Elden Ring: Have Mercy for the spirited-away Shamans puzzle solution to access the north-eastern map area
The Land of Shadow map added to Elden Ring as part of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is full of new secrets to discover - and some of those secrets are actually crucial, as they are blockers to key areas of the new map. One such puzzle gives you only one clue, the text: ‘Have mercy. For the spirited-away sharmans.’
On this page, we’ll explain how to solve this statue puzzle, detailing exactly how to demonstrate the required mercy, which will in turn allow you to get from the back area of Shadow Keep into the Hinterlands area, which is the green-looking area in the top-right northeastern of the Shadow Realm map. This is necessary to complete certain major quests in the game, and to progress several NPC questlines.
'Have Mercy. For the Spirited Away Shamans' - How to solve the Puzzle
We’ll offer a solution here in a gradual multi-part fashion, so you can decide exactly how much you want the puzzle to be spoiled. We’ll go simple, detailed, and complete. The deeper into the below you’ll read, the more you’ll know about how to complete Shadow of the Erdtree’s statue riddle to open a door to a new area.
In simple terms, this riddle requires you to perform a certain gesture.
In this sense, it is reminiscent of the 'May Erudition Light The Way' puzzle from the base version of Elden Ring.
At a slightly more detailed level, the gesture you’ll need to perform is called “O Mother”, which if you’re wondering is indeed an all-new gesture that is exclusive to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion DLC.
Read on if you want to know how and where to get the O Mother gesture, and then how to solve the Shadow Keep statue puzzle riddle once you have it.
Where to get the O Mother Gesture for the statue Puzzle
In classic Elden Ring and FromSoftware fashion, the gesture you need is actually nowhere near the location. It’s not even in Shadow Keep, the legacy dungeon you will have fought your way through in order to make your way to the Back Gate Site of Grace that’s nearest to this puzzle.
In order to find the gesture, you’ll need to head to Bonny Village, a location found in the Scadu Altus area that you’ll have traversed in order to reach Shadow Keep in the first place. It’s due east from Moorth Ruins, where there’s a Miquella’s Cross.
The Bonny Village is home to some simple enemies and a few invasion-style pot-headed humans. The town is split down the middle with a dry riverbed. The Bonny Village Site of Grace is on the Western side of the ravine, while the item we need is on the Eastern side of the ravine.
On that eastern side of the village, keep heading north. You’ll reach what feels like the northern edge of the village. Keep going, leaving the village just a little - you will find a corpse in a strange prayer-like pose. It’s holding an item. Pick that item up and you’ll get the O, Mother gesture emote.
How to Solve the Statue Riddle & Access the Hinterlands Area
You probably don’t need us to state this last bit, but just in case: with the O, Mother emote locked and loaded in your inventory, teleport back to the Shadow Keep Back Gate Site of Grace and stand before the statue. Perform the O, Mother emote.
For whatever intricate lore reason, performing this gesture counts as you displaying that you Have Mercy for the Spirited-Away Shamans, and the headless statue that previously dominated the back wall of the room will move out of your way - revealing a path that leads to the previously-inaccessible north-eastern area of the Shadow Realm map.
The first Site of Grace is just outside of the pathway that opens up - and beyond you’ll find two familiar open-field bosses. Beyond that, you’ll find Finger Hill and Finger Ruins which are vital to one the Ruins Map & Count Ymir quest, of the DLC’s biggest quest lines.