Free True Soul Nere

Free True Soul Nere is a Quest in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started when the player arrives at Grymforge and talks to Sergeant Thrinn or after making a deal with Elder Brithvar.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Clear the cave-in.

Sergeant Thrinn said the True-Soul leading them is trapped behind the cave-in. She wants us to clear it.
The deep gnomes are worried about Beldron. He's trapped with True Soul Nere behind the cave-in.
We discovered several duergar who are plotting against Nere. They asked us to free him, and offered a cut of the prize if we help.
We found some explosives. Let's see if it's enough to clear the cave-in.
We found some rubble and were able to clear it. We should do the same for the cave-in.
We managed to clear some but not all of the rubble.
We used other methods to clear the rubble. Perhaps this could come in handy again.
True Soul Nere warned us about the poisonous gas behind the cave-in. He'll die soon - we can't afford to rest.

Speak to Nere.

We managed to clear the cave-in. Let's see what Nere has to say for himself.

Defeat the mutinous duergar.

The duergar turned on Nere. We need to protect him.

Speak to Nere.

The duergar were defeated. We should check on Nere.

Quest Complete

The cave-in was cleared without our help.
Nere mentioned that he's planning to go to the temple where he'll pick up the trail of Balthazar, the General's advisor.
We revealed the truth to Nere - that the Absolute is a front for mind flayers. He gave us a token of his thanks.
We turned on Nere.
Nere is dead.
We left Grymforge without clearing the cave-in.
We left Grymforge - leaving Nere to his fate.

Walkthrough

This quest is on a "timer", tracked by long-rests and/or fast travels. The timer starts when the player speaks with Sergeant Thrinn, makes a deal with Elder Brithvar or interacts with the rubble. The party receives a warning in the form of a cutscene with Nere the first time they arrive in camp after entering Grymforge, and can fail if they fast travel or long-rest after the quest starts.

Arriving at Grymforge

Free True Soul Nere is initiated the first time the party takes the boat in the Decrepit Village to Grymforge. During the trip over, a group of Duergar on another boat led by Corsair Greymon questions the party on what they're doing on Coal's boat:

[DECEPTION] I saw a body left by the myconids - your 'Gekh' must be dead. (DC 10) (if Gekh Coal unmet)
[DECEPTION] I'm afraid Gekh is dead - he fell fighting the myconids (DC 10) (if Gekh Coal was met)
[BRANDED] [PERSUASION] Just let me cross - I have the brand, see? (DC 5)
I work on Gekh's behalf. I'm after his sergeant's stolen boots.
I seek the sergeant - I believe she's keen to get these boots back.
[BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] MOVE YOUR BOAT, OR SINK. MAKE THE CHOICE. (DC 10 )
[INTIMIDATION] In the name of the Absolute - you will let me pass. (DC 10)
[ATHLETICS] Push the duergar into the water. (DC 15)

Succeed the check and Corsair stands down, telling the party to speak with the sergeant. If he was pushed into the water a fight will break out (Lae'zel and Astarion approve). Note that the corpses of any characters killed by being shoved off of the boats can be found washed up on the beach at the Decrepit Village afterward.

Once docked, another duergar, Morghal, tries to extort money from the party. Telling her "I’m not giving you a single coin" results in her backing off immediately. Follow the path south to come across a cave-in, where a group of enslaved gnomes are being forced to chip away at the rocks (X:-635, Y:311). Speak to Sergeant Thrinn who explains that a Drow True Soul named Nere is trapped by a cave-in.

Communing with Nere

If the party interacts with the cave-in, Nere telepathically connects with them and shows them what he sees. The party can perform a Perception check (DC 10) to try to focus on what he can see. There are two gnomes on his side of the cave-in who are trying to remove rocks, as well as two dead gnomes who were killed by a magical trap. The party senses Nere's frustration and rage before the connection fades.

Be aware that interacting with the cave-in starts a timer: if Nere is not subsequently rescued after two long rests, he will die.

The cave-in

The cave-in at Grymforge trapping Nere.

The primary objective of this quest is to destroy the "cave-in" trapping Nere at Grymforge.

