Dark Souls 3 NPC quests - killing the Curse-Rotted Greatwood
Meet Yoel, Cornyx, Irina and Eygon - and choose which Irina quest to take
CHECKLIST: BEFORE KILLING THE CURSE-ROTTED GREATWOOD BOSS
Once you've successfully navigated the hovels of the Undead Settlement, you'll reach the Dilapidated Bridge bonfire. A short way beyond the bonfire, you'll find a sprawling graveyard, protected by a giant sentry on a nearby tower. Crossing the graveyard enables you to enter the nearby shrine in order to confront the mighty Curse-Rotted Greatwood boss. Before defeating the boss, however, ensure that you've finished the following steps.
1. Locate Yoel of Londor at the Foot of the High Wall
Warp to the Foot of the High Wall bonfire and make your way down to road below. Instead of passing through the gate and entering the Undead Settlement, take a left and proceed along the bridge toward its broken end. On reaching the impasse littered with the pilgrim corpses, locate and speak with Yoel of Londor. Accept his offer to send him to Firelink Shrine.
2. Exhaust Yoel of Londor at the Firelink Shrine
Once Yoel arrives at the shrine, talk to him (you'll find him on the level below Blacksmith Andre at the end of the passage to the left) and allow him to Draw Out True Strength. This will grant you a free skill upgrade and mark you with the Dark Sigil. You must Draw Out True Strength five times before defeating either the Curse-Rotted Greatwood or Abyss Watchers boss fight in order to progress Yoel's quest line correctly and trigger Yuria of Londor's arrival.
Every time you die in Dark Souls III, your Hollowing level will increase by one (you can see your current level on your Status screen), and you're able to Draw Out True Strength at Hollowing levels 2, 6, 12, and 16. Do not use the Fire Keeper's Heal Dark Sigil option prior to gaining all five upgrade levels (including the first, free one) as this will break the quest line.
When either the Curse-Rotted Greatwood or Abyss Watchers boss fights are complete, Yoel will die and Yuria of Londor will appear near his corpse in Firelink Shrine, enabling you to progress an element of the story leading to a potential alternative ending.
3. Give Greirat of the Undead Settlement Loretta's bone
Make your way to the Undead Settlement bonfire and enter the nearby building. Move out onto the balcony (overlooking the group of enemies gathered around the burning tree) and retrieve Loretta's Bone from dangling corpse. Return to Firelink Shrine and speak with Greirat to learn the Curl Up gesture, then speak again and permit him to go scavenging for you.
4. Liberate Cornyx of the Great Swamp from the Undead Settlement
From the Cliff Underside bonfire, make your way up to the building above and head along the walkway occupied by firebomb-tossing Undead enemies. Continue forward and locate the dangling cage around the left-hand corner at the end. Speak with Cornyx inside and accept his offer. You'll find him at the Firelink Shrine on your next visit, where he'll teach you pyromancies from the Pyromancy Tomes that you bring him.
To get his garb without killing him, summon White Phantom Great Swamp Cuculus for the Old Demon King boss fight at the Smouldering Lake, and defeat the boss. The Cornyx's Garb and the Spotted Whip will appear in the cage where you originally found him.
5. Free Irina of Carim from the cell at the foot of the tower in the Undead Settlement
To reach Irina's cell, you'll first need the Grave Key, which can be bought from the Handmaiden at Firelink Shrine once you've given her the Mortician's Ashes. These in turn are found in the graveyard close to the Dilapidated Bridge bonfire, where you'll be pummelled with giant spears.
With the Grave Key in your possession, head to the rat-filled sewers over the bridge near the Dilapidated Bridge bonfire. Halfway along the sewer tunnel, you'll spot a door to the right. Open it then work your way through the tunnels until you emerge out the other side. Continue forward along the narrow rocky path, enter the doorway to the left, defeat the rats and climb the ladder.
At the top of the ladder, enter the cell to the left and speak with Irina. Accept her offer and she'll teleport to Firelink Shrine, ready to teach you miracles later.
6. Speak with Eygon of Carim outside Irina's cell
With Irina freed, unlock the door behind you and head outside. Eygon of Carim will be sitting on a small rocky ledge nearby. Speak with him to become his ally, enabling you to summon him for the Crystal Sage and Dragonslayer Armour boss fights.
A NOTE ON IRINA AND EYGON
Once Irina has made her way to Firelink Shrine, you'll find her on the level below Blacksmith Andre, along the passage to the right. By bringing her special tomes, found throughout your adventure, she will learn and teach you miracles.
However, it's important to note that these miracles come in two forms: standard miracles and dark miracles. Purchasing dark miracles from Irina (by giving her the Londor Braille Divine Tome or the Deep Braille Divine Tome) will initialise the 'dark' version of her side quest. Conversely, purchasing all of her good miracles without buying dark miracles will lead to the 'good' ending of her quest.
IRINA'S 'GOOD' QUEST LINE
Once you've found and purchased all of Irina's standard miracles without buying any dark miracles, Irina will move to the bottom of the tower behind the Firelink Shrine. She will drop the Londor Braille Divine Tome and the Deep Braille Divine Tome, which you can give to Karla (once found) to learn the dark miracles you've missed out on.
IRINA'S 'DARK' QUEST LINE
If you learn a Dark Miracle from Irina at any point, an enraged Eygon will soon arrive at Firelink Shrine and remove her from your care. You'll eventually find the pair through the archway beyond the Champion Gundyr bonfire in the Untended Graves area, much later in the game. Here, you'll need to defeat Eygon in battle to return Irina to the shrine.
7. Locate Siegward of Catarina in the Undead Settlement tower
There are several ways to reach the high tower in the Undead Settlement and find Siegward of Catarina once you've opened up the area, but the quickest is probably via the rat-filled sewers near the Dilapidated Bridge bonfire. At the end of the sewers, climb the ladder and head outside. Cross the bridge then enter the enormous tower straight ahead in the distance.
Inside the tower, you'll encounter Siegward puzzling over the elevator. Speak with him then ride the lift to the top of the building. On your eventual descent, you'll hear his familiar hum. As soon as you do, roll off the elevator and onto the wooden platform below. Follow the platform around and head out onto the ledge. Speak with Siegward again, hop down the nearby rooftops then approach the roaming Fire Demon. As soon as you engage the Fire Demon, Siegward will run in to help.
If you die, Siegward will either appear back on the tower ledge from earlier or progress onto the next portion of his quest. Before leaving the Fire Demon area, you should locate the Pale Tongue item needed to progress the Leonhard quest later on.
Continue to the list of things to do before defeating the Crystal Sage.
Go back to the start of our guide to Dark Souls 3 - how to complete every NPC quest in one playthrough.
- Alternatively, head back to the beginning of the Dark Souls 3 guide.