The Blushing Mermaid

Outside view of the Blushing Mermaid

Lower City
Bloomridge Park
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The Lodge	←	Blushing Mermaid	→	Crimson Draughts
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Flymm Cargo

The Blushing Mermaid is a Location within the Lower City in Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3.

“

* No magic decanters (the only BYOB we endorse is Break Your Own Bones)
* You don't have to tip, but it does help us verify you aren't an asshole
* Adventurers, leave your cares at the door - this is where you let your hair down, alright?

„

— Excerpts from the Blushing Mermaid Rules

Overview

The entrance to the tavern from the foredeck

The Blushing Mermaid is a tavern in the Steeps district of Baldur's Gate, located to the south of Bloomridge Park and looking upon the Grey Harbour embankment. The building resembles an old seaship hulk, with its foredeck serving as outer terrace, and its stempost almost shooting out into the bay.

Ownership of the place is in the hands of  Captain Quenora Grisly, although the ⁠Hlath family is a silent partner with minority stake.

Captain Grisly claims the Blushing Mermaid is indeed her old pirate ship dragged onto the beach and refashioned into a tavern.

Compared to other eateries and places of recreation in the city, The Blushing Mermaid is described as a lower-class establishment, mainly focused on serving drink and entertainment. Some citizens who live close to it complain to the Flaming Fist, reporting the tavern patrons as a constant source of noise, trouble-making and vandalism for the whole neighbourhood.

The only entrance into the tavern is from its "deck" at X: -142 Y: -98, which continues into wooden terraces lining the building from both sides.

Inside, The Blushing Mermaid has a single split-levelled hall with a bar counter near the entrance, and the area for clientele on the upper level. Part of the upper level is separated by curtains, forming a makeshift captain's stateroom. The tavern has a basement as well, which serves as storage. A carved wooden statue of a mermaid hangs above the main bar, its tail painted to resemble rosy flush.

Tavern Layout

The main bar at the Blushing Mermaid with its namesake statue

Outer decks and the ground floor

Outside on the ship foredeck and terraces are several patrons of the tavern. Some of them are drunk and lie  unconscious. Near the entrance stands  Nesha Leesha, one of the citizens who has been marked as quarry for a serial killer. If ⁠Investigate the Murders is not yet completed the party can, depending on their preferred progression of the ⁠Impress the Murder Tribunal quest, either warn her (passing certain ability checks in the dialogue) or take her life themselves.

Nesha can be pickpocketed for a  Potion of Invisibility and a  Potion of Speed. If a fight starts inside the tavern, Nesha runs away and returns only after a long rest.^[verify] If the party attack her, she likely uses one of these potions on her turn.

On the embankment under the Mermaid's foredeck  News Hawker Chalara cries out gazette slogans, attracting customers.

The lower level of the tavern hall hosts a few tables and a bar where the bartender  Bosun Gannet sells a variety of food and drinks. Next to the bar at X: -132 Y: -96 is an Oak Door which leads to the basement. In the middle, an open stairs lead to the upper floor.

Upper floor

Tavern interior

Upstairs is the entertainment area, featuring more tables along the walls, a stage with a small dressing room aside and a large open space in front of it. Several patrons are having a good time here, with two of them are already drunk and  unconscious. One of passout patrons,  Vin Dorgo, has a pouch of  Terazul on her.

The gallery behind the stage is apparently given to gambling, with several lined tables standing there. In the far end of the gallery  Bruno Indomicus is working to close his debts on a drinking tab. Apparently, he has been tasked with cutting raw food for cooking tavern meals.

To the right of the main room is a separated area, part of which is seemingly designed for private entertainment: several lavish armchairs, a dancing pole and a copy of  The Quarta Sune fill the interior. The opposite part has a table with feast meals served, and a makeshift office of a desk and a red-outlined, unlocked opulent chest containing gold and Valuables. In the far corner is a small stairway leading to the basement. The tavern owner  Captain Grisly paces back and forth in the room.

Roof

View on the Grey Harbour from The Blushing Mermaid roof

The roof consists of several levels with skylight windows covering various parts of the tavern. At X: -128 Y: -105 a  DC 15 Perception Check highlights a plank hiding a  Trap Disarm Toolkit,  Thieves' Tools (1 to 3 sets), random potions and / or grenades and a  Disguise Kit. On the "crow's nest" ground at the top of the mainmast lies a  Scroll of Cloud of Daggers - red-outlined and in plain sight; taking it is considered a crime.

Storage

The basement is mostly filled with  firewine barrels, but a small stone porch in the back can be jumped towards. The further exploration of the basement depends on certain choices made by the party in Act One (see below).

Involvement

The actual state of the tavern directly depends on the party's decisions throughout the quest ⁠Save Mayrina in Act One.

• If the party let  Auntie Ethel go and allowed her take Mayrina, the tavern is functioning as a regular (if bustling and bawdy) drinking spot.^[verify]
• If the party did not permit the hag to keep  Mayrina (regardless of them choosing to kill or spare Auntie in the Overgrown Tunnel), then during the ⁠Avenge the Hag Survivors quest the party find out that Auntie has turned the tavern into her city lair, and has already made her move to find a replacement for Mayrina's unborn child.

