Save Mayrina is a side quest in Baldur’s Gate 3 that you will encounter in the early sections of Act 1. Despite being optional, it is one of the best storylines in the game with far-reaching consequences.
Like the rest of the Larian games, this quest changes drastically with your choices. Some of these choices have dire consequences, while others are out of your control. Save Mayrina’s quest also deepens into Ethel’s character and motivations in the game.
If you manage to complete this quest in a good way, your next encounter with Mayrina will be during Act 3, which will lead to a much more sinister and crazy Auntie Ethel.
How to start the Save Mayrina quest
To start the “Save Mayrina” quest in BG3, you must take the Southwestern path leading to the Sunlit Wetlands through the Blighted Village. Along the road, you will witness a quarrel between two men and an old woman named Auntie Ethel.
At this point, it is better to choose to side with the two men against Auntie Ethel. The old lady will disappear shortly after, and the men who seem to be Mayrinas’ brothers, will explain their sister’s tragedy.
With that, the Save Mayrina quest will be started. Even if you try to side with the brothers, they will reject your offer and decide to go find Mayrina themselves. Unfortunately, there is no way to save Mayrina’s brothers in BG3, as whatever you do, they will end up dying shortly after.
FYI
You can use Speak with the Dead spell on their bodies to learn more about the killer.
Find Auntie Ethel’s Teahouse
Auntie Ethel lives in her Teahouse which is the only standing structure in the middle of the swamp. This area is full of traps and redcoats. We recommend that you kill all the redcoats and sheep in the area to avoid trouble later.
Once you enter the Riverside Teahouse, you’ll see another cutscene. Auntie Ethel will tell Mayrina to finish her food as she is pregnant and needs to take a proper diet.
By this point, you will have the option to tell Mayrina about the death of her brothers and who killed them. If you choose to do so, Auntie Ethel will turn hostile on the spot and eventually teleport away, along with Mayrina.
If you, however, decide not to tell Mayrina about her brothers, Ethel will not turn hostile. However, she will still teleport away with Mayrina. At this point, Ethel will also offer to remove the tadpole in your eye in exchange for one of your eyes – which will give you a permanent debuff.
All your companions will disapprove of the idea, and even if you approve, the old hag will not be able to do it as it is tainted by strange shadow magic.
After your decision, the Hag will take Mayrina out of the room. If you roam around the fireplace area, you will figure out that it’s an illusion and there’s a passageway behind it.
Go through the fireplace to reach the old hag’s basem*nt, where she will reveal her true identity. There are other people trapped in that basem*nt as well. You can even interact with them to learn more about Ethel by using the “Speak with the Dead” spell.
A few of them have gone mad and won’t even reply to you. We will be coming to save these poor souls later.
Go past the Gnarled Door
As you make your way across the basem*nt to locate and save Mayrina, you will reach the Gnarled Door. At first, the door seems to be inaccessible, but you will learn later that it’s just an illusion and can be passed through easily.
There are multiple ways to go past the Gnarled door.
- You can pick the Whispering Mask from the ground and equip it to pass the gate. Just be sure to take the masks off later; otherwise, you will go mad and become Auntie Ethel’s minion.
- There is an Arcane check near the door, and regardless of the outcome, once you perform the check, you can just pan the camera around to the other side of the Gnarled door to pass through it.
Once you pass the door, you will fight 4 of Ethel’s pawns and enter the Overgrown Tunnel. You can avoid fighting with them by wearing the Whispering Mask.
After you defeat the pawns, jump over the waterfall to reach the Overgrown Tunnel, the final area leading to Auntie Ethel’s lair.
How to go past the Noxious Fumes in the Overgrown Tunnel
The Overgrown tunnel leading to Mayrina in BG3 is filled with noxious fumes. There are many ways to cross this tunnel. You can adopt any strategy that best suits you and your companions.
- You can run through this area using the dash skill and healing yourself.
- If you have Shadowheart as a companion, you can burn the noxious fumes with fire. Then, put out the fire using water, as Shadowheart has a spell that creates water.
- If you have Lae’zel as a companion, you can cast the Feather Fall skill on her and use her special jump skill to make your way across most of the noxious fumes easily.
Save Mayrina from the Burning Cage
Auntie Ethel will be waiting for you at the Ancient Abode. Despite your encounter with her last time, she will still be in full health. You can no longer use stealth and push Auntie Ethel off the cliff after patch 5.
You will see another cutscene where the old hag threatens to kill you as she has Mayrina held captive inside a cage. She will set the cage on fire before starting the encounter.
