Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC had to have some unintuitive quests to complete, the first one is not long in coming with an old woman embittered by the genocide of her people.
How to enter the reserve?
If you are stuck at this step, know that you need to find the Reserve Key (logical). You can find it on a corpse, in a small room next to the stairs, in Belurat (see map below).
Where to use the reserve key?
Climb up to the central section of Belurat. Head up the street where two spellcasters will bombard you from a high archway. Go through the door at the top left, then climb the stairs. There is a Faded Grace site there. Turn left again, to find the spellcasters you can take revenge on. Cross the small bridge behind them, to find the door to the storeroom.
It is in this reserve that you will meet Dean Kérastienne, who is not very well disposed towards you by default. It is nevertheless amusing to hear her insult Marika and Messmer.
How to convince Doyenne Kérastienne to speak to us?
On the surface, there is nothing you can do, since the old woman is invincible, and she has nothing to say to you. There is, however, a clue in the storeroom, with what looks like a dancing lion’s head. You will need to defeat the Belurat boss to unlock the sequel, the famous Dancing Lion of the Divine Beast.
When he dies, he will give you his memories, as well as a heavy helmet, the Divine Beast HeadThe solution is to put on this headset, then go back and talk to the dean.
Quest of Dean Kérastienne
By speaking to the doyenne wearing this mask, she will ask you to assist one of the 7 companions, the Kérastien, to kill their executioner, the famous Messmer. You can find this boss at the top of the Black Castle, north of the region of Occult Altus. But you probably won’t face him for a while normally, he is one of the most difficult bosses of the expansion. She will even give you a new spell, theVigilant mindto help you in your fight.
You are also not forced to summon Kerastien during the Messmer fight. He may even have been killed during Leda’s quests. It is possible that this could influence the questline and rewards, but we have not been able to confirm this at this time.
Once this boss is defeated, return to the elder to receive some stew as a reward. This consumable increases both your damage and defense for a while, much like shrimp and crabs combined. If you use it, you can ask for more once. However, the elder eventually falls asleep, never to wake up again. It is best to use this consumable on a difficult boss, when you need a boost to win.
