Elden Ring NPC guide: Fia questline walkthrough

Plenty of Elden Ring’s characters hide dark secrets, but there may be none more sinister than Fia, the Deathbed Companion. The NPC who seemingly wants nothing more than to provide comfort via warm, gentle, lovingly animated hugs is actually sucking out your life force — and that’s just the beginning.

In this Elden Ring Fia guide, we’ll focus on advancing Fia’s storyline and uncovering her deepest secrets — not to mention one of the game’s well-hidden alternate endings.

• Step 1: Meet Fia
• Step 2: A small request

• Step 3: Give the dagger to D
• Step 4: Fia’s dark truth

• Step 4A: Subterranean Shunning-Grounds
• Step 4B: Down the meteor hole
• Step 5: Climbing the roots
• Step 6: Defeat Fia’s Champions

• Step 7: More hugs!
• Step 8: The Cursemark of Death
• Step 9: One last embrace
• Step 10: Lichdragon Fortissax
• Step 11: Goodbye Fia

Chapter 1: A harmless hug

Step 1: Meet Fia

Fia seems at first like just another NPC in Elden Ring’s hub area, the Roundtable Hold. Granted, she’s a bit odd right off the bat: From the first moment you step foot in the Hold, she’s eager to provide you with a warm embrace, a little bit of comfort in this dangerous world.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Only, there’s one factor you might not notice: a tiny red square with a downward-pointing arrow underneath your stamina bar. Every time you hug Fia, she steals some of your maximum health. The effect is temporary — it’s restored when you use the Baldachin’s Blessing item that the hugs provide — but it’s still sinister.

Obviously, there’s more to Fia than it seems.

Step 2: A small request

The internet’s opinions differ on how exactly to trigger the next step of Fia’s quest. Some sources say you need only beat Godrick, lord of Stormveil Castle; others claim you must reach the Altus Plateau first, or possibly have two Great Runes in your possession.

In any case, some combination of the above will trigger a new option when hugging Fia. Speak to her during the embrace and she’ll make a simple request: Give someone a dagger.

What could go wrong?

Chapter 2: Murder most foul

Step 3: Give the dagger to D

Fia asks you to give the Weathered Dagger to its owner. Naturally, this being Elden Ring, she gives you no clues as to who that is. However, speaking to the other characters in the Roundtable Hold will give you the option to hand it over to D, the incantation merchant sitting at the table in the Hold’s main room.

Step 4: Fia’s dark truth

Leave the Hold and teleport back, and look for a newly opened door just past Hewg, the blacksmith. Inside, you’ll find Fia standing over D’s corpse.

Speak to her, and she’ll deliver some truly chilling dialogue:

“Hark, Roundtable. Disturb not the Death of Godwyn, the exalted. We, who humbly live in Death…Live in waiting, to one day welcome our Lord. What right does anyone have to object? Our Lord will rise. The Lord of the many, and the meek.”

Cool cool cool. Great. Sounds good. Thanks Fia.

Chapter 3: To Deeproot Depths

You won’t see Fia again for quite a while. Your next task is to reach a hidden optional area called Deeproot Depths.

You have two options for reaching this biome, and neither is particularly easy.

Step 4A: Subterranean Shunning-Grounds

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

If you’ve explored the Capital Leyndell, you may have already come across a hidden zone called the Subterraneon Shunning-Grounds, accessed by hopping down a well in the shadow of the large stone dragon. Fight through the underground area until you’ve defeated Mohg, the Omen (take your time — it’s a real labyrinth down there), then look for a series of hidden walls near the Frenzied Flame Proscription site of grace.

Step 4B: Down the meteor hole

Your other option is to explore down the meteor hole following the battle with Starscourge Radahn at Redmane Castle in Caelid. If you need help with the boss fight, check out our detailed guide to defeating Radahn.

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

After defeating the Starscourge General, head to the southern part of Limgrave’s main landmass, near the Fort Haight West site of grace. You’ll see a large impact crater marked by a swirl of floating rocks that stretches high into the air. Make your way down the hole and through Nokron and the Ancestral Woods, to the Aqueduct-Facing Cliffs site of grace (follow the ghostly jellyfish). Keep going and defeat the Valiant Gargoyle duo boss, then climb into the stone coffin near the waterfalls.

Step 5: Climbing the roots

After reaching Darkroot Depths, climb the roots in the underground city until you reach the Across the Roots site of grace. The next room is a boss fight, so make sure you’re prepared.

Step 6: Defeat Fia’s Champions

Reaching the arena’s far side will begin the fight with Fia’s Champions. This fight is composed of several waves of hostile NPCs, some of whom you may well recognize.

With the fight over, you can confront Fia. She has some explaining to do.

Chapter 4: The Prince of Death’s Rune

Step 7: More hugs!

Fia seems to think you’ve come to avenge D’s death, as she expects you to kill her now that you’ve defeated her champions. However, D was kind of a wet blanket, while Fia gives great hugs. So instead, ask her for another one.

While embracing, choose the “talk in secret” option once more and she’ll tell you that she’s looking for a specific mark of death. She doesn’t seem to have any idea where it is, but luckily for you, we do.

Step 8: The Cursemark of Death

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

To obtain what Fia’s looking for, you’ll need to get at least partway through Ranni’s quest — far enough for Ranni to give you the Carian Inverted Statue. (Follow our guide to Ranni’s quest if you’re unsure how to progress it.) Take that item to the Carian Study Hall in eastern Liurnia, place it on the pedestal, and explore the inverted environment to reach Liurnia’s Divine Tower. At the top you’ll find the mark that Fia seeks.

Step 9: One last embrace

Fia is ecstatic to receive the Cursemark of Death (at least, what passes for ecstatic when it comes to the Deathbed Companion). She tells you that she’ll soon lay with the Prince of Death and bear his child, which is also a rune, and offers one final embrace, giving you the Radiant Baldachin’s Blessing. At first glance, this seems to simply be a slightly more powerful version of the normal Baldachin’s Blessing; there may be another use for it, but if so, it has yet to be discovered.

Step 10: Lichdragon Fortissax

Image: FromSoftware/Bandai Namco via Polygon

Exhaust Fia’s dialogue (you may need to get up, then hug her again, to get one last line), then reload the area. Interact with Fia’s sleeping body to enter her dream and fight the Lichdragon Fortissax. After the battle, Fia will be dead, and you’ll be able to pick up the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince, which unlocks an alternate ending.

Step 11: Goodbye Fia

Reload the area again. You can loot Fia’s robe and hood from her corpse. In addition, if you gave D’s armor to his brother before the Valiant Gargoyle duo arena, he’ll be present to gloat over Fia’s body. You can either kill him for his armor and sword, or simply reload the area one last time and pick them up off the ground.

And that’s the end. Congratulations! You’ve unlocked an alternate ending to the game (when you finally make it into the Erdtree), and made some great new friends along the way. Sure, they’re all dead, but what did you expect would happen when you followed the Deathbed Companion down this path?

If you’d like to check out more Elden Ring NPC side quests, try our guides for Millicent’s quest and Blaidd’s storyline as well.

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