Waukeen's Rest

The burning inn of Waukeen's Rest

Wilderness
Mountain Pass	←	Waukeen's Rest	→	Risen Road
↓
Goblin Camp

Waukeen's Rest is a Location within the Wilderness in Act One of Baldur's Gate 3. It is an inn that serves passing travellers but has recently been sacked by goblins and drow.

“

Your kind happened! Unless you're here to finish the job, get over here and push!

„

— Yeva, to a drow or drow half-elf player character asking what has happened

Overview

Waukeen's Rest is a two-story inn with a central building and two wings on either side. Neatly built in a natural rocky alcove, its premises make for a secluded pocket of space, divided from the outer world by a gate. Such a layout could provide strong defences – or turn into a deadly trap for those inside if caught off guard.

If the party have not already discovered Waukeen's Rest, they can first hear about it from  Rugan, a Zhentarim agent cornered by a pack of gnolls on the Risen Road.

After the assault

The inn is on fire when the party first arrive. Any party member may see smoke and hear cries from afar and comment on it. Saving the possible survivors is a time-sensitive activity. The timer is set upon reaching the inner yard of the inn. Using fast travel (including simply returning to camp and back) or taking a long rest after it has started causes the flames to progress and all characters trapped inside the inn to die.

There are many corpses of drow, goblins and Flaming Fists lying about. On one of the drow corpses, the party can find  Faded Drow Leather Armour. Succeeding in identifying the armour grants the inspiration ⁠The Spider's Gift ( Guild Artisan background).

Upon the party's approach, they see several members of the Flaming Fist –  Gauntlet Yeva, as well as the recruits  Ito,  Aelis, and  Pavel – trying to break down the main door. Two more Fists,  Tristan and  Gauntlet Dain, run around trying to douse the fires with water from the fountain in the middle of the inner yard. Near the gate,  Ephren kneels over the corpse of  Jacek, praying to ⁠Helm for his soul. Paladins (except Oathbreakers) and clerics of good-aligned deities have an option to pray with her, earning the inspiration ⁠A Unified Spirit ( Acolyte background).

Talking to Yeva near the main door starts the quest Rescue the Grand Duke. If  Wyll is played as an origin or has been recruited as a companion, this also adds the subquest The Grand Duke to his personal or companion quest.

The player character can then help the Flaming Fists to break the door by passing a  DC 10 Strength Check. Paladins roll this with  Advantage, while bard characters use Performance instead. There is only one attempt for the entire party; if it fails, Yeva suggests finding another way in. The actual task is to get inside the building and free  Counsellor Florrick, who is trapped behind a broken door in a room on the first floor of the western wing. Following Yeva's orders grants the inspiration ⁠Chain of Command ( Soldier background).

The interior of Waukeen's Rest can be accessed through several alternative routes if the main entrance is blocked:

• Western Wing: Enter through the room where  Benryn is trapped.
• Front Gallery: A character with high Strength can jump to the gallery above the main doors (X: -72 Y: 605) and enter by destroying the boarded-up window.
• Eastern Wing: Destroy the large wine barrel blocking the eastern entrance. Once inside, jump to the first floor or use nearby crates to construct improvised stairs.
• First Floor Suite: The locked door on the upper floor can be opened using the  Suite Key, found on a halfling corpse outside at X: -88 Y: 610. Alternatively, the door can be lockpicked ( DC 18 Sleight of Hand Check) or destroyed.

Once freed, regardless of the method, Florrick moves down to the inn entrance, telling the player character she will explain everything outside.

Florrick and the Grand Duke

After following Florrick outside the building, dialogue with her starts automatically.

The player character may then learn that Counsellor Florrick is the closest assistant to  Ulder Ravengard, the Grand Duke of the city of Baldur's Gate. If Wyll is played as an origin or is in the party as a companion, he and Florrick recognise each other at once. After that, Florrick confirms that Duke Ravengard had been inside the inn, but was kidnapped by goblins and drow who assaulted it. She asks the player character to track down the attackers and rescue the Duke. At this point, refusing her or choosing to leave the dialogue is considered an oathbreaking action for Oath of the Crown Paladins.

If she is rescued,  Counsellor Florrick rewards the party with a choice of one of three lightning-themed weapons (see Rewards below). This reward is granted regardless of whether the party agrees to help her rescue Ulder Ravengard.

Quest Rewards and Consequences

• Inspirations: Saving Florrick grants ⁠Rescued from the Flames ( Folk Hero background) and ⁠Protector of the Duke ( Noble background).
• Departure: Following her rescue, she orders the Flaming Fist to regroup and track the kidnappers.
• NPC Dispersal: Most members of the Flaming Fist leave the area. While the text implies only Gauntlet Yeva appears later, others (such as  Manus or  Liara Portyr) can be encountered in later Acts depending on player choices.

If the party missed their chance to save Florrick (due to fast travel or taking a long rest), they return to the smouldering ruins of the inn. All the Fists are gone, except Ephren (still praying) and Gauntlet Dain, who wanders around the inner yard, trying to read the tracks of the raiders. The party may offer their help, which requires passing a  DC 10 Investigation Check, or try to question her. Dain tries to conceal the real state of affairs, but the party can still find out through various checks that Duke Ravengard was the target and that his counsellor is dead. The party can also find Florrick's corpse upstairs, but she cannot be communed with using  Speak with Dead.

