Find the Missing Letters

Find the Missing Letters is a quest in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking with the Danzo Arkwright at Sword Coast Couriers.

Objectives

Search for the missing pigeons.

Carrier pigeons have gone missing. Postmaster Danzo asked us to retrieve the letters they carried. He said that if we find the letters, we shouldn't read them.

Investigate the Open Hand Temple roof.

We found the bloody remains of several pigeons on the roof. The trail seems to lead towards the Open Hand Temple roof.
We spoke to a pigeon in the pigeon coop. He claims other carrier pigeons have been intercepted by an unknown enemy to the west of the posthouse. He warned us - 'beware the sign of the featherless wings.'

Investigate the tressym nest.

The tressym flew away - leaving behind a pigeon carcass, and the missing letters.

Return the letters to the Postmaster.

We have the missing letters. Postmaster Danzo will be pleased.

Quest Complete

We returned the missing letters to Postmaster Danzo.
The letter was destroyed.
Postmaster Danzo was killed.
We moved on without helping Postmaster Danzo.
We opened the letters, finding one for the Zhentarim. Postmaster Danzo gave us a tidy sum in exchange for our silence.
We opened the letters, finding one for the Zhentarim. Postmaster Danzo was furious, and attacked.

Walkthrough

Speaking with Danzo

Postmaster Danzo at Sword Coast Couriers

Speaking to Postmaster Danzo at Sword Coast Couriers initiates a conversation about mail not being guaranteed.

Wait - delivery not guaranteed?
I'm not sending anything. You can drop the sales routine.
It's rare to meet someone so cheerful these days. Why the good mood?

If the first option is selected, Danzo explains that his pigeon couriers have been going missing and he's been finding their remains. Several letters have gone missing.

Any idea where the birds went missing?
I could find the pigeons for you. My fees are very reasonable.
I'd be happy to take a look.
Good luck with that. I've got bigger problems to solve.

If the party agrees to search for the missing pigeons, Danzo mentions that he will pay a finder's fee for any unopened letters that are returned to him.

The pigeon fleet

Using Speak with Animals, the surviving pigeons can be spoken to for information. They are on the upper level of the back room of the Posthouse X: 27 Y: 14. The "head" of the pigeons, Commander Lightfeather, tells the party what he knows of where the pigeons are going missing. He states that intelligence on the source of the missing pigeons is in short supply, but that their enemy's flanked them "on the west side, not one rooftop away."

Party members with the Outlander and Soldier backgrounds (including Karlach, Jaheira and Lae'zel) receive inspiration points – "Enlisted Avian" and "Reporting for Duty", respectively – after speaking with Commander Lightfeather.

Confronting the pigeon-eater

Tara the Tressym hungers for pigeons.

Go to the kitchen of the Open Hand Temple and exit out of the north door to the outside. Go east around the building, where there are vines that allow roof access X: -50 Y: 11. The culprit, a Tressym, is on the rooftop X: -45 Y: -4 in a nest of pigeon remains and the pilfered letters. A successful perception check notes that this particular Tressym has Gale's collar on her, revealing her identity as his friend, Tara.

If Gale is in the party, he instantly recognises Tara. Choosing to ask Gale to have her not eat anymore pigeons causes Tara to fly away, without any checks necessary.

If Gale is not in the party, then Tara can still be interacted with:

[ACROBATICS] Lunge for the shiny ring. (Check of 20)
[ANIMAL HANDLING] Gently approach the tressym and attempt to take the ring without alarming her. (Check of 15)
[PERFORMANCE] BOOGABOOGA! (Check of 15)
Pet the tressym.

Successfully passing any of the checks gains a Ring of Blink and access to the letters, as Tara flies away.

If Speak with Animals is active, then Tara denies having anything to do with the fallen pigeons. The following options are present (all checks are 15):

[INTIMIDATION] Are you sure? I'd hate for anything abrupt to happen while I'm seeking out the culprit.
[PERSUASION] I'll happily leave you be, as soon as I find out what happened to those pigeons.
[DECEPTION] I've been sent here to take you in for questioning. You can avoid an unpleasant trip inside if you tell me the truth now.

