Published , by Lucas White
Published , by Lucas White
Early on in Baldur’s Gate 3, you might encounter a friendly old woman in the Druid Grove who calls herself Auntie Ethel. Ostensibly she’s just a merchant who mostly sells potions, but she does notice the tadpole in your skull much like other important characters. She may even tell you she could have something to help you out at her home. Naturally, things aren’t that easy and your party won’t be finding a cure anytime soon. But they will find a quest called Save Mayrina, which has several twists and turns worth guiding about.
At first, speaking with Auntie Ethel and getting her invite seems like a branch from one of Baldur’s Gate 3’s major questlines, Remove the Parasite. Chasing this waypoint will see you to the Sunlit Wetland, where you’ll encounter a couple of dudes seemingly threatening Ethel. Things get weird from here, and you’ll eventually find your way to the teahouse. There, you’ll meet Mayrina and learn who (or what) Ethel really is.
If you choose to get involved, Ethel will attack you along with some henchmen. Normally, whittling her down to low health will cause her to flee, although it is possible to take her down here. Assuming she flees, investigating her fireplace will open up a path to delve further into… well, you’ll see.
Shenanigans are occurring in Ethel’s basement, to say the least. Your first roadblock will be the Gnarled Door, which really doesn’t want to open up. There are a couple ways to get by, but if you’re stumped, here’s a spoiler. Just walk through it. You can also get by if you pick up and wear the Whispering Masks strewn about, but be careful; the masks will let you avoid combat in the next room, but don’t forget to take them off before confronting Ethel.
This room seems like a dead end at first, but there’s a secret. If you have your good buddy Scratch around, he’ll help you figure that out. The answer, though, is that you can jump through the waterfall.
The next challenge is an annoying trip through several explosive traps and toxic gas vents. There are several possible solutions here depending on your party’s setup. If all else fails, you can put out the candles and drop them on top of the vents, and disarm the traps. There are trickier ways, though. My strategy was to simply run through with a group of meatheads and let the dice take the wheel. Tabletop RPGs be like that.
You’ll enter the Ancient Abode next, and the final showdown with Auntie Ethel. As usual, there’s no one winning strategy here. And depending on how thoroughly you beat this creep, you may even get alternative options for the storyline.
After the fight, the next room is the hag’s workshop, which holds the final key to the quest. And it’s weirdly easy to miss. If you want to fully complete the Mayrina questline and scratch it off the list, make sure to pick up an item called “Bitter Divorce.” It’s a small wand on a table drawing zero attention to itself.
If you snag the wand, the quest more or less wraps up without any more mysteries. The portal in the workshop takes you outside, and right to where Mayrina is waiting. You have various choices available, but the only way to complete the quest in your Journal is to use the wand on Mayrina’s husband. Somehow, there's still room at the end of all this to make things even weirder.
Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 strategy guide page for more hints and help on this sprawling adventure.