Travel through the Mountain Pass

Travel through the Mountain Pass is a sub-quest of  Travel to Moonrise Towers in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be acquired after speaking to either Halsin or Minthara after resolving  Save the Refugees by siding with either the tieflings or the goblins.

The trip overland to Moonrise Towers is treacherous.

Objectives

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

Reach the mountain pass.

• Halsin told us that there is a way to Moonrise Towers through a mountain pass, but that it may be dangerous.

Speak to Minthara in the Goblin Camp.

• True Soul Nere spoke of a General who resides in Moonrise Towers. If we want answers about our parasites, we'll need to head there. Minthara in the Goblin Camp knows of a way to safely traverse the cursed lands.

Raid the Emerald Grove.

• We agreed to help Minthara raid the Emerald Grove.

Celebrate with Minthara.

• Minthara has promised us a reward for helping her crush the Emerald Grove. We should meet her at our camp to celebrate - and to receive our prize.

Travel through the mountain pass.

• Nere warned us that we cannot travel through the mountain pass without protection, but Minthara can no longer help us. We might just have to brave the curse.
• Minthara told us of a creature in her service who can guide us safely to Moonrise Towers. We can meet him and his minions at the mountain pass.

Follow the mountain pass.

• We decided to take the mountain pass. This road should lead us to Moonrise Towers.
• We find a corpse who tells us he came from Moonrise Towers on orders from General Thorm. We're heading in the right direction.

Quest Complete

• We took the mountain pass and arrived in the shadow-cursed lands.
• We used the lift in Grymforge and arrived in the shadow-cursed lands.

Walkthrough

NOTE: The party does NOT need to choose between exploring the Underdark and the Mountain Pass. Both can be visited before going to the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

If the party meets with Halsin as part of  Rescue the Druid Halsin, he explains that he cannot heal the party, but that he's been studying the Absolute cult's activities and knows they are sending people en-masse to Moonrise Towers. He suggests that the party head there to seek answers. During Save the Refugees, if the Druid Grove was protected, Halsin speaks with the party after a night of celebration. He explains that there are two paths to Moonrise Towers - one through the Underdark and one overland through the Mountain Pass. The area around Moonrise Towers is known as the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and has a dangerous curse that can drive people mad. Halsin recommends the Underdark route, as it means traveling over less of the areas infected by the shadow curse.

If the party allies with Minthara, she tells them only about the Mountain Pass, providing a Spider's Lyre so that the party can summon one of her minions to cross the Shadow-Cursed Lands overland. She states that the party must go to Moonrise Towers to find their place in the Absolute's Grand Design.

Entering the Mountain Pass

There are several ways to enter the Mountain Pass. Only one of these paths needs to be pursued to enter the Pass.

The Goblin Camp

From the front gate of the camp, where Sentinel Olak and his worgs are, move west to where Warlock Tud, Devout Wasp, and Sharp-Eye Sluck are drinking. Continue moving west to find the entrance to the Mountain Pass (X:-160, Y:332)

There are various check-point encounters on the path to the proper Goblin Camp. There are multiple methods the player can use to approach these, including but not limited to:

• A full-frontal assault.
  • Note, this approach may lead to turning the entire camp hostile if an alarm drum is successfully sounded.
• A mixture of diplomacy checks, such as Intimidation and Deception.
  • Alternatively, a player can brute force through all diplomacy checks by utilizing  Illithid Persuasion.
  • Drow, or characters disguised as one via the  Disguise Self spell, also have special dialogue options that helps you bypass diplomacy checks.
• Avoiding the check-points through Stealth or finding an alternative path (i.e. approaching the camp from the North-West).
  • Note, approaching from the North-Western path requires the player to figure out methods to deal with a sleeping Bugbear (who can be woken if the jumping character lands near him). A  Silence spell can effectively cover this.
• Saving Sazza in  Save the Goblin Sazza and allowing her to smooth the way through.

The Risen Road

The path to the Mountain Pass is west of the Risen Road. If the party chooses this route, they must face a githyanki patrol (X:-101, Y:555) led by Kith'rak Voss, as part of  Find the Githyanki Crèche.

Kith'rak Voss interrogates the party.

