Dung Eater’s Questline
The Dung Eater is a Tarnished murderer who kills people and defiles their bodies with the Seedbed Curse, cutting their souls off from the Erdtree and dooming their descendants. He shows up as a red phantom at the Roundtable Hold, and even the Hold’s spirit tuner Roderika can hear the cursed souls wailing around him.
This is one of the darkest questlines in the game. You free his real body from a gaol under Leyndell, watch him kill Blackguard Big Boggart, and finally curse the man himself. The prize is the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse and the Blessing of Despair ending, plus his Sword of Milos and the Omen armor.
Rewards
- Sewer-Gaol Key, from the Dung Eater at the Roundtable Hold
- Sword of Milos, for defeating his invasion at the moat
- Seedbed Curse, Blackguard’s Bell Bearing, Iron Ball and Blackguard’s Iron Mask, from Boggart’s body
- Mending Rune of the Fell Curse, from his body after the fifth curse
- The Omen set (Omen Helm, Omen Armor, Omen Gauntlets and Omen Greaves), after a reload
- Alternatively: the Dung Eater Puppet, if you give him Seluvis’s Potion instead
- The Blessing of Despair ending
Walkthrough
- Collect a Seedbed Curse first. You need at least one Seedbed Curse in your inventory before he will deal with you, and five in total by the end. One comes from Boggart later in this quest, and two can be found at Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
- Meet him at the Roundtable Hold. After you touch any Site of Grace on the Altus Plateau, the Dung Eater appears in the western part of the Roundtable Hold, past the study of Gideon. Talk to him with a Seedbed Curse on you and he gives you the Sewer-Gaol Key. If you talk to Roderika now she warns you about him (optional).
- Open his cell. From the Underground Roadside Site of Grace in Leyndell, Royal Capital, leave the room, drop through the open grate on the left and follow the path past the Miranda Flowers. The cell is guarded by a large Fingercreeper hiding underground and smaller ones hanging from the ceiling. Unlock the door, talk to him and tell him to leave his gaol.
- Use his summon sign (optional). Once he is free, you can summon him against Mohg, the Omen in the Forsaken Depths, and, alongside Melina, against Morgott, the Omen King.
- Read his message. Back at the Roundtable Hold, the Dung Eater is gone. In his place lies a message telling you he will defile you next and to come to the outer moat. Roderika is relieved that the spirits have gone quiet (optional).
- Visit Boggart at the moat. Go to the outer moat below the walls of the capital in the Capital Outskirts, where Boggart now cooks crabs. Talk to him about the Dung Eater.
- Survive the invasion. Reload the area and Boggart has been attacked. Talk to him and the Dung Eater invades you. Defeat him to get the Sword of Milos. Boggart does not survive: loot his body for a Seedbed Curse, the Blackguard’s Bell Bearing, his Iron Ball and the Blackguard’s Iron Mask.
- Hear his new plan. The Dung Eater is back at the Roundtable Hold. Talk to him and he asks you to defile his own body with the Seedbed Curse, again and again.
- Curse him in his cell. With five Seedbed Curses in hand, return to his cell beneath Leyndell and choose to use the Seedbed Curse on him. Take the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse from his body. Reload the area to collect the Omen set as well.
- Choose the Blessing of Despair. After the final battle, interact with Marika’s statue and pick the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse.
Missable steps & failure conditions
- Bring a Seedbed Curse. He will not hand over the Sewer-Gaol Key unless you carry at least one Seedbed Curse when you talk to him.
- Freeing him dooms Boggart. Once the Dung Eater is out, Blackguard Big Boggart becomes his next victim. Buy whatever you want from Boggart first.
- Seluvis’s Potion ends the quest. In his cell you can give him Seluvis’s Potion to turn him into a puppet. Do that only if you are not going for his ending. Once his screams stop you can kill him for his gear without hurting Seluvis‘s questline.
- Killing or ignoring him. You can also just kill him, or leave him locked up. Either way, there is no Mending Rune.
- The Frenzied Flame blocks this ending. Taking the flame from the Three Fingers locks out the Blessing of Despair until you remove it with Miquella’s Needle.
Endings & consequences
- Boggart dies. Boggart, who once shared a gaol with the Dung Eater and warns you about him, is killed and defiled at the moat. See Boggart’s Questline.
- Roderika. Roderika reacts each time he arrives at and leaves the Hold. Later on she senses that the trapped spirits have escaped their confinement.
- The Dung Eater’s fate. He dies in his cell, cursed by your hand, exactly as he wished.
- Endings. The Mending Rune of the Fell Curse unlocks the Blessing of Despair, a world where everyone is cursed, so no one can be scorned for it.
- Extra help. While free, he can be summoned for the fights against Mohg, the Omen and Morgott.