You can either use the Create Water spell, or you can throw a bottle of water at the cage to douse the flames. You can also hit the orange globe to open the cage.
Auntie Ethel is a level 5 boss who can create multiple clones. She will use her clones to attack the party from a distance. Make sure you have good, ranged fighters and spellcasters with spells like Fire Bolt and Fireball.
FYI
Eldritch Blast and Magic Missiles are also great options to inflict massive damage on Auntie Ethel.
If you don’t open Mayrina’s cage after putting out the fire, Auntie Ethel will drag her out at the end of the fight and change herself into Mayrina. Now you must figure out which is the real one and which is the hag to save Mayrina in BG3.
FYI
Mayrina will join the fight if you put out the fire and open her cage door. Don’t use any AoE attacks in that case, and use a healer to keep her alive. It is impossible to revive NPCs in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Doing this is simple, as Mayrina informs you herself that she isn’t Ethel. As Auntie Ethel clones herself for the last time, she turns invisible. You can use an AoE skill or an arrow to reveal her location and deal damage.
To avoid extending the fight, you can leave the cage on fire and kill Auntie Ethel in the meantime. But this will put a time limit as you will need to kill Auntie Ethel in a few turns before Mayrina burns to a crisp.
Then, put the flames out and hit the orange orb to get Mayrina out of the cage in BG3. This will save you precious time without deciding who the real Mayrina is.
Get the Hag’s Hair or Side with Mayrina?
When Auntie Ethel is down to about 10 HP, she will start begging for her life in exchange for anything you want. There are three choices you can make with different outcomes.
- Kill Auntie Ethel. This will enrage Mayrina as she has a deal with the hag to revive her husband in exchange for Mayrina’s unborn child.
- You can take Hag’s offer and let her go alongside Mayrina. You will get Hag’s Hair, consuming, which gives you a permanent buff in Baldur’s Gate 3.
- You can persuade Ethel to let Mayrina go and still give you the Hag’s Hair. This is the best outcome, in our opinion.
You can later talk to Mayrina and convince her of Ethel’s plans. For this purpose, you can use the Speak with the Dead spell on Auntie Ethel’s body if you kill her. Listening to her, Mayrina will reward you with Mayrina’s Locket as a gift for saving her life.
Help Mayrina find her Husband Connor
Search the hag’s lair thoroughly, as it has some decent stuff to loot, and you need a way to help Mayrina with her request. Among Ethel’s things, you will find a wand for Mayrina called Bitter Divorce that can raise the dead. Once you are done searching Auntie Ethel’s lair, use the Mushroom Circle to get out of there.
You will notice Mayrina standing beside her husband’s casket. You will get multiple choices at this point again.
- You can raise Connor from the dead and hand over the wand to Mayrina. Connor is now a zombie who follows anyone with the Bitter Divorce wand. Mayrina will leave for Baldur’s Gate along with her zombie husband to look for a cure.
- You can keep the wand for yourself and use Connor as a summon. This will make Mayrina furious, and she will leave the place angry.
- You can attack Connor once he has risen. This will make Mayrina hostile, and you will need to kill the couple to complete the quest.
- You can break the wand and never raise Connor as a zombie. Mayrina will leave the place angry with your actions.
No matter what choice you make, the Save Mayrina quest will come to an end. If she remains alive, you will meet her again on the top floor of Old Garlow’s place during Act 3.
Save Mayrina in Act 3
Apparently, Mayrina will be converted into a sheep by Auntie Ethel (she survives even if you kill her). Once you use the Speak with the Animal spell on her, she will tell you all about Connor and how the hag cheated her.
There will be a cursed voodoo doll in the room. Hit it with Eldritch Blast or Fire Bolt to destroy it in under eight turns. This is very important as each time you hit the doll (even on a miss), Mayrina will take one damage.
Her total HP is eight, so she will die on the eighth attack. Once the doll is gone, Mayrina will turn back into her human form. This will start Avenge the Hag Survivors side quest, and Mayrina will give you the ingredients and formula to create Hag’s Bane.
Save Mayrina’s quest bug in Baldur’s Gate 3
There is a serious bug with the Save Mayrina quest in BG3. If you kill Auntie Ethel before she can teleport to her lair, Mayrina will be stuck with the same dialogue. She will be angry at you no matter what you do. This will potentially lock you out from her locket reward and quest completion. Make sure to make a save before engaging Auntie Ethel, and if possible, let her go to her lair.
