You’re standing in front of Oridys’s Rise. The door is sealed. A cryptic imp statue tells you to seek 3 wise beasts, and honestly, if you haven’t played a FromSoftware game before, you’re probably looking for a lion, a dragon, and maybe a giant bear.
Wrong.
The "beasts" are turtles. Spectral, ghostly, shimmering blue turtles. It’s a classic Hidetaka Miyazaki prank. It’s also one of the most common points of frustration for new players wandering through the Weeping Peninsula or Liurnia of the Lakes.
These puzzles aren't just there to annoy you. They serve as a gatekeeper for Memory Stones, which are basically the gold standard for anyone trying to run a sorcery or incantation build. Without them, you're stuck with two spell slots, and that's a quick way to get murdered by a Runebear.
Where the Hell are the Wise Beasts?
The first time you encounter this is usually at Oridys’s Rise. It’s sitting on a hill in the Weeping Peninsula. You read the book, the phrase seek 3 wise beasts pops up, and the hunt begins.
The first turtle is usually right behind you. It’s just sitting there on the path. One hit with a club or a flick of a glintstone pebble and it vanishes into blue dust. Simple enough. But then the game starts messing with you.
The second one is tucked away in the bushes to the left of the tower stairs. You have to actually look. Like, really look. If you’re playing online, you’ll probably see a hundred glowing player messages saying "dog?" or "behold, dog!" because the Elden Ring community has a collective obsession with calling every animal a dog.
The third one? It’s invisible.
Seriously. It’s sitting in the middle of a small pond nearby. You’ll see ripples in the water, but no physical body. You have to swing your sword at the empty air where the ripples originate. It feels dumb until the "seal on the rise opened" notification pops up. Then you feel like a genius.
Tetsu’s Rise and the Liurnia Headache
If you thought the Weeping Peninsula version was tricky, Tetsu’s Rise in Liurnia is a whole different beast. Or turtle. Whatever.
This one is located on an island in the north of the lake. The stakes are slightly higher here because the island is crawling with those slow, shambling zombies. They aren't hard to kill, but they're distracting when you're trying to find a ghost turtle glued to a tree trunk ten feet above your head.
- One is out in the open, easy.
- One is halfway up a tree. You’ll need a bow or a lucky jumping heavy attack to hit it.
- The last one is hiding on a rocky ledge behind the tower.
People always miss the tree turtle. You’re looking at the ground, checking the bushes, getting frustrated. Meanwhile, this spectral reptile is just chilling on a branch like it belongs there. It’s brilliant level design that forces you to break out of a 2D search pattern.
Why Memory Stones Actually Matter
So, why bother? Why spend twenty minutes hunting transparent reptiles?
Memory Stones.
Unlike previous Souls games where your spell slots were tied to a specific stat like Attunement, Elden Ring uses these key items. Each stone gives you one extra slot automatically. You don't "equip" them; they just live in your inventory and expand your mind.
If you're a Mage, these are non-negotiable. You need space for your bread-and-butter Glintstone Pebble, your heavy-hitting Rock Sling, and maybe a utility spell like Starlight. If you only have two slots, you’re constantly running back to a Site of Grace to swap things out. It’s a massive pain.
The Chelona’s Rise Nightmare
Later in the game, after you've progressed through Ranni’s massive questline, you reach the Moonlight Altar. This is where the seek 3 wise beasts puzzle becomes genuinely mean.
The scale is totally different. In the early game, the turtles are within thirty feet of the tower. At Chelona’s Rise, they are scattered across the entire plateau. We’re talking miles apart.
One is hanging off a cliff. One is hidden in a forest. One is literally floating in the sky. You actually have to use a Spirit Spring with Torrent to launch yourself into the air and collide with a giant spectral turtle that’s hovering a hundred feet up.
A lot of players think the quest is bugged here. It’s a common complaint on Reddit and Discord. If you die or fast travel after hitting one turtle, the others might despawn visually. If that happens, you usually have to go back to the imp statue, "talk" to it again to reset the puzzle, and then go find the remaining ones without using a loading screen. It’s finicky. It’s annoying. It’s FromSoftware.
Tips for the Frustrated Tarnished
If you’re stuck right now, stop running in circles.
First, listen. The spectral turtles make a very faint, shimmering sound. It’s almost like wind chimes but lower frequency. If you’re close, you’ll hear it.
Second, use your rainbow stones. If you suspect an invisible turtle is in the water or on a specific patch of ground, toss a stone. It helps you keep track of where you’ve already swung your sword so you aren't just flailing wildly in the grass.
Third, look up. Always look up. These things love verticality. Whether it’s a tree branch at Tetsu’s Rise or the literal sky at Chelona’s, the developers want you to stop staring at your character’s feet.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you want to clear these towers and get your spell slots maxed out, follow this sequence:
- Head to Oridys’s Rise first. It’s the easiest. Grab the Memory Stone and get that early game advantage.
- Stock up on Crystal Darts. If a turtle is out of reach or in a weird spot, these are cheap and track slightly.
- Check for the "Ripples." Whenever you see water near a "seek 3 wise beasts" puzzle, 90% of the time, there is an invisible turtle in it.
- Don't fast travel. If you're doing the Chelona's Rise puzzle on the Moonlight Altar, ride Torrent the whole way. Fast traveling often breaks the script and makes the turtles disappear, forcing a reset.
- Hit the statue again. If you've been looking for an hour and can't find the last beast, go back and read the pedestal again. It often "refreshes" the entities in the world.
Solving these puzzles is a rite of passage. It’s part of the charm of Elden Ring—the game refuses to hold your hand, but the reward is always worth the headache. Once you have those extra spell slots, the boss fights ahead become a lot more manageable. Go find those dogs.
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