Resolve the Abduction

Resolve the Abduction is a sub-quest of  Infiltrate Moonrise Towers in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking with Isobel at the Last Light Inn or by speaking to Z'rell in Moonrise Towers.

Isobel prays to the Moon Goddess to protect the Last Light Inn.

Objectives

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

Go to Last Light Inn.

• Z'rell ordered us to kidnap Isobel, a cleric hiding out at Last Light Inn. An agent of the Absolute is there, keeping close watch on her.

Help Marcus capture Isobel.

• Marcus, a True Soul who has infiltrated Last Light, told us that his powerful master demands that the cleric Isobel be taken to Moonrise Towers alive. If we do this, Last Light will no longer be protected from the shadow curse.
• A winged Flaming Fist who serves the Absolute swooped in to try and abduct Isobel. We decided to side with him.
• Z'rell asked us to return to Last Light and help Marcus kidnap Isobel. If we do this, we will gain an audience with Ketheric.

Protect Isobel from Marcus.

• A winged Flaming Fist who serves the Absolute swooped in to try and abduct Isobel. We decided to help Isobel fight him off.
• We refused to help Marcus abduct Isobel, and instead helped her fight him off.
• We attacked Marcus after he told us about his plan to abduct Isobel.
• We warned Jaheira about Marcus' plan to abduct Isobel. We should help her terminate Marcus before he can carry out his plan.

Report to Z'rell.

• We helped Marcus abduct Isobel, and she was carried off to Moonrise Towers. Z'rell will be pleased.

Report to Ketheric.

• We helped Marcus abduct Isobel, and she was carried off to Moonrise Towers. This should earn us an audience with Ketheric.

Quest Complete

• We prevented Marcus from abducting Isobel. Why would the cult want her alive?
• We weren't able to save Isobel from Marcus, the True Soul who infiltrated Last Light. When she was captured, the shield protecting Last Light collapsed.
• We helped Marcus abduct Isobel and carry her off to Moonrise Towers.
• When we killed Nightsong, Last Light fell to the shadow curse. Isobel died in the subsequent battle.
• We angered the denizens of Moonrise Towers; it seems unlikely that anyone there will still want to reward us for abducting Isobel.
• We freed Nightsong, and Moonrise Towers is now under attack. It is unlikely we will be welcomed there.
• We reported back on Isobel's kidnapping. Z'rell has granted us an audience with Ketheric.
• We reported back on Isobel's kidnapping to Ketheric himself.

Walkthrough

Meeting Isobel

After arriving at the Last Light Inn and gaining Jaheira's trust, the party can ask Jaheira how to get past the shadow curse as part of  Seek Protection from the Shadow Curse. Jaheira refers the party to Isobel, a Cleric of Selûne - the woman responsible the Last Light Inn's special protection. Isobel can be found in the only room on the upper floor, where she is inside on the balcony, reinforcing the Inn's barrier with the power of the moon.

Isobel instantly recognizes the party as the True Souls with free will and provides them with a Blessing of Selûne. She explains that the blessing provides resistance to the lesser aspects of the curse, but is not enough to stave off the deepest parts of it. If the party betrayed Kar'niss during  Follow the Convoy and gave the Moonlantern to the Harpers, Isobel gives the lantern back to the party. Otherwise, she mentions that the Harpers work on learning how the cultists are surviving the shadow curse.

If the party went to Moonrise Towers first during Follow the Convoy, the party can receive a mission from Disciple Z'rell after completing  Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic and helping Balthazar capture the Nightsong. Z'rell congratulates the party for competing the mission but explains that there's one more task before she can grant an audience with Ketheric Thorm. Thorm seeks the safe return of his daughter, Isobel, and has sent a spy, Marcus, to the Last Light Inn to acquire her. Z'rell orders the party to aid the spy in capturing Isobel. After arriving at the Inn, the party encounters Jaheira as normal and proceeds upstairs to speak to Isobel.

After wrapping up with Isobel, she hears something strange. Suddenly, a Flaming Fist named Marcus flies down to the balcony. Marcus telepathically reveals that he was sent to capture Isobel alive. The party can use a Wisdom check (DC 6) to probe further into his mind, revealing the task is of great importance to Thorm. The party can also tell him no, or say they'll help him. Isobel asks what's going on, and the party has an option to reveal Marcus' plan or state their intention to aid him.

