The Blushing Mermaid

Key takeaways

• The Blushing Mermaid is a tavern and a hag lair, not merely a single bar room.
• Its major Act Three content depends on Act One Saving Mayrina is the important trigger for the later Ethel-related material.
• Captain Grisly may be genuine or may be Auntie Ethel in disguise, depending on the route taken through Save Vanra.
• Vanra can die if Ethel is killed incorrectly Use Hag’s Bane, or defeat Ethel with non-lethal melee damage and free Vanra afterwards.
• Nesha Leesha is a murder-list target found outside the tavern She can be warned, ignored, or killed as part of the murder investigation.
• The basement is hidden behind an illusory wall in the storage area A successful Investigation check reveals the route to the hag’s lair.

About this guide

Overview

Baldur’s Gate 3, Act Three, Lower City Scope: base game location, including the tavern, its exterior decks and roof, storage basement, and the hag’s lair beneath it.

Baldur’s Gate 3, Act Three, Lower City Scope: base game location, including the tavern, its exterior decks and roof, storage basement, and the hag’s lair beneath it.

Introduction

The Blushing Mermaid is a rough, crowded tavern in Baldur’s Gate’s Lower City. It stands in the Steeps district, south of Bloomridge Park and beside the Grey Harbour embankment. Unlike a conventional stone inn, the building resembles an old ship dragged ashore and converted into a drinking house. Its foredeck serves as the entrance terrace, while the interior rises through several uneven levels of bars, tables, gambling spaces and private rooms.

At first glance, the Mermaid is simply a noisy sailors’ tavern. In practice, it is one of Act Three’s most state-dependent locations. Its content changes substantially according to what happened to Mayrina and Auntie Ethel in Act One. If Ethel was allowed to keep Mayrina, the tavern is mainly a social location with minor loot and character interactions. If Mayrina was saved, Ethel later establishes a hidden lair beneath the tavern, turning the Mermaid into the centre of the Avenge the Hag Survivors and Save Vanra storylines.

Neighbouring places

The Mermaid is part of the Lower City, but it should not be confused with the Elfsong Tavern, the Low Lantern from earlier games, or the Blushing Mermaid’s appearances in previous Baldur’s Gate titles.

These are neighbouring locations, not subareas of the Blushing Mermaid. The exterior embankment beneath the tavern is associated with the Mermaid’s surroundings, but it is not part of the tavern interior itself.

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Nearby Lower City connections include

• The Lodge
• Crimson Draughts
• Flymm Cargo

Outer decks and foredeck

The foredeck is the only ordinary entrance into the tavern. Several patrons sit or lie around the terraces, with some already unconscious from drink. The area is useful for conversations, pickpocketing and observing how the Mermaid’s clientele behaves before entering the main hall.

Nesha Leesha stands near the entrance. She is one of the living victims on Dolor’s murder list. If Investigate the Murders is active and the party has obtained the list, she can be warned that she is in danger. The relevant dialogue requires a Persuasion check, reported as DC 15. If convinced, she leaves to settle her bar tab rather than remaining exposed outside.

Nesha carries a Potion of Invisibility and a Potion of Speed, although taking them by pickpocketing is optional and may create a crime if discovered. If fighting begins inside the tavern, she may flee and return after a long rest. This behaviour has been reported as potentially inconsistent, so it is safest to warn her before starting trouble.

Below the foredeck, News Hawker Chalara shouts out gazette slogans. She is a decorative and atmospheric NPC rather than a conventional shopkeeper.

Lower tavern hall

The lower floor is the Mermaid’s main public drinking space. It contains tables, a bar and the open staircase to the upper floor. Bosun Gannet works behind the bar and sells food and drinks. The oak door beside the bar leads to the storage basement.

This is also one of the best places to speak with staff after beginning Save Vanra. The bartender can provide information about Lora’s behaviour before Captain Grisly became involved. The quest’s dialogue makes clear that Lora visited the Mermaid searching for her missing daughter and was treated as unstable or dangerous by the tavern staff.

A large gilded chest on the western side contains gold, valuables and random consumables. It is not a unique reward chest, so its contents may vary.