The cellar storage of the Mermaid, with the illusory wall in the upper-right corner

In the second case, exploring the Blushing Mermaid is much more eventful.

After the ⁠Save Vanra quest is initiated, the party can speak with the tavern staff for more information on  Vanra's disappearance. The bartender Bosun Gannet gives a hint that Captain Grisly dealt with  Lora Bergauz herself when the latter rushed into the tavern searching for her daughter.

Captain Grisly is in the separated part of the hall, ranting aloud about her heavy hangover. As becomes clear later, she actually is  the hag in disguise. If a party member speaks to her, she may offer money for killing Lora. If the party have already explored the tavern basement (see below) and ask about it, Ethel sheds the disguise and retreats, leaving the party to deal with her "crew": six Tipplesome Patrons loitering inside the Blushing Mermaid turn out to be Redcaps and immediately attack. Of them,  Two-Toes Rischer keeps  Ethel's Chest Key. The same outcome occurs if the party refuse to kill Lora or confront the hag, insisting on investigating the kidnapping.

After the fight with the redcaps is resolved, the party can talk to Gannet once more. This time speaking to him may reveal that he is under the memory-tampering charms.

Chasing the hag

The basement of the Mermaid, styled by the hag to her tastes

The party can chase Auntie Ethel to her lair, which is located under the Blushing Mermaid. In the storage area a successful  DC 15 Investigation Check approximately at X: -2358 Y: -118 reveals an illusory wall which leads further into the basement.

Behind the illusory wall is another storage space with an unlocked wooden chest containing gold and alchemical ingredients. A locked metal door leads to the main part of the basement. It can be unlocked with the  DC 15 Sleight of Hand Check or  Ethel's Lair Key, which can be looted from another Auntie Ethel's minion  Jatlo throughout the ⁠Avenge the Hag Survivors quest.

The first part of the basement resembles the Overgrown Tunnel back in Act One. Four new victims of the hag – the  Mask of Servitude,  Mask of Terror and  Mask of Vengeance and the real  Captain Grisly (who wears the Mask of Regret and is able to cast the corresponding curse) patrol the swamp-like area littered with Peculiar Flowers.

Unless party members wear Ethel's  Whispering Masks (along with the  Protection from Evil and Good) the masked guards are hostile. To this end, a table with a spare mask on it is near the entrance and several more can be looted from redcaps in the tavern hall. The guards can also be bypassed with  stealth.

To the east from the entrance is a stone-paved ground which lead to the trapped area by the doors of the hag's lair proper; two vents and a tripwire set them off. As with the Overgrown Tunnel, on the shelves are bottles with  Lost Time,  A Mother's Loathing and  Butterflies in the Stomach. In one of cages across the door are rare alchemical ingredients: a  Beholder Iris, a  Gauth Eyestalk and a  Nothic Eye.

At the far end of the swamped area is a series of giant mushrooms which can serve as a ladder to a rocky ridge hugging the far wall. The ridge features several Peculiar Flowers as well. At its end is a locked and trapped Heavy Chest which holds gold and / or random precious gems and alchemical ingredients. The chest requires  DC 15 Arcana Check to detect its trap (armed with  Ray of Sickness), and two  DC 20 Sleight of Hand Checks to disarm and lockpick it. It can also be opened with  Ethel's Chest Key. From the ridge a wooden platform with the Gnarly Cauldron can be reached. On a fane next to it are three  Worg Fangs, a  Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen and a  Vitriol of Shadowroot Sac.

Ethel's Lair

Hag's lair in the basement of the Mermaid

The Hag's Lair is behind the locked door which requires  DC 20 Sleight of Hand Check to lockpick or the  Mottled Key carried by Mask of Terror. The door itself is trapped with a  Vicious Mockery spell which cannot be disarmed; it affects the first character who tries to open it without a key.

The lair itself is a split-level room where multiple stairways, ladders and barrels can be used to move up or down. Next to the entrance, a  DC 15 Perception Check highlights a lever on the left wall. It opens a hidden doorway to the original basement room which is entered from the tavern, allowing a swift exit.

In the far corners of the room grow three Pearlspore Bells. A Barrelstalk in the middle of the room's upper level grants  Haste Spores while standing next to it. On the western side is a large Gilded Chest, containing gold, Valuables, random potions and / or arrows.

The party can confront  Auntie Ethel in her lair. She appears when they move up the second stairs un-hidden and, after a short dialogue, attacks. If the party did not reveal Ethel's identity prior, this area is empty – unless the party attack and destroy one or more of the Pearlspore Bells. As long as at least one of these mushroom remains intact Auntie Ethel resurrects on every long rest.

If the party did not dispatch the masked guards in the swamp area, Ethel summons them as minions when the fight in the lair starts. However, sparing enslaved Captain Grisly throughout the fight and thus freeing her grants ⁠The Returned Cap'n inspiration to characters with  Sage background.

