped the fight between the two of them at Shadow Keep entirely) and summoned him for the Messmer fight, he will ambush you at the top of the stairs in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh.
This happens just before you reach the boss fight with Tap to Reveal despite helping him against Messmer. Killing him here will cause him to drop his weapon and all of his armor. You can miss this interaction by heading to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh before fighting Messmer or by choosing Leda in the fight at Shadow Keep.