Upper entertainment floor

The upper floor is the Mermaid’s entertainment area. It has additional tables, a stage, an adjoining dressing room and a large open space for patrons. Behind the stage is a gallery with gambling tables.

Captain Grisly’s private area is separated from the main room by curtains. It contains comfortable chairs, a dancing pole, a copy of The Quarta Sune, food and a desk. An opulent chest in this room contains gold and valuables and is outlined in red, meaning that taking from it is treated as stealing.

A stairway in the private area leads down towards the basement. This second basement access is particularly important during the hag storyline. The quest guide identifies two routes into the hidden basement: the old oak door near the tavern entrance and the cellar door down the stairs in Grisly’s room.

Ordinary storage basement

The first basement section is a storage area dominated by firewine barrels. At the back is a small stone porch or raised section that can be reached by jumping over the clutter.

In the normal tavern state, this is simply a storage room. If the party saved Mayrina in Act One, however, the area can become the entrance to Ethel’s Act Three lair. The transformation is linked to the hag’s revenge storyline and is not guaranteed in every playthrough.

The key can be obtained from Jatlo during Avenge the Hag Survivors. The door can also be lockpicked.

A smaller storage section beyond the illusion contains a wooden chest with gold and alchemical ingredients. A further swamp-like area contains alchemical ingredients, a Potion of Superior Healing and a random very rare spell scroll behind a Survival check reported as DC 20.

To find the hidden route

1. 01
   Enter the basement through the oak door near the bar or the cellar route in Grisly’s room.
2. 02
   Move across or around the firewine storage.
3. 03
   Investigate the suspicious wall near the rear of the storage area.
4. 04
   Pass the Investigation check, reported as DC 15.
5. 05
   Walk through the illusory wall.
6. 06
   Descend the ladder.
7. 07
   Unlock the metal or double door with Sleight of Hand or Ethel’s Lair Key.

Hag’s basement

Beyond the hidden door, the environment resembles Ethel’s Overgrown Tunnel from Act One. The hag has recreated a lair beneath the city, complete with swamp scenery, traps, enthralled victims and Pearlspore Bells.

The southern route contains explosive traps and masked victims who can become hostile if they detect the party. An alternative route through a wooden wall can avoid some of these enemies, although the door requires a reported DC 20 Sleight of Hand check.

If Ethel’s identity has already been exposed, she can be found further inside and may attack once the party approaches. If the disguise has not yet been broken, the area can initially be empty. Destroying one of the Pearlspore Bells can cause Ethel to appear.

Save Vanra

Save Vanra becomes available after speaking with Lora Bergauz at Basilisk Gate, provided that Save Mayrina was completed in Act One. Lora says that Vanra disappeared after the pair visited the Blushing Mermaid. The party is then directed to investigate the tavern and question its staff.

The central danger is that Ethel has swallowed Vanra alive. Killing Ethel without taking precautions kills Vanra as well.

Safest route

1. 01
   Speak with Lora at Basilisk Gate.
2. 02
   Visit the Blushing Mermaid.
3. 03
   Question Bosun Gannet and Captain Grisly.
4. 04
   Search Grisly’s room and investigate the basement.
5. 05
   Obtain Hag’s Bane through the hag-survivor storyline.
6. 06
   Enter Ethel’s lair.
7. 07
   Throw Hag’s Bane at Ethel before defeating her.
8. 08
   Defeat Ethel.
9. 09
   Speak with Vanra after she is released.
10. 10
    Visit Lora and Vanra afterwards.

Alternative rescue method: If Hag’s Bane is unavailable

1. 01
   Toggle Non-Lethal Attacks.
2. 02
   Defeat Ethel with unarmed attacks or melee weapon attacks.
3. 03
   Do not use lethal spells, ranged attacks or damaging area effects for the final blow.
4. 04
   Choose the option to cut Vanra out of the unconscious hag.

Pearlspore Bells

Three Pearlspore Bells sustain Ethel in the hag’s basement. Unless all three are destroyed, Ethel can resurrect after being killed. The bells can also heal themselves during their turn if they are not destroyed quickly enough.

A practical combat plan is to position characters or summons near the bells before triggering Ethel’s appearance. Fire damage can be useful because it prevents the bells from healing in the same way as ordinary damage.

