One of the most enthralling parts of Elden Ring is that the open world is filled with things for players to do. There are so many places to explore, things to collect, and NPCs to meet, with many of them featuring engaging and interesting questlines. Even when players feel that they’ve successfully explored a particular area it seems like something new and unseen pops up. It will take players quite a long time to see and do everything possible in Elden Ring.
Some quests and NPCs are harder to find and interact with than others. Take, for example, Dung Eater , an NPC that shows up in 
Roundtable Hold after players first enter the 
Leyndell, Royal Capital or Volcano Manor . Players can interact with the Red Spirit the first time they see him, but he seems rather standoffish and won’t offer much more than idle threats. To continue his peculiar questline, players will need to speak to him after obtaining a particular item from fairly far into the game. Here’s a look at 
Dung Eater , what his quest entails, and how players can use the Sewer-Gaol Key.
Updated June 16th, 2024: With the Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, due to drop soon, players are hopping back into The Lands Between to finish quests and dive farther into the hidden reaches spread across the expansive world. One of the more involved questlines, involving the Dung Eater, will have players collecting the Sewer-Gaol Key and then finding a door to unlock. To better help players with where to find the door for the Sewer-Gaol Key, the following guide has been updated and now includes more information on what to do after players reach the door itself.
How To Get The Sewer-Gaol Key
Once players have access to Dung Eater , they’ll need to do one more thing before they can progress his questline enough to receive the 
Sewer-Gaol Key . Dung Eatercan be found in Roundtable Hold in a newly unlocked door down the hallway near the Library. The Red Spirit can be found sitting cross-legged in this room and speaking to him will yield no results unless the player has an item called 
Seedbed Curse in their inventory.
The easiest place to locate a Seedbed Curse is within the Leyndell, Royal Capital , after players have progressed far enough to unlock the East Capital Rampart. From there, they can head out the doorway, to the left, and along the Rampart wall. Eventually, they will come to a large, fire-breathing enemy and can leap down to the right and into a doorway. Once inside, taking a right will put them on a lift that goes a short distance downward. At the bottom of this lift, players should enter the large, golden-domed building in front of them and head up the ladder on the right. Once at the top of the ladder, they can take the nearby winding stairway up to the top floor. There, they can snag the Seedbed Curse from a corpse sitting in a chair.
Taking this Seedbed Curse back to Dung Eater will cause him to open up a new dialogue option, in which he will give players the Sewer-Gaol Key .
Where To Use The Sewer-Gaol Key In Elden Ring
To use the Sewer-Gaol Key , players will first need to access the Avenue Balcony Site of Grace in Leyndell, Royal Capital. From there, players should head down the nearby stairs, through the door, and hook a left to run along the edge of the balcony. They can then jump down into the courtyard below and move North to find a well in a small alcove. Descending into this well leads to the sewers and a fairly long trek to the door that accepts the Sewer-Gaol Key .
Once at the bottom of the well, players should head through the first door on the left and continue along the path until they reach the Subterranean Shunning Grounds. From there, they can go down the stairs, past the rats, through the door, and take a left to find a ladder going downward. Dropping down from the ladder, players can take the first door on the left to find another Site of Grace. Continuing forward from the ladder and past a large enemy, players will spot some grates in the floor, with an opening where one is missing. They should drop down into this opening and travel northwest through the tunnel, avoiding (or fighting) the rats and massive plants in the area.
At the end of this path is a ladder going upward and climbing to the top will put players into a new open area. Taking an immediate right will put them at a barred door, which can be unlocked with the Sewer-Gaol Key .
Where To Do After Using The Sewer-Gaol Key
Past the barred door beneath Leyndell, players will come face-to-face with the body of the Dung Eater himself. Players can interact with the Dung Eater and either tell him to “Leave your gaol!” or remain silent. Telling him to leave the gaol, and returning to Roundtable Hold , will cause the NPC to move to a special location. Players can return to his room in Roundtable Hold and find a note instructing them to head to the Outer Moat. Players that want to meet up with the Dung Eater as an Invader, and continue his questline towards the Blessing Of Despair Ending, can follow this guide on how to reach the Outer Moat.
Players are also free to eliminate the Dung Eater when they find his body within the gaol cell. Defeating him there will cause him to drop the Omen Armor Set (
Omen Helm , 
Omen Armor , 
Omen Gauntlets , 
Omen Greaves ), as well as the 
Sword of Milos . Defeating him in this way will keep players from being able to appropriately finish his questline.