Provoking the fight with the swamp area guards and knocking Grisly out there also saves her, but prevents the party from acquiring this inspiration.

Tactics on fighting Auntie Ethel can be found on her page. Possible outcomes of the fight are listed on the ⁠Save Vanra quest page.

Encounters in the tavern and around

There are several NPC vignettes inside the tavern and around it.

• In the middle of the ground floor two friends  Svend and  Siggy argue whether Svend should go on a date while their ship is leaving early the next morning. Nudging Svend to accept Siggy's proposition awards the ⁠Playing Sune inspiration to characters with  Entertainer background.
• In the entertainment area on the upper floor  Madalitso tries to convince his daughter  Nafula to accept a marriage to a wealthier man, which he has already arranged.
• To the east  Cashguard Gurira scolds his colleague  Cashguard Taslim for being drunk while working.
• A drunkard named  Syllabub 'Shimmer' Fran is  Unconscious on the pavement under the ship hulk. Papers in his backpack hint that he is a local stage celebrity but, having recently fallen into a drinking habit, he is neglecting his duties. A  Potion of Superior Healing can be stolen from his backpack.
• Behind the tavern two commoners,  Oaknuzzle and  Bleeri, have taken their fellow  Dickon to the fresh air and are trying to calm down his nausea after a drinking spree in the tavern.
•  Wrint Sprigley, a field reporter for the Baldur's Mouth gazette, goes constantly around the tavern, trying to find the right juicy lines to describe the establishment. His attitude to the party changes depending on the outcome of the ⁠Stop the Presses quest. Regardless of this, his opinion on the tavern is noticeably less than positive.

Related locations

• ⁠Basilisk Gate Barracks
• ⁠Lora's House
• ⁠Murder Tribunal
• ⁠Old Garlow's Place

Related quests

• ⁠Avenge the Hag Survivors
• ⁠Get Orin's Netherstone
  • ⁠Impress the Murder Tribunal
  • ⁠Investigate the Murders
• ⁠Save Vanra

Characters

Auntie Ethel, her mask-charmed victims, Redcaps and Vanra appear only if Mayrina was saved from Auntie Ethel in Act One.

Notable

•  Auntie Ethel
•  Bosun Gannet
•  Captain Grisly
•  Mask of Servitude
•  Mask of Terror
•  Mask of Vengeance
•  Nesha Leesha
•  Vanra

Patrons

•  Angevin Troy
•  Bruno Indomicus
•  Madalitso
•  Nafula
•  Siggy
•  Slog
•  Svend
•  Tud Whetstone
•  Verryn
•  Vin Dorgo

Redcaps

•  Bert 'The Weasel' Adams
•  Blunder Bob
•  Flaming Pete
•  Maggoty Jim
•  Silas Silvertongue
•  Two-Toes Rischer

Outside the building

•  Bleeri
•  Cashguard Gurira
•  Cashguard Taslim
•  Dickon
•  Grimbus
•  Hiccups Bortun
•  Merri Fairweather
•  News Hawker Chalara
•  Oaknuzzle
•  Syllabub 'Shimmer' Fran
•  Tongs Stoneheart
•  Wrint Sprigley
•  Zena

Loot

• Counting House Vault nº1 Key
• Disguise Kit
• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen
• Potion of Angelic Slumber
• Potion of Invisibility
• Potion of Speed
• Ring of Feywild Sparks
• Salty Scimitar(rrr)
• Scroll of Cloud of Daggers
• Tarnished Charm
• Terazul
• Thieves' Tools - up to x3
• Trap Disarm Toolkit
• Multiple alchemical ingredients, including rare ones

Hidden Treasure

• At X: -145 Y: -82 (requires  DC 18 Survival Check) - random potion and minor loot
• At X: -2355 Y: -145 in the swamp area of the basement (requires  DC 20 Survival Check) - alchemical ingredients, a  Potion of Superior Healing, and random Very rare spell scroll

Related literature

• A Heartfelt Confession
• Anti-Hag Support Group Poster
• Banished (note)
• Corsairs of Luskan
• Flowery Shite
• Hear the Finest Shanties at the Blushing Mermaid
• I Can Save Your Child
• It's A Deal
• Management Warning
• Ransom Note
• Report on Old Garlow's
• Ribald Shanties for the Discerning Whoreson
• Rules in This Bar
• Shimmer the AMAZING
• Sword Coast Songbook
• Talis Tactics - Ultimate Trick Book
• The Gate's Pub Crawl Guide
• The Hag's Bane
• Traveller's Guide to the Sword Coast Vol IX: Inns and Guesthouses
• Unpaid Debts
• You Deserve To Feel Beautiful

Gallery

• 
  The tavern interior (by Rick van den Berg)
• 
  The swamp area of the basement (by Tim Coddens)
• 
  The Pearlspore Bell in hag's lair (by Tim Coddens)

External links

• ⁠Blushing Mermaid on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• ⁠Low Lantern on the Forgotten Realms Wiki