Their reported positions are

Investigate the Murders

Nesha Leesha is one of the murder targets listed during Investigate the Murders. She is outside the tavern near the entrance. The party can warn her with a Persuasion check, leave her alone, or kill her themselves if pursuing the darker route towards the Murder Tribunal.

Her presence makes the Mermaid a useful location to visit after obtaining the murder list, particularly if the party wants to protect every living target before advancing the Bhaalist plot.

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The Mermaid has a mixture of fixed items, random containers and quest-related documents.

Fixed or semi-fixed finds

The Tarnished Charm grants Fey Life, reducing the wearer’s death saving throw DC from 10 to 5. Its appearance in the Mermaid basement depends on whether it was already obtained from Ethel earlier.

Fixed or semi-fixed finds

Named literature and documents

The following named writings are associated with the Blushing Mermaid or its basement:

Some documents are associated with the normal tavern, while others appear only during the hag storyline. For example, Ransom Note is connected to Auntie Ethel’s blackmail of Quenora Grisly, and You Deserve To Feel Beautiful is carried by the Mask of Servitude.

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If Mayrina was not saved

The later hag-related Mermaid content may be absent or altered. The location functions primarily as a drinking establishment, with its ordinary patrons, rooftop loot, tavern chests and murder-investigation material still available where applicable.

If Mayrina was saved

Ethel’s Act Three storyline becomes available. The basement can expand into a hag lair, and the party may encounter Ethel, Redcaps, masked victims, Vanra and the real Captain Grisly.

The location’s most substantial content is therefore not fixed at the start of Act Three. It is a progression-dependent area whose occupants and hazards reflect the player’s Act One decisions.

If Ethel is left alive

Ethel may offer a bargain and later become associated with the party’s final-battle allies, depending on the outcome of Save Vanra. This route can leave Vanra in danger and should be chosen only if the player accepts the associated consequences.

If Ethel is killed

Killing Ethel without first rescuing Vanra kills the child and can lock the party out of later rewards. Hag’s Bane or a successful non-lethal rescue avoids this outcome.

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Before leaving the Mermaid, check that you have:

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The Baldur’s Gate 3 Blushing Mermaid appears to combine features of two earlier tavern concepts from the series. The original Baldur’s Gate included a Blushing Mermaid in the Upper City, while the Low Lantern was a tavern built inside an old merchant ship in the Lower City. The third game’s Mermaid combines the ship-like setting and captain-led tavern identity of the Low Lantern with the Blushing Mermaid name.

The tavern’s design also reinforces its social role. It is rougher and less respectable than establishments such as the Elfsong Tavern, but it is not simply a criminal hideout. It serves drink, food and entertainment to ordinary Lower City residents, while its loud patrons have earned complaints from neighbours and attention from the Flaming Fist.

For a thorough but efficient visit

1. 01
   Circle the outside first. Speak with Nesha, News Hawker Chalara and the named exterior NPCs.
2. 02
   Enter through the foredeck. Talk to Bosun Gannet before causing any trouble.
3. 03
   Search the lower hall. Check the gilded chest and inspect the bar area.
4. 04
   Visit the upper floor. Speak with Captain Grisly, inspect the office and note the second basement access.
5. 05
   Climb to the roof. Pass the Perception check, collect the concealed supplies and decide whether the Cloud of Daggers scroll is worth the theft.
6. 06
   Begin the hag investigation only after preparing. Bring lockpicking tools, fire or strong ranged damage for the Pearlspore Bells, and Hag’s Bane if saving Vanra.
7. 07
   Protect Captain Grisly. Avoid killing the masked captain during the Ethel fight.
8. 08
   Clear the Pearlspore Bells. Do this before relying on a conventional kill against Ethel.
9. 09
   Rescue Vanra before the final blow.
10. 10
    Return to the tavern after a Long Rest if the quest state requires checking on Grisly or freed victims.

Sources

• The Blushing Mermaid - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Vanra - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Investigate the Murders - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Save Vanra - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• The Blushing Mermaid - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki
• Tarnished Charm - bg3.wiki — bg3.wiki