The cave-in is an interactable object that has 44 Hit Points and is immune to all types of damage except for force (vulnerable), piercing (resistant) and bludgeoning.
It also has the Medium Toughness condition - a hit must deal 22 or more damage in order to damage it.
Due to its vulnerability to force, explosives such as Smokepowder Satchel or Smokepowder Bomb are the best bet. However, sufficient force, or bludgeoning damage from abilities can also work - such as high rolls on a Warlock's Eldritch Blast combined with the cave-in's force vulnerability, or melee attacks with high strength, Great Weapon Master: All In using a Maul.
Beware of friendly fire against the gnomes digging away at the cave-in. Placing any explosive object onto the floor (i.e. dropping it) should make all the gnomes scramble away.
The party can obtain enough explosives to complete this quest by solving the Find the Explosives quest, also located at Grymforge.

Nere is freed from the cave-in.

The party can also choose to let the timer run out and have Nere die prior to freeing him as an alternative way to solve the quest Deliver Nere's Head.

Successfully removing the "cave-in" initiates a cutscene/conversation with Nere, which directly affects the quest Save the Grymforge Gnomes.

The mutiny

After Nere is freed, he is furious at being trapped and immediately takes it out on Meerna who he throws into the lava.

If the party choose to say nothing or "Finish the slaves, True Soul. For the Absolute," then Nere massacres all the gnomes. If the party tells Nere not to kill innocents, he tells Thrinn to rip out their hearts and feed them to the rothé. At this point, if the party made a deal with Brithvar to kill Nere, he interjects and says Nere owes the duergar money and he's going to get it from his corpse. Nere says he's changed his mind - he'll spare the party if they defeat Brithvar and the other mutineers.

If the party sides with Nere, they'll need to fight against:

If the party sides with Brithvar, they'll fight against

Siding with Nere

If Nere is sided with, there are two distinct paths that can be followed. One is that Nere tells the party to go see the general, Ketheric Thorm at Moonrise Towers. The other is that Nere is informed the Absolute are a front for Mind Flayers and he abandons the cult entirely.

After the battle, Nere says the Absolute's business is unfinished. Select either "Unfortunate - but how does this concern me?" or "And what business is that, exactly?" He bids the party to tell the General that he did what he could, but that the route through Grymforge is impassable. Select "I'll do it. Where can I find the General?" and Nere explains they must go through the Shadow-Cursed Lands. He had a Moonlantern that could ward off the shadow curse, but it was destroyed in the cave-in. Ask "If that's the case, how do I reach it safely?" and Nere says there is a guide. Play the Spider's Lyre he provides, and a guide will appear.

The divergence occurs based on what the party says next. If saying "I'd rather make my own way than rely on your help." Nere says the Absolute should be demanding he take their head for insolence like that, but he can't hear Her voice. Choosing "Explain that the Absolute is a front for mind flayers - you're protected from them." starts Nere on the pathway to faltering from the Absolute:

[DECEPTION] It's true - it's a shadowy conspiracy headed by mind flayers and... tax collectors. (DC 10)
[PERSUASION] I was abducted by mind flayers. That was when I began to hear the Absolute. (DC 10)

Nere needs one more push to abandon the cult:

[LOLTH-SWORN] Your faith in Lolth faltered. It is not too late to reclaim it.
[PERSUASION] You don't have to. Run - abandon the Absolute. (DC 10)
[HISTORY] People have followed cults for a long time. You're just another victim. (DC 10)
[WISDOM] Cast Detect Thoughts
Your faith in Lolth faltered. It is not too late to reclaim it. (if mind was read)

If Nere is convinced, he says dying for mind flayer filth isn't worth it. He thanks the party for saving him from something worse than the duergar. After rewarding the party, he leaves and prays he doesn't meet the party again.

Related quests

Quest rewards

Dagger +1 - If Nere is sided with and abandons the cult.
Gift from the Absolute - If Nere is sided with and remains in the cult.
400 gold - If Brithvar is sided with

Looted from Nere if he is killed:

It's possible to get both Gift from the Absolute and Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen by first completing the quest then killing Nere later.

Companion approval

Stand up for the deep gnome slaves after Nere is freed +1 +1 +1 -1
After rescuing Nere, tell him to finish the slaves, or choose to say nothing +1 +1
Side with Elder Brithvar when confronting Nere +1 -1
Side with Nere against Elder Brithvar -5 -1
Let Elder Brithvar take the deep gnomes -1

Bugs

When siding with Nere, just after the fight against Elder Brithvar, a conversation is supposed to begin automatically with Nere. However, a bug can occur during the fight, which causes the conversation to not trigger. You can confirm that the bug is happening if the quest asks you to talk with Nere, but in doing so, his response is "Leave me be. You've done enough." and nothing happens. As of patch 6, the bug is still present in the game. There is no solution other than loading a save before the fight and redo the fight.

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