Save Vanra is a side quest in Baldur’s Gate 3 that you can acquire during Act 3. This quest is connected to the events that happened during Act 1, and it overlaps with another quest, making things a bit more complex. In this guide, we will tackle the walkthrough in a proper sequence, which will allow you to obtain Hag’s Bane required to complete Save Vanra.
Save Vanra quest walkthrough
As soon as you reach the Lower City during Act 3, travel North until you reach flaming fist barracks inside Basilisk gate (X: 52, Y: 15). There you will meet a distressed woman named Lora who is actively searching for her missing daughter, Vanra. Upon talking to her, she will ask for your help, and the quest Save Vanra will be added to your journal.
Find Captain Grisly at the Blushing Mermaid
Lora will tell you that her daughter Vanra was abducted from the Blushing Mermaid Inn. The inn’s location (X: -120, Y: -78) will be marked on your map. Once you reach the Blushing Mermaid, go to the second floor to investigate Captain Grizly.
She will tell you about how Lora assaulted her and she has no child to begin with. She will ask you to kill Lora for her behavior. Grizly’s actions and demands seem a bit odd and extreme. Refuse her offer strictly, and she will transform into Auntie Ethel, the hag from Act 1. We have already met her during Save Mayrina‘s side quest, and apparently, she didn’t die.
Ethel has devoured Vanra, and she is in the process of transforming into a hag inside Ethel’s belly. Auntie Ethel will threaten to kill Vanra if you attack her and vanish from the scene.
Ethel’s minions will attack you who are redcaps. Kill them and go through the door to the left. Go down the ladder and jump across some barrels to find an illusory wall. There are more redcaps, including the real Captain Grizly, in this hidden area. Kill them all to find the entrance to the basement, which is unfortunately locked.
Help the Hag Survivors
The next step is to go to Old Garlow’s place to craft Hag’s Bane. This place is to the East of the Counting House. Intimidate three people inside Old Garlow’s Place to gather more information and start Help the Hag Survivors side quest.
Go to the upper floor to find a sheep. Use the Speak with the Animals spell to learn she is Mayrina, who has again fallen victim to the hag, Ethel. However, this all depends on the choices you made earlier in Act 1. If you save Mayrina and hand her the wand, she will be here with her husband.
Destroy the Voodoo Doll in the corner of the room to break Ethel’s spell and return Mayrina to her human form. More redcaps will attack you. Kill them all and talk to Mayrina once more downstairs.
She will give you the key to her safe, which contains the recipe for Hag’s Bane and the ingredients required to make it. Open the Alchemy menu (H button) and combine the Ashes of Dried Fey Flower with any essence to create Hag’s Bane. You will also get the key to Blushing Mermaid’s basement from this area.
Kill Auntie Ethel for good
Return to the Blushing Mermaid and unlock the basement door to enter the hag’s lair. Ethel will gloat about how you can’t touch her as it will also kill the child Vanra.
As soon as the fight starts, throw Hag’s Bane on Ethel. She will vomit out Vanra, making it easier for you to attack her. However, the hag won’t die. She will keep reviving no matter how many times you kill her. The only way is to destroy the glowing blue flowers in her lair.
These flowers keep her alive, and she will die once all the flowers are gone. Talk to Vanra, and she will run away from the lair scared. Return to Lora inside her house to find her reunited with Vanra. Talk to her to complete the Save Vanra quest and receive the following rewards.
- Amulet of Windrider (very rare)
- Duelist’s Prerogative (Legendary Rapier)
Baldur’s Gate 3 Save Vanra bug