Meeting Marcus Early

Marcus attempts to ambush Isobel.

If the tieflings were not saved during  Save the Refugees, either by raiding the Druid Grove or ignoring the quest, the events play out slightly differently. When Jaheira confronts the party at the Inn's entrance, Marcus comes forth to vouch for them. He uses his telepathic powers to tell the party to follow his lead, revealing himself to be a True Soul spy. After the confrontation, Marcus can be spoken to in Isobel's room upstairs, where he explains that he was sent on a mission to kidnap the cleric. The party can either attack him or go down and report it to Jaheira with a high enough Persuasion or Deception roll. If Jaheira is convinced of his betrayal, she tells the party to go to Isobel to protect her while she gathers her most trusted Harpers. However, the choice to fight Marcus or aid him is still the same.

Battle at the Inn

Regardless of who the party sides with, Marcus prepares for battle and summons his minions.

• If the siding with Isobel, then the party have to fight against Flaming Fist Marcus and six Winged Horrors.
• If the siding with Marcus, then the party have to fight against Isobel, Jaheira, Harper Bor, Harper Essius, Harper Naysa, Harper Mijah, Rolan (if alive and present), and Cerys (if alive). The party does not need to fight anyone beyond Isobel, where the goal is to knock her out with non-lethal attacks.

The Fallen Inn

If Isobel is captured or killed, the Inn falls. Everyone besides the party and Jaheira, who are protected by Selune's blessing, are either killed immediately or transformed by the shadow curse. The party has to face a massive battle against the shadow cursed residents: Harper Karrow, Harper Terradissia, Harper Antony, Harper Chenti, Harper Lassandra, Harper Branthos, Harper Elindale, Harper Callie, Fist Ulthred, Harper Darragh, Harper Donner, Harper Elifer, Harper Skywin, Harper Teebs, Harper Essius, Harper Tumeril, Harper Meygan, Quartermaster Talli, Harper Hangfar, Harper Manus, Harper Lymn, and Dammon (if alive).

Additionally, Shadow Creepers pop up to join the undead, eventually joined by a Giant Shadow Creeper.

After the battle

Siding with Isobel and Jaheira

If the party chose to side with Isobel, and Marcus and the ghouls are defeated, she will continue to sustain the warding over Last Light's Inn. Jaheira will continue to operate from Last Light Inn until the party are ready to defeat Thorm once and for all. When  Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic is complete Jaheira and her Harpers will then have already started the assault on the Moonrise Towers. She can be invited to join as a temporary companion until they get to the towertop and defeat Ketheric for the first time. Then she could be recruited as full companion.

If siding with Isobel and Jaheira and Isobel is killed or kidnapped and Jaheira survives, then Jaheira states her intention to go to Baldur's Gate for more support. The party can either wish her luck on her journey, or suggest she join the party, to which she agrees.

Siding with Marcus

Isobel is brainwashed by her father.

If Isobel is kidnapped, she appears at the end of Act Two during  Defeat Ketheric Thorm. Once the party reaches the bottom of the Mind Flayer Colony and is about to confront Thorm for the last time, Isobel is there as well. She has been infected by a Mind Flayer Tadpole and enthralled with strange magic to keep her compliant. If the party aided Thorm in kidnapping her, she thanks them and says she was a fool to resist, then wishes them the best of luck in the City of Judgement. When the party fight Thorm, Isobel aids him. Even if the party manage to kill Thorm while leaving Isobel alive, she dies immediately after the battle.

Loosing the Inn

Losing the Inn has many far-reaching consequences. If the party did not speak to Counsellor Florrick on the ground floor, then she does not move on to Baldur's Gate and dies in the Inn. Art Cullagh also dies, preventing the completion of  Wake up Art Cullagh and  Lift the Shadow Curse. If Dammon has not been spoken to, Karlach's personal quest,  The Hellion's Heart will stall since he can no longer fix her engine.

Notes

The following companions have reactions to informing Isobel that Marcus is a traitor:

•  Astarion disapproves
•  Karlach approves

Companions' reactions to siding with Marcus:

•  Gale disapproves
•  Karlach disapproves