I still remember the first time I stumbled into Murkwater Cave, a cramped little grotto north of Agheel Lake in Limgrave. The air was damp, the torchlight was weak, and some instinct told me that looting the lonely chest in the back was a terrible idea. I did it anyway. Honestly, I should have known better. Before I could blink, Patches the Untethered appeared—a grinning, wiry bandit who looked like he had stolen one too many purses in the Dark Souls days. The fight started fast, but long story short, I spared him. That single choice kicked off one of my favorite weird little side stories in Elden Ring.

If you kill Patches at any point, the questline is done for that playthrough. No joke, I learned that the hard way on an old character. You would need to start NG+ to see the end of his tale, so I kept him alive this time.

After the fight, he taught me the Grovel for Mercy gesture, which felt very on-brand for him. When I reloaded the area, the cave had turned into Patches' Emporium, a shabby little shop full of things that were both useful and shady. He sold Missionary's Cookbook (2) and Margit's Shackle, which I grabbed without asking too many questions. If you attack him three times, he gets hostile again, but during that scrap he can teach you the Extreme Repentance gesture. Using it resets his hostility and everything goes back to normal. Around that time, a new chest appeared in his chamber. It sent me to the Mistwood Ruins, and after I returned to Murkwater Cave, Patches taught me the Calm Down gesture. The whole thing felt like a strange, slow dance with a man who only respected you after you begged or bled a little.

Next, I met him again in Liurnia and later on the Altus Plateau. These encounters were optional, but I was too curious to skip them. I found him at the Scenic Isle northwest of Laskyar Ruins, and then again on Mt. Gelmir, north of Gelmir Hero's Grave. He was still the same slippery weasel, always half-hiding, always ready to either sell me something or shove me into a hole. The main part of the questline started after I spoke with Headmistress Tanith and joined Volcano Manor.

Inside the manor, Patches crouched in the foyer like he owned the place. After I carried out the first assassination of Old Knight Istvan, he gave me a side job: slay Great Horned Tragoth in the Magma Wyrm Makar's lair of the Ruin-Strewn Precipice. I did the dirty work, and he handed me the Magma Whip as a reward. That whip looked like it could hurt both my enemies and my dignity at the same time.

After that, I pushed through the Volcano Manor questline and eventually took down Lord Rykard of Blasphemy. Patches, being Patches, decided to relocate. I found him at the Shaded Castle, just outside the entrance to Elemer of the Briar's boss chamber. He gave me the Dancer's Castanets, which felt random but also strangely fitting. Finally, he returned to Murkwater Cave, the same dank hole where it all began.

When I walked back into that cave for the last time, the boss bar appeared and we fought for a few seconds. Then he recognized me and stopped. No dramatic death speech, no big reward. He just taught me Patches' Crouch, the gesture that had been added with the questline's conclusion. That was it. The end of his tale. It was small, weird, and unexpectedly satisfying—exactly what I wanted from a character like him.

Looking back, Patches' questline is a loop of betrayal, mercy, and reluctant friendship. The rewards are not legendary weapons or game-breaking armor. They are gestures, a few useful items, and a strange sense of kinship with a man who would probably pick your pocket while saying goodbye. But that is why I love it. Even in 2026, after all the patches and expansions, I still recommend every new Tarnished to spare this backstabbing idiot and follow his trail. You will not regret it. Well, maybe a little. ⚔️