Benryn and Mirileth

As the party come to the first floor of the burning inn at X: -71 Y: 624, they feel the heat emerging from behind the doors nearby and comment on it. From behind the door, they can hear cries for help. However, breaking or opening the doors causes a backdraft effect; all nearby party members are thrown back approximately 12 m (40 ft), possibly gaining the  Burning condition and falling downstairs, while the fires behind the door flare up and engulf both rooms.

Inside,  Benryn is  Pinned to the ground with fallen beams. Entering the room starts the quest Rescue the Trapped Man. A party member can then make their way through the burning room to Benryn, help him up by removing the beams, which requires passing a  DC 10 Strength Check (barbarians have  Advantage), and escort him out of the room. All this must be done rather quickly, as Benryn has only 8 HP, the flames cover the whole room in three turns, and the only other way out is blocked with a wooden barricade. Therefore, it is recommended to use a single party member with high Strength, high movement speed and in turn-based mode.

Once freed, Benryn runs past the player character to the next room in the eastern wing, where the corpse of a half-elven woman lies at X: -85 Y: 600. Benryn recognises her as  Miri and kneels beside her, consumed with grief. The player character may then ask him about her or interrogate her corpse using  Speak with Dead to find out what happened. If the player character communes with her corpse prior to rescuing Benryn, she asks them to save him, initiating Rescue the Trapped Man.

Letting Benryn burn to death under the fallen beams grants the inspiration ⁠Fresh Kindle for the Fire ( Haunted One background).

In the room adjacent to where Benryn was trapped is a wooden chest with some gold and also a locked gilded chest with  Hamarhraft inside. The hammer and the gold can be obtained safely after a long rest, when the inn is burned down, and the fire is extinguished. The chest is then destroyed, but the loot remains intact.

Zhentarim Hideout

Behind the western wing of the inn, there are three barns.

In the one to the right, at X: -102 Y: 621, a hay stack can be inspected by passing a  DC 15 Perception Check to find a Gilded Chest containing the dowry belonging to Benryn and Mirileth. This check can be reduced to 0 by asking Mirileth about the dowry using  Speak with Dead.

The left barn is a shed with two cows, an ox which has been killed, and another alive. As the party approach, dialogue begins with the  Frightened Ox. If the interacting party member does not placate it with Persuasion via  Speak with Animals or by using Animal Handling it attacks the party. If the player character is a drow or drow half-elf themselves, the ox attacks without speaking.

The barn in the middle serves as a clandestine entrance to the Zhentarim Hideout. As the party approach, a  DC 15 Perception Check allows a member to detect movement inside. Behind the shelves,  Salazon is crouched and asks for a password, threatening to hurl a  Fire Bolt at the several  Oil Barrels and  Firewine Barrels stacked inside near the entrance. The password ("Little serpent, long shadow") can be obtained from  Rugan if the party save him during the quest Find the Missing Shipment or via  Speak with Dead if he dies.

Alternatively, passing any of the dialogue ability checks with Salazon has him stand down. Rogue characters have an additional option: showing him a "profit" hand gesture, which earns approval from  +1,  +1,  +5, and  +1. If Salazon is successfully dealt with, he gives the party an  Engraved Key and welcomes them to enter the basement through the trapdoor. The key opens a secret passage behind the wardrobe at the back of the basement, which leads to the hideout.

If the attempt to convince Salazon is not successful, he ignites the barrels and moves to flee back to the hideout. In this case, the spare key to the secret passage may be found in a wooden crate at X: 382 Y: -258.

Waypoints

•  Waukeen's Rest at X: -78 Y: 572

Related locations

• ⁠The Risen Road
• ⁠Zhentarim Basement

Related quests

• ⁠Find the Missing Shipment
• ⁠Rescue the Grand Duke
• ⁠Rescue the Trapped Man
• ⁠The Blade of Frontiers
  • ⁠The Grand Duke

Characters

•  Benryn
•  Counselor Florrick
•  Gauntlet Dain
•  Gauntlet Yeva
•  Fist Recruit Aelis
•  Fist Recruit Ephren
•  Fist Recruit Ito
•  Fist Recruit Pavel
•  Fist Recruit Tristan
•  Frightened Ox

Available for Speak with Dead

•  Gauntlet Marilla (Flaming Fist Mercenary)
•  Krug (Dead Goblin Raider)
•  Mirileth (Wife of Benryn)
•  Sszaryn (Dead Drow Raider)

Loot

• Faded Drow Leather Armour
• Hamarhraft
• Svartlebee's Woundseeker

Quest rewards

• The Joltshooter
• The Sparky Points
• The Spellsparkler

Hidden treasure

• Buried chest containing gold and camp supplies at X: -98 Y: 632
• Succeeding a Perception check when interacting with the hay bale at X: -102 Y: 621 reveals a chest containing the  Dowry Ring
• Hidden rocky crevice outside the inn walls along the easternmost path at X: -28 Y: 586

Other

The kitchen and storerooms of the inn, in its eastern wing, initially blocked by the huge wine barrel, contain a large amount of camp supplies.

External links

• ⁠Waukeen's Rest on the Forgotten Realms Wiki