Summary

• Mad Tongue Alberich and Ensha invade players in Elden Ring, with unclear motivations only explained by obscure connections to the lore.
• Alberich's armor set hints at his past with the Golden Order and Marika, which may explain why he attacks the player.
• Ensha invades the player after they've found the Haligtree Medallion, potentially serving his master's plot.

Most Elden Ring players have likely been invaded by either Mad Tongue Alberich or Ensha of the Royal Remains, if not both, without totally understanding why. Alberich is a sorcerer who first appears on the lower level of Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold. This fight is practically inexplicable at first, requiring players to leap off of the balcony where Rogier settles in at the hub area. Mad Tongue Alberich has no dialogue and only drops assorted multiplayer items, but some other hints throughout the game can help contextualize his place in Elden Ring's lore.

[Warning: Mild spoilers for the ending of Elden Ring.]

As for Ensha, he first appears outside the door to Gideon Ofnir's office. He's completely silent, and the first time players interact with him, he grants them the "What Do You Want?" gesture. This allows players to imitate his signature pose, with one arm folded across the torso and the other raised to their chin in an inquisitive expression. Ensha may later become an NPC invader, too, for reasons that aren't totally clear. However, talking to the right NPCs and considering some major characters' hidden motivations may make the reasons for Ensha's invasion a little clearer. Here's everything to know about these two unusual invaders in Elden Ring.

Who Is Alberich In Elden Ring? Invasion & Alberich's Set Explained

Alberich Drops, Rewards, & Related items

The fight with Mad Tongue Alberich in Roundtable Hold is one of many NPC invasions in Elden Ring. He can be particularly tough for some, since players are able to get into Roundtable Hold at fairly low levels, and his combined Bleed and Frostbite effects can leave the player much worse for wear. As a result, Alberich is much more easily fought from a distance, where he can easily be baited into charging forward and beginning a melee combo while the player lines up their own powerful moves.

Alberich bows when the Tarnished first enters the arena. If the player waits until he's finished with his bow to attack, they'll gain the Reverential Bow gesture.

But even beating Mad Tongue Alberich and talking to others in the area won't shed any light on the situation. There's nothing to explain Alberich's motives in his drops: defeating Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold invader will give players 1,562 Runes, a Furlcalling Finger Remedy, and the Taunter's Tongue. As always, the Furlcalling Finger Remedy reveals summoning signs, which can be used either to recruit other players for co-op or to welcome invaders. The Taunter's Tongue provides access to more difficult invasions, allowing up to two enemies to invade the player's world at once, even if they haven't summoned an ally.

Players will have to wait until much further into the game to get a bit more information on Alberich, but eventually, they can get Alberich's Set in Elden Ring, a suit of armor resembling the clothes worn by the Roundtable Hold's invading sorcerer. Alberich's armor is found closest to the Lower Capital Church Site of Grace. Much of Elden Ring's lore is revealed in the flavor text of its items, and that on Alberich's armor set, featuring a hat and cloak inlaid with red glintstones (signifying his sorcery, which is heretical to the Academy of Raya Lucaria), says:

"Alberich was an aloof yet disturbed heretical sorcerer said to have been driven mad by jeering tongues during his service to the Roundtable Hold long ago."

Lore in Elden Ring is never straightforward, and this item description doesn't really explain why Alberich is invading beyond the vague idea of some nonspecific madness. It does, however, explain the significance of the Taunter's Tongue. Aside from Mad Tongue Alberich being a vessel to deliver an important multiplayer item, some guesses can be made about his role based on where the Roundtable Hold invader's armor set is found.

Mad Tongue Alberich May Serve The Original Roundtable Hold

Marika, The Golden Order, & The Leyndell Roundtable

Alberich's set is found in Elden Ring's second Roundtable Hold beneath the capital, the crumbling city of Leyndell. It's presumed that this was the original Roundtable Hold, where important figures would gather during the height of the Golden Order. It has since fallen into ruin alongside the rest of the capital, and Alberich's clothes can be found on a corpse resting in a spot that corresponds to where he invades the new Roundtable Hold.

The Golden Order, originally led by Queen Marika the Eternal, was once guided by the Grace which now urges the Tarnished to seek the shards of the Elden Ring. It's unclear where the new Roundtable Hold is located, but seeing as the Greater Will has reconstructed the building, it can be inferred that the original iteration in Leyndell was important to the Golden Order, and those with political influence before the Shattering.

With Elden Ring's DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, due to focus on Marika's homeland, there may yet be time to explore the origins of this second Roundtable Hold.

Mad Tongue Alberich may have originally served Elden Ring's Queen Marika or the Golden Order at large, and the madness referred to by his armor set may be keeping him in this role long after the Golden Order has crumbled. If Alberich's allegiance remains with Morgott, who sits on Leyndell's throne when the player arrives, he likely views the new Roundtable Hold as heretical, even though it is under the guidance of the Two Fingers and the Greater Will.

Elden Ring's hidden lore is very difficult to piece together, especially when it comes to minor characters with no dialogue, like Mad Tongue Alberich. Almost the entirety of the Lands Between has descended into madness since the Shattering, so NPC actions can't always be rationalized, but Mad Tongue Alberich's invasion of the Roundtable Hold can at least be put into a plausible context given the lore of Elden Ring.

Roundtable Hold Invasion: Ensha of the Royal Remains, Explained

Who Ensha Is & Why He Doesn't Speak

After discovering the first half of the Haligtree Medallion in Elden Ring, coming back to Roundtable Hold will trigger another invasion, this time from Ensha of the Royal Remains. Ensha will continue to invade the Roundtable Hold until he is defeated, and once that has been done, players can claim the Royal Remains armor set from the spot he previously stood in outside Gideon's room. Killing Ensha also unlocks a curious new piece of dialogue from Gideon. He states:

"Oh, my apologies for that nasty business. Ensha got rather ahead of himself, it seems. As his master, I'd like to express my regret. But now, Ensha is slain and gone. Finished, forevermore."

Now, it's revealed near the ending of Elden Ring that Gideon is jealous of the player character. He's one of many NPCs who try to crush their ambition over the course of the game, and actually comes pretty close to doing so. Gideon confronts them near the end of the game in an effort to prevent them from claiming the Elden Ring, expressing a desire to follow Queen Marika's guidance and continue humanity's struggle for eternity. It's one of the game's greatest plot twists: the player's greatest ally is revealed to be their enemy.

Gideon's abilities as a boss actually change based on what quests the player has and hasn't completed, so he may be more or less difficult in different playthroughs. In general, the more of Elden Ring a player completes, the easier Gideon will be.

Given that Ensha only invades the Roundtable Hold once players have located part of the Haligtree Medallion and are one step closer to the Elden Throne, it's very possible Gideon tasked Ensha with obtaining the Medallion at any cost in an effort to sabotage the Tarnished. Up until that point, after all, Ensha wouldn't even speak to the Tarnished - perhaps so as not to reveal his master's motivations. Eventually, players will confront Gideon as well, and it's likely that if Ensha hadn't jumped the gun and invaded early, he could have been among Elden Ring's more difficult boss fights.

Ensha's invasion of the Roundtable Hold is more straightforward than when Mad Tongue Alberich attacks the player, but neither of them is totally explained in-game. Shadowy motivations are a hallmark of FromSoftware games, and it's up to the player's careful observation and intuition to find out what's truly going on. By frequently checking in with Elden Ring's NPCs and paying close attention to their true natures, it's possible to get a handle on what's going on.