The Lord of the Ring: Gollum tells the story of what happened to Gollum after the events of The Hobbit. Having lost the One Ring in a game of riddles, the strange creature left the Misty Mountains to try and reclaim it. Unfortunately, his search led him to Mordor, where he was captured and imprisoned by Sauron's forces.
Later, Gollum manages to escape from Mordor, but before he can regain his freedom, he is taken to the Mirkwood by a group of Elves. Hoping to escape once more, he forms an alliance with a blind Elf named Mell who, during The Lord of the Rings: Gollum's eighth chapter, tasks him with figuring out what happened at the six Ritual Stones.
How To Solve The Ritual Stone Puzzle In The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum
Toward the end of Chapter 8: Her Eyes, Gollum and Mell reach the edge of the Mirkwood's Haze, but before they can leave, players must solve a pretty big puzzle involving the six nearby Ritual Stones.
Upon reaching the tree at the center of the Ritual Stones, Mell will inform Gollum of her last visit to this region of the Mirkwood, where six of her companions met their ends. For the story to progress, Mell must remember where each of her companions stood before their demise, but since she can't see, Gollum will need to do most of the work.
Before Gollum can begin searching for the answer, players must choose between the Cautiously close eyes and the Trust Mell prompts. Both answers lead to the same outcome, so players are free to choose whichever one they like.
Elf With Staff: Eristor
Once players regain control of Gollum, they will be required to activate Gollum Sense to uncover what happened to Mell's friends. With Gollum Sense engaged, the path each Elf took will become highlighted by a series of glowing blue swirls that, when followed, usually lead to a clue on who made the tracks.
Following the first blue swirls to the east and around the tree, Gollum will find Eristor's Staff; following the trail in the other direction, he will reach the northwest Ritual Stone, which players must interact with and select the Elf with staff option.
Once Eristor's location has been uncovered, players are free to explore the area to find where the remaining five Elves were originally standing. If players are struggling to pinpoint where each clue leads, they should refer to the in-game map to double-check the positioning of each Ritual Stone.
Elf With Knife: Dondopher
Traveling northwest of the tree, Gollum will reach a small lake, where he can find and interact with some Blood on the ground. Jumping into the lake and diving to the bottom, he will then find the Hilt of a blade.
Following the trail back to the Ritual Stones, a Knife can be found between the western and southwestern Ritual Stones. Interacting with it, Mell will tell Gollum the blade belonged to Dondopher.
Continuing along the trail will lead to the southwest Ritual Stone which, when interacted with, players must select the Elf with knife option.
Barefoot She-Elf: Turien
Traveling south from the southwest Ritual Stone, Gollum will find a pair of Turien's Boots next to the start of a small stone bridge.
Turning east and heading toward the slightly smaller lake, the Footprints clue can be found beside the yellow flowers near the water's edge.
Using Gollum Sense, the tracks left behind by these Footprints can be traced back to the southeast Ritual Stone, where players should select the Barefoot She-Elf option.
Elf With Bow: Celon
Traveling north of the western lake, Gollum will find a tree branch he can jump to and climb. He will then need to leap to the branch directly behind it, turn right, and jump to the vines on the wall, at the top of which, he will find Celon's Bow.
Following the trail back to the tree, Gollum will end up at the western Ritual Stone. Interacting with it, players must select the Elf with bow option.
She-Elf With Feathers: Priann
To find the location of the remaining two Elves, Gollum should return to the lake in the southeast corner of the area and use the stepping stones to reach the small island in the center. There, he can approach the large stones to interact with the stone Faces.
Following the trail leading east, the Feathers clue can be found on the slightly red section of the ground. Interacting with it, Mell will inform Smeagol that the only Elf who didn't wear feathers was Cethil; instead, she sported "beautiful braids."
Following the blue swirls back to the tree, players must interact with the eastern Ritual Stone and select the She-Elf with feathers option.
She-Elf With Braids: Cethil
Once the first five Elf locations have been uncovered, players can interact with the northeastern Ritual Stone and select the She-Elf with braids option to solve the puzzle. Mell will then speak the words needed to open the way through the Haze, allowing her and Gollum to finally leave the Mirkwood.
Mell will then begin walking toward the exit, but if players have yet to find the Collectible in this area, they should travel south and cross the small stone bridge where they found Turien's Boot.
Directly south of here, Gollum and travel between two large trees to find a hidden area. Following the path forward, he will reach a dead end where the Shard Collectible can be found lying on the ground.
Before the chapter ends, players will be faced with a multiple-choice scenario where they must decide whether they should lull Mell to sleep or make her leave. Both choices have a pretty significant impact on what happens in Chapter 9, so players should consider both options carefully.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch release planned for later this year.