There are a surprising number of side NPC questlines in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and one of the most significant revolves around Count Ymir and his swordmistress servant, Swordhand of Night Jolan. Completing the questline of one completes the questline of the other, as both are tied to a single location and story, so here’s how you can do everything there is to do around Jolan’s quest.
How to Complete Swordhand of Night Jolan’s Quest in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
Jolan and her master, Count Ymir, are both found in the Church of Manus Celes in eastern Scadu Altus. Before you can start their quest, you need to reach the church. Doing so requires a few additional steps.
- Go to the eastern edge of Moorth Ruins, which is east of Castle Ensis, and head beneath it via a semi-hidden balcony near a broken-down building.
- Head to the bottommost level of the cave below Moorth Ruins and travel east, claiming a ladder to Bonny Village.
- Continue east through the village across the bridge leading into the woods, then follow the path north through a small cave, past the Furnace Golem, and near the cliff in the distance.
- You’ll eventually see the Church on a hill to the west. Keep following the path west, and you’ll reach it.
Grab the Site of Grace in the Church and speak to Count Ymir to spawn Jolan at a pillar near the gate leading from the Grace. Ymir should give you the Hole-Laden Necklace, which you’ll need to progress the quest.
Jolan’s not the friendliest sort, so instead of trying to get many details out of her, go back to speak to Ymir in the big chair. If you haven’t already, make sure to exhaust all the dialog options that appear underneath his “Study sorcery” option.
With the Necklace in hand, you need to head to two hallowed ruins in the far south and far north of the Realm of Shadow. If you have the map fragments for both the Cerulean Coast and the Scadu Altus, you’ll know these ruins as large, gray areas filled with finger-like structures. And when you get there, yes, the structures there are basically giant stone fingers. The ruin in the south is called the Finger Ruins of Rhia, and the ones up north are the Finger Ruins of Dheo.
The easiest way to get to the Ruins of Rhia on the Cerulean Coast is to head to the Cerulean Cost Cross, then head east, across the beach, and toward the giant coffin-like structure. Once on it, step off to the east and grab the Finger Ruins of Rhia Grace, and head all the way north to the circle of fingers.
To get to the Ruins of Dheo, you need the O Mother gesture and to make your way to the Hinterland. From there, do as you did in the south: go to the circle of fingers. Beware the crazy number of weird monsters and the pink lasers they shoot. If a laser hits you, you’ll be stunned, and then one of the creatures will teleport to you and attempt to grab you in its mouth. Torrent can also technically be affected.
Once you visit both Ruins, you need to go to the ring of fingers at their end and sound the bell by interacting with the hanging thing that looks like the necklace Ymir gave you. For your trouble, you’ll receive the Crimson Seed Medallion +1 at Rhia and the Cerulean Seed Medallion +1 at Dheo.
You’ll probably want to head back to the Church of Manus Metyr after each time, as Ymir has a new dialog each time, as well as a Talisman. At either point, if Ymir is still sitting in his chair, sit at the Grace, and he’s liable to leave it. Go to the chair and press the button on the seat to descend into the finger ruins below the church. You’ll be invaded by Swordhand of Night Anna, who drops the Night Claws when defeated. Return topside and tell Jolan about the encounter.
Beware that if you lose the fight and have not yet been to both ruins and told Ymir about them, he’ll return to his chair when you respawn at the Church Grace. You can still fight Anna after the second ruin, however, so long as you return to the church to tell Jolan about things.
Finally, with both ruins visited, exhaust the remaining dialog with Ymir and sit at Grace to make him move. Descend into the depths a second time and sound the bell there to enter the arena of Metyr, Mother of Fingers, the secret boss of the questline.
Defeating Metyr rewards the Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers, and now you can go back to the church once again to find even Jolan missing. Approach Ymir’s chair once more and examine it to summon Jolan as an invader. Defeat her to summon Ymir as an NPC boss with an actual health bar.
Killing Ymir rewards his gear, Bell Bearing, and Runes. You can then go sit at the Grace to spawn Jolan’s weary body at her old location. Use an Iris Grace to get Jolan’s Ashes as a spirit summon or an Iris of Occultation to get her Sword of Night.
If you wanted her ashes, there’s one final step. Head back to the Hinterland and keep east from the Hinterland Grace. Don’t cross the bridge. Instead, take the path along the southern cliffs up to the Shaman Village (a massive story spoiler I’ll leave you to discover). At the eastern edge of the village, you can jump down the cliffs to reach a landing near the top of Rabbath’s Rise. There, you’ll find Puppet of Anna. Interact with her with Jolan’s Ashes in your inventory to attune Anna’s spirit to the Ashes and get both her and Jolan in the same spirit summon.
And with that, you have completed Jolan and Ymir’s entire questline at the Church of Manus Metyr. It’s one of the longer quest chains in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, but one well worth your time, if only for the rewards. For more on what is undoubtedly my game of the year, even as a DLC, check out our Elden Ring guides hub.
