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Save Vanra is a quest in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking with Lora in the Lower City.
 | Spoiler warning: The following content contains unhidden spoilers. Read at your own risk. |
Objectives
- Mayrina told us that a hag has kidnapped a child. The mother, Lora, can be found at Basilisk Gate. We should speak to her.
- At Basilisk Gate, we met a distraught Lora. She claimed her daughter Vanra is missing, and that she vanished when the pair were in The Blushing Mermaid. She begged us for help.
- The Blushing Mermaid bartender told us that Lora was behaving strangely - she even pulled a knife on him. The owner of the tavern, Captain Grisly, had to throw Lora out. We should speak to Captain Grisly about it.
- We spoke to Captain Grisly, who told us that Lora doesn't have a child - never did. She also claims Lora is a dangerous pirate who attacked her and her staff. The Captain has asked us to kill Lora, before she hurts anyone else. We said we'd think about it.
- The cellar of The Blushing Mermaid looks just like a hag's lair. We need to speak to the owner, Captain Grisly, about this.
- Mayrina was right about a hag being involved - The Blushing Mermaid's cellar looks just like a hag's lair. We need to speak to the owner, Captain Grisly, about this.
- We found a note in The Blushing Mermaid addressed to 'Auntie' - a term for a hag. We need to speak to the owner, Captain Grisly, about this.
- We spoke to Captain Grisly, who told us that Lora doesn't have a child - never did. She also claims Lora is a dangerous pirate who attacked her and her staff. The Captain has asked us to kill Lora, before she hurts anyone else. We agreed.
- Lora is dead. Captain Grisly will be pleased.
- We knocked Lora out, and now she's nowhere to be found. We should inform Captain Grisly.
- Captain Grisly transformed - into Auntie Ethel! She was shocked and thrilled that we killed Lora for her. She admitted to eating little Vanra alive as she intends to transform the girl into a hag. We struck a deal with the hag - in exchange for leaving her alone, she will aid us in the fight to come.
- Captain Grisly transformed - into Auntie Ethel! She admitted to eating little Vanra alive as she intends to transform the girl into a hag. She fled, but not before claiming that if we kill her, we'll kill Vanra too.
- We attacked Auntie Ethel, breaking our bargain with her.
- We found Auntie Ethel hiding in the Blushing Mermaid cellar. We have to be careful - if we kill her, then Vanra will die too. There must be a way to save Vanra.
- We found a book written by a woman who discovered a way to force a child out of a hag's stomach - without harming them. We need to craft something called the Hag's Bane and then throw it at the hag.
- We found Auntie Ethel hiding in the Blushing Mermaid cellar. With the Hag's Bane, we can save Vanra.
- While the hag was unconscious, we cut Vanra out of her stomach. We should make sure Vanra is all right.
- We threw the Hag's Bane at Auntie Ethel, and it worked. She vomited Vanra up. We should speak to Vanra.
- Vanra, shaken by what happened, could barely speak and ran away. She likely returned home to her mother. We should visit them.
- We couldn't save Vanra - she's dead.
- We saved Vanra, but with her mother gone she has no home to return to.
- Lora was grateful to us for bringing her daughter home. She thanked us with a small token.
- We left the Lower City behind - leaving Vanra to her fate.
- We kept our deal with Auntie Ethel and left Vanra in her hands. In return, Auntie Ethel will help us in the fight to come.
- We left the Lower City without killing Lora.
- We saved Vanra, but Lora is angry with us.
- Vanra, shaken by what happened, fled. At least she's safe from the hag.
Walkthrough
A Mother in Distress
Lora, a distressed mother, can be found in the Basilisk Gate Barracks, angrily shouting at a Flaming Fist (X:155, Y:-14). If "What is going on here?" is asked, then Lora explains that her daughter, Vanra has gone missing and the Flaming Fist said she had a lead. A successful Arcana check reveals that the Fist's memory has been magically tampered with, making her appear confused about why Lora is there at all. If "I'm listening" is chosen, followed by "I'll help you find your daughter," then Lora describes Vanra and states that she was last seen at the Blushing Mermaid.
Locating the Hag
After speaking to Lora, the party is directed to investigate the Blushing Mermaid and speak to Captain Grizzly, who was present during Vanra's abduction. If Lora has not been spoken to, then Grizzly will not speak to the party and says she is too hungover to talk. Speaking to Grizzly about Vanra's disappearance, she claims that Lora has gone mad and is dangerous, threatening her customers. She states that Vanra isn't real, and is a delusion that Lora cooked up. Believing Lora to be a threat, she intends to put a hit out on her, and offers 3000 gold to the party if they are willing to take her out. If, after being given Grizzly's offer, the party chooses "Absolutely not - I refuse to do your dirty work." then "Grizzly" drops the act and reveals herself to be Auntie Ethel, a hag.