As the party comes across the patrol, they are arguing with a group of Flaming Fists. Suddenly, a red dragon comes down from the sky and sets the fists aflame. If Lae'zel is in the party, she notes that the crèche must be near and goes to meet with the patrol. Go with her to start a conversation with the dragon's rider, Kith'rak Voss. There is a more detailed overview of the conversations below:

Lae'zel Speaks with Voss

If Lae'zel is in the party, the encounter becomes much simpler.

• Nod to Lae'zel. Go ahead.
• I will be speaking on her behalf, gith.

Choosing the first option to allow Lae'zel to speak, and Voss reveals the search for a githyanki artefact. He asks if Lae'zel has seen anything like that.

• Mouth a silent command to Lae'zel: 'truth'.
• [PERSUASION] Mouth a silent command to Lae'zel: 'play along'. (DC 10)
• Produce the odd artefact. You're looking for this, I take it?
• I have my own mandate. Time to die, gith.

If anything but the second option is chosen, the githyanki become hostile. Otherwise, he commands Lae'zel to go to the crèche and aid the search for the artefact.

Origin Character Speaks with Voss

If Lae'zel is not in the party, Voss asks why he shouldn’t run them through.

• [SLEIGHT OF HAND] Silently hold his stare and discreetly prepare to attack. (DC 15)
• [INSIGHT] You would've done so already if you didn't want something from me first. (DC 10)
• [INTIMIDATION] I just want passage - if I have to go through you, so be it. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] I don't know you. I pose no threat. (DC 15)

Succeeding in any of the checks and Voss remains neutral.

• I'll help if I can.
• You'll need to start from the beginning - what is this weapon you're after?
• Produce the artefact. Ask if this is what he seeks.
• I might know something. But it'll cost you.
• Say nothing.

Whatever the party says, unless the party produces the artefact, Voss tells them to be silent, while doing rapid hand gestures:

• Do nothing.
• [ARCANA] Silently interpret the meaning of the gestures. (DC 10)

Succeeding this check and choosing to resist the probing with another Wisdom check (DC 10) causes Voss to get frustrated at the uselessness of their thoughts. Otherwise, he learns they have a mind flayer tadpole and the githyanki become hostile.

• [PERSUASION] I could help if you let me live - search for this weapon perhaps. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] You ought to just leave. You've no right to decide my fate. (DC 15)
• [INTIMIDATION] Why are you hesitating, then? Try it, I dare you. (DC 15)
• [ROGUE] A corpse is useless. But a living informant might unearth something.
• [DETECT THOUGHTS] Read his thoughts.
• Don't be too hasty. I could prove very useful.

A successful pass of any of these checks and Voss lets the party live. He tells them to go to the crèche - ahead, at the Mountain Pass. Otherwise, if Voss become suspicious that the party is infected with tadpoles or carries the artefact, then he flies off on his dragon and orders the githyanki soldiers to kill them all. Sarth Baretha, Raider Clost, Raider Zastri, and Gish For'eth attack the party

At the Mountain Pass

The Mountain Pass' route to the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Once the Mountain Pass has been entered, continue north along the Rosymorn Monastery Trail until there is a fork in the road by the Trielta Crags Waypoint. Continue on the westward fork. The party is attacked by two Death Shepherds, a Ghast and four Ghouls. After the attack, continue moving west, and then south, to reach the entrance to the Shadow-Cursed Lands (X:-143, Y:-129).

There are several additional quests in the Mountain Pass, including a story-relevant quest -  Discover the Artefact's Secrets and Lae'zel's companion quest  The Githyanki Warrior. There is also a trader named Lady Esther near the Trielta Crags Waypoint who provides the quest  Steal a Githyanki Egg and a quest found in Rosymorn Monastery called  Find the Blood of Lathander. However, completing these quests is not necessary to proceed to the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Consequences

Once the party enters the Mountain Pass for the first time, many quests automatically resolve, notably  Save the Refugees. Additionally, entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands is considered the "point of no return" for Act One and is the official start of Act Two. As such, entering the path to the Shadow-Cursed Lands means that several quests automatically update. Before proceeding forward, complete all desired quests.

For more details, see Time sensitive activities.

Notes

• Both the Mountain Pass and the Underdark have unique quests and loot. For the most complete playthrough, it is recommended that the party explores the Mountain Pass, Underdark, and Grymforge before going to the Shadow-Cursed Lands.