Tara finally admits to her crimes, to which the party can respond with:

These letters are important. You shouldn't be eating their messengers.
If pigeon is your second-favourite, what's your first?
Happy hunting, then.

A second set of checks has Tara flying away (all checks are 15):

[INTIMIDATION] Leave these pigeons alone or I'll eat you.
[PERSUASION] I'm not leaving 'til you agree to stop hunting these pigeons.
[DECEPTION] There's much better aviary across town, if you've already picked over the choice cuts here.
Enjoy your feast.

Tara leaves behind a bundle of letters, if the check is passed. Karlach gains inspiration ("Cat's Got Your Tongue?"), as do Noble backgrounds ("Interrupted Communications.") If the check is failed, she is enraged, and spit a fireball at the party, destroying the letters.

Reading the letters

After picking up the bundle of letters, they can either be returned intact, or read.

Clicking the bundle reveals three letters: Postmaster Shipment Inquiry, Anonymous Letter, and Letter about Taxes. The Postmaster Shipment Inquiry reveals that Danzo is corresponding with Roah Moonglow and warning her about the Iron Flask, implicating him in Zhentarim activities.

Danzo's Fate

After reading the letters, there are only three dialogue options:

I found the letter intended for the Zhentarim. It made for very interesting reading.
Nothing yet. I'll keep looking.
Leave

Danzo attempts to bribe the party into silence. The party can agree to the bribe or attempt to get more out of him (all checks are 18):

[DECEPTION] I've got another buyer lined up. I'd make it a very generous fee.
[INTIMIDATION] Give me everything the Zhentarim paid you, or this letter if the least of your worries.
[PERSUASION] It'd be a shame if anyone told the Zhentarim you lost this. A real shame...
I graciously accept.
No, thanks. I'm keeping the letter.

If the party only opened the bundle and did not read them, the checks is slightly higher (20) to bluff that they have read them. If the check is failed, Danzo turns aggressive and attacks the party, stating that the letters won't leave the room. If the party says they will keep the letter, then he tells them to get out of his sight and that he will no longer deal with them.

If the letters are not read, they have the following options:

Is this the letter you were looking for?
[PERSUASION] I found the letter, but it was very difficult. I'm afraid my fees have gone up.
Nothing yet. I'll keep looking.

However, even with a successful Persuasion roll, the payout remains the same.

Rewards

If the letters are unopened: 320 gold
If the letters are read and Danzo is blackmailed into paying more: 615 gold

Notes

As of Patch 2 / Hotfix 5, this part of the quest is somewhat bugged:
- Firstly, the shipment inquiry letter can be found separately lying around on the rooftop, so the letter bundle doesn't need to be opened to read it. However, there is no way to return the unopened bundle to the postmaster and confront him about the shipment inquiry. (Giving him the unopened letter bundle completes the quest and leaves no dialogue options to confront him. And confronting him about his letter also completes the quest and leaves no dialogue options to hand him the unopened letter bundle.)
- Secondly, if opening the letter bundle while the free-standing copy of the shipment inquiry is not currently in the party's inventory, then the shipment inquiry will be teleported into the party's inventory. So, the bundle gives either two or three letters, depending on whether the party already have the shipment inquiry in their inventory or not.
- If the party have the unopened letter bundle and the shipment inquiry, dropping the letter bundle and reading the shipment inquiry will not trigger the quest completion option when starting a conversation with Danzo. Opening the letter bundle first, and dropping its contents including the duplicate shipment inquiry, will also not show the option when speaking with Danzo.
- If the party hand over the shipment inquiry found on the ground to the postmaster (or confront him about its contents), the bundle of unopened letters remains in the party's inventory, and opening it afterwards teleports the shipment inquiry into the inventory again even though the party already handed it over to the postmaster.
None of the above will prevent completion of the quest or have any other such negative effect; it's merely confusing.

Spotted an issue with this page? Leave a comment! Note that your IP address will be publicly logged unless you create an account. You can also edit the page to fix the issue. See How to Contribute to get started, and maybe join our Discord so we can coordinate our efforts.