When it comes to FromSoftware games, there’s usually plenty left on the cutting room floor. As is the case in a lot of games, actually. Elden Ring is no different either, and now a cut questline involving everyone’s favorite merchant has been discovered. At this point, it’s clear that Elden Ring has a ton of cut content left to discover.
As spotted by Eurogamer, Elden Ring‘s latest piece of cut content was discovered and restored by dataminer Sekiro Dubi. You may remember them as the one who delved deeper into the mysterious colosseums dotted around the map. This time around they’ve managed to restore an entire questline for a character after months of hard work.
Another cut questline in Elden Ring
The cut questline is centered around Merchant Kalé, the first merchant most players are likely to meet in Elden Ring. Beyond having a few useful items for sale, Merchant Kalé doesn’t have a very big role in the game. However, the cut questline indicates that he originally had a rather interesting storyline. And it’s one that would have led players to one of the game’s possible endings.
Merchant Kalé’s cut questline began as his introduction usually does in Elden Ring. He offers the player many useful early-game items, like the crafting kit. Things start to develop after the player defeats Godrick the Grafted. After that, he can be found in Liurnia looking for a particular crow. What follows from this is a few other fetch quests and meetings before Merchant Kalé moves on to his final location.
In the questline, Merchant Kalé’s goal is to find The Great Caravan. However, things don’t turn out so well for the merchant, as all he finds are the maddened remains of his ancestors. At this point, Merchant Kalé no longer trusts the player due to their goal of becoming an Elden Lord and won’t trade with them. The questline continues if the player takes the Flame of Frenzy, which will cause him to do the same. Unfortunately for Kalé, this results in him losing his mind, signaling the end of his questline in Elden Ring.
It’s a rather sad end for a character who’s been so useful to so many. And considering how interesting it is, it’s confusing to wonder why FromSoftware felt the need to cut it. Elden Ring is already a massive game to be sure, but this cut questline could have added extra depth to one of the game’s earliest characters.