Grizzly's true identity can also be exposed by finding a note in the Blushing Mermaid which contains a report on Old Garlow's, using terms like "Auntie." The note is inside a rosewood desk in the same room as Grizzly (X:-123, Y:-93). Afterwards, the party can confront Grizzly on the note they found and she instantly drops the act.
Dealing with the Hag
After Ethel's identity has been revealed, she tells the party that she ate Vanra, and the girl sits in her belly, slowly transforming into a new hag. She tells the party that she would fight them, but she doesn't want to exert herself while she is "pregnant" - demanding they instead walk away and let her make a new hag. The party can tell her off, or tell her to make a better offer, or simply walk away as she asks.
If the party tells her off, she tells them not to mess with her and that Vanra will die if they do, while she will simply resurrect again. Then, she disappears to her lair and the entire bar transforms into hostile redcaps. If the party agrees to walk away, Ethel disappears, but the bar does not turn hostile. If the party attempts to deal with Ethel by stating "make me an offer," then Ethel only deals with the party if they didn't kill her during Save Mayrina. Otherwise, she says they lost that privilege when they killed her.
If the party killed Lora and agrees to stay out of Ethel's business, she agrees to fight alongside the party in the final battle and is added to Gather Your Allies. She also provides 6000 gold for "her favorite mommy-killer." She states that this deal is only in place if the party stays away and doesn't go after her.
The Hag's Basement
The Hag's basement can be found by entering either the old oak door near the entrance to the Blushing Mermaid or the cellar door down the stairs in the same room Grizzly was wandering. Jumping up on top of the alcohol barrels and moving towards the small passage starts an Investigation check. Succeeding reveals that the wall is an illusion that the party can simply walk through, climb down a ladder, and through a set of double doors that can be unlocked with Auntie Ethel's Lair Key or by lockpicking the door.
To the north of the double doors are several explosive traps, as well as four masked victims that instantly become hostile if they detect the party. If the party instead moves west towards a door in the wooden wall (DC20), they can avoid fighting these victims. Continuing past the wooden wall, the party encounters Ethel, if her identity was revealed. She becomes hostile and tells the party to die. If Ethel did not reveal herself, then this area is empty, allowing the party time to investigate. In this instance, Ethel does not appear unless the party attacks and destroys one of her Pearlspore Bells.
Using Hag's Bane
If Help the Hag's Survivors has been completed, then the party has a solution to rescue Vanra - Hag's Bane, a potion that can make a Hag throw up her victim. Hag's Bane can be crafted using Alchemy by created using one Essence, which requires either three Sylvan Stone, Timmask Spores, Crystalline Lens, or any other type of Essence material. This can be combined with the Ashes of Dried Fey Flower found in the safe during Help the Hag Survivors. When fighting against Ethel, throwing the Hag's Bane at her gives her the condition Nauseous and she throws up Vanra. Using the potion must be done before Ethel is defeated, otherwise Vanra dies.
Pearlspore Bells
Within the Hag's basement, there are three Pearlspore Bells. These bells are the source of Ethel's life force, and keep her from permanently dying. Unless all three Bells are destroyed, Ethel continues to resurrect herself. The Bells also heal themselves during their turn, if they are not destroyed before that.
There are three Pearlspore Bells:
- On a cliff near the southeast corner of the room (X:-2307, Y:-116)
- In the northeastern corner of the room (X:-2320, Y:-92)
- On a cliff in the northwestern corner of the room, north of the gilded chest (X:-2351, Y:-96)
Each of them has the "Healing Pearl" status and 55 HP.
Cutting Out Vanra
If Hag's Bane has not been crafted, then it is still possible to save Vanra by cutting her out of Ethel's stomach. This is achieved by toggling non-lethal damage and defeating Ethel with fists or melee weapons. After Ethel is knocked out, there is an option to cut Vanra free of the hag.
Using the Hag's Bane or cutting out Vanra results in Save Vanra being successfully completed.
Saving Grizzly
The same as her last hag den, Ethel has a number of enthralled humans trapped with their masks. Most of these individuals are too far gone to properly save, and will simply mutter about their curses if Ethel is slain. However, there is one person who is able to be properly saved from the hag - the real Captain Grizzly. Grizzly, like the other servants, is forced to attack the party if they fight with Ethel. However, if Grizzly is left alive, then she is freed from Ethel's influence and removes her mask. Speaking to her, she is immensely grateful to the party for liberating her, and states that the 'Maid's as much as the party's home as hers.
Quest Rewards
If Vanra is successfully saved, Lora grants the following rewards:
Notes
- This bug was fixed in Patch #1. In version 4.1.1.3648072 a bug sometimes causes Auntie Ethel to stay in the tavern after she has transformed. She has zero health but walks around the room. Heal her, then kill her. This allows Vanra to be cut out of the hag.