Elden Ring is not afraid to hide lengthy - and often riveting - questlines behind mysterious NPC movements and cryptic clues. To truly experience everything Elden Ring has to offer, one must don a deerstalker hat and go on an investigative adventure. Even then, however, it can be pretty darn difficult to keep up.

Related: Best Side Quests In Elden Ring

Heck, some characters have extended questlines beyond their “obvious” conclusion, and Rya is one such character. First met in Liurnia Of The Lakes, this mysteriously hunched woman is the ticket to start multiple quests, yet her quest is so easy to miss - even if you think you’ve found, or even solved it.

Starting Rya’s Questline

Rya can be found very early - especially if you skip Limgrave entirely and head straight to Liurnia Of The Lakes. You can find her next to a small stone shrine northwest of Laskyar Ruins. You can spot the correct shrine by looking for the nearby telescope (which also appears on your map).

Talking to Rya will reveal someone has stolen her necklace, and that she needs your help to retrieve it. She gives you very rough directions and sends you off on your way.

Finding Rya’s Necklace

To find Rya’s necklace, you will need to head northwest until you find a small wooden shack called Boilprawn Shack. There’s also a Site Of Grace here which can make it easier to spot from a distance.

Talk to the Blackguard and you will be given two options. Choose “give me the necklace” and you will be allowed to buy her necklace for 1000 Runes. Buy the necklace and talk to the Blackguard again to get some more information on Rya, and the option to buy some prawns.

Consider buying a hefty stack of these prawns as they increase your Physical Damage Negation and can be very handy when fighting bosses.

Return To Rya

Go back to the shrine where you first found Rya and return her necklace. She will reward you with an invitation to Volcano Manor, but she still needs you to prove you are worthy of being seen by the Manor. She tells you to meet her at the Altus Plateau.

Finding Rya At Altus Plateau

There are many ways to reach Altus Plateau - heck, you could make it there before you cross swords with Margit if you know the way. The most straightforward method, however, is to just ride the Grand Lift Of Dectus. Once you’ve made it to the Altus Plateau, kill or avoid the fire giants and head north.

You will eventually reach a Site Of Grace called “Erdtree Grazing Hill”. Rya can be found in the nearby ruins. Talk to her and she will offer to teleport you to the Volcano Manor. You may think this is the end of Rya’s quest as Lady Tanith and Praetor Rykard take center stage, however, there is more to her story.

Talking To Rya At Volcano Manor

Once you reach Volcano Manor you will need to talk to Lady Tanith and obtain the Drawing Room Key. Use this to open the double doors to, well, the drawing-room. You will find Rya standing there, and she’ll give you some throwaway dialogue.

It’s important to note at this point that you can miss the rest of Rya’s quest if you rush Lady Tanith’s missions.

Related: Missable Quests In Elden Ring

Return To Rya After Your First Assassination

Once you’ve completed your first assassination mission, Rya will have new dialogue for you to exhaust. Rya will comment on a strange slithering sound coming from one of the neighboring rooms. Fast travel to the Volcano Manor Site Of Grace, or just rest there, and Rya will have moved.

Leave the drawing-room and search the rooms opposite. You will start to hear hissing behind one of the doors. When you enter this room you can find a snake person standing there. This is Rya’s true form. Her real name is Zoraya.

Exhaust her dialogue and go to Lady Tanith and talk to her about Rya’s true form. She asks you to be kind to Rya.

After Defeating The Godskin Noble

The next quest progression trigger doesn’t have anything to do with assassinations (yet) but instead requires you to explore Mt. Gelmir. You will have to defeat the Godskin Noble boss who resides in the Temple Of Eiglay. On an altar at the back of the Temple, you can find the Serpent’s Amnion.

Once you have the Serpent’s Amnion, complete Lady Tanith’s second assassination mission and return to Rya/Zoraya. You will have the option to reveal the truth about Volcano Manor to her.

Speak to Lady Tanith about Rya/Zoraya and immediately rest the nearby Site Of Grace. Speak to Lady Tanith again, and she will reveal that Rya/Zoraya has gone missing. She will hand you the Tonic Of Forgetfulness and you give it to Rya/Zoraya.

How To Find Rya After She Leaves Volcano Manor

In order to find Rya/Zoraya, you will need to return to the Temple Of Eiglay and take the elevator up. You will come to a balcony with a path in the distance that leads up the volcano. Hop down and continue up this path.

Once you make it to the top, you will bump into an Abductor Virgin. You should be able to see an arch in the distance across the lava. Run across the lava and go into the arch. Don’t worry, lava in Elden Ring does very little damage.

You’ll find Rya/Zoraya hiding in a small room to the right of the arch, and she will ask you to kill her. You have three options:

• Kill her
• Give Her The Potion
• Don’t Give Her The Potion

Killing Rya/Zoraya

Killing Rya/Zoraya is very much the bad ending to Rya’s questline. Killing her drops the Daedicar’s Woe, but also is a feel-bad moment.

Give Rya/Zoraya The Potion

If you give Rya/Zoraya the potion, she will forget everything and return to Volcano Manor as if nothing had ever happened. You will once again receive Daedicar’s Woe, but again, this isn’t exactly a good ending for Rya.

Don’t Give Rya/Zoraya The Potion

Ignoring Rya/Zoraya's request to kill her, and Lady Tanith’s request to drug Rya is the path to the good ending. After refusing to kill Rya/Zoraya, and declining to give her the potion, complete Lady Tanith’s questline. Rya/Zoraya will return to the Volcano Manor, and thank you for being kind to her.

Rya will eventually leave the Volcano Manor, and she will leave behind Zoraya’s Letter and Daedicar’s Woe as a reward.

Next: Elden Ring: Complete Guide And Walkthrough