Save Mayrina: Difference between revisions

Ethel can also be encountered southwest of the [[Blighted Village]] at {{Coords|45|313}}, just after entering the Sunlit Wetlands . Here, Ethel is confronted by two men, Johl and Demir, who accuse her of kidnapping their sister, Mayrina. In the initial confrontation with Auntie Ethel and the brothers, the player can choose to side with Auntie Ethel, with the brothers, or refuse to get involved. If the player sides with the brothers, Ethel reveals her true nature and departs for her teahouse. If the player sides with Ethel, the brothers attack immediately. If the player does not fight with the brothers, they walk off to their deaths in the wetlands, where the party can later discover their bodies.  If the player refuses to get involved in the situation, Auntie Ethel tells them they were supposed to rush to her defense, kills the two men with a poison spell, then departs for her teahouse.  In both the case where the player sides with the brothers or refuses to get involved, Auntie Ethel warns them that if they come to her teahouse, they'd best come bearing an apology.  If the player sided with Auntie Ethel, she asks the player to come to her teahouse so she can thank the player properly.

Ethel's house is at {{Coords|-47|266}} in the southwestern area of the Sunlit Wetlands/Putrid Bog. She greets the party and, regardless of if she was told or not, states she's well aware of the tadpole in their heads. In the teahouse, Ethel is berating a young woman, revealed to be Mayrina, for not finishing her pie. If Ethel isn't yet hostile, the player has the opportunity to [[Get Help from Auntie Ethel]]. Regardless of the conversation choices, Ethel eventually transports Mayrina further into her lair, done with her complaints about being full. (Note: It is possible to rescue Mayrina by stealing the locket from her while she is sitting at the table. She then claims, that Auntie Ethel stole it and runs off. She waits close to the mushroom circle in the South-East of the Wetlands.)

Most actions after this point lead to Ethel revealing her true form and retreating into her hearth. The player can pursue her through the mini-dungeon the [[Overgrown Tunnel]]. If Ethel has not become hostile, moving close to the hearth starts an Investigation check and succeeding reveals there is an illusory passage. Walk through it to proceed through the tunnels. After the tunnel is entered, if the illusion hasn't been broken already, the Sunlit Wetlands reveals its true form as the Putrid Bog.

After making their way through the [[Overgrown Tunnel]], the player will find [[Mayrina]] in a burning wooden cage suspended over a pit. If the cage is destroyed by fire or other means, Mayrina will die. The spell [[Create Water]] or a thrown container of water can put out the fire, as well as a simple [[Ray of Frost]] cantrip or [[Arrow of Ice]]. Ethel will summon illusory copies of herself that have all of her regular spells and abilities, but are destroyed after taking any damage.

Ethel may teleport Mayrina out of the cage, then assume her form, attempting to trick the player into killing Mayrina, as there are now two seemingly identical copies. The Mayrina in the previous position of Ethel CAN be the real Mayrina, so use caution. Generally, the most obvious way to determine if the target is Mayrina is by seeing if the character model is visibly pregnant - the real Mayrina has a belly; Ethel's clones do not. Examining the stat blocks also reveals the truth, as Mayrina remains Level 1, while the clone is Level 5 like Ethel herself. The spell also doesn't affect [[Initiative]], so Ethel and Mayrina will retain their positions in the turn queue.

Once Auntie Ethel is reduced to below 20% of her life and has a turn to act, she offers the player a chance to make a series of persuasion or intimidation checks. Depending on the results of the skill checks and subsequent decisions, the player can either free Mayrina; let Ethel keep Mayrina in exchange for the [[Auntie Ethel's Hair]], a special single use item that can increase any [[Ability Score]] of any character by 1 permanently; or free Mayrina and keep the Hag's Hair both. If a deal is struck with Ethel, she disappears, but all her thralls remain hostile. If Ethel is killed, the thralls are freed, although all but the Mask of Regret are too far gone to truly be saved. Note that the cutscene to trigger Ethel's deal can be missed if she is killed too quickly - players intending to obtain her hair may need to skip turns to give her a chance to speak once she is brought to low HP. Additionally, Ethel will initiate conversation with whoever is closest to her so it may be beneficial to shuffle party members around in preparation for any ability checks the party may want to make in the conversation.

The Acrid Workshop area here has some treasure, some writings that provide more context and background information, and a Mushroom Circle that teleports the party back outside, to the back of the house. Behind the teahouse is the body of Mayrina's husband, [[Connor Vinderblad]]. The wand [[Bitter Divorce]], found in the Workshop, can be used to raise Connor as a zombie. You can then choose whether to give the wand to Mayrina to take her ex-husband with her, or keep it for yourself. If kept, it changes to [[Second Marriage]] and can be used at any time to summon Connor as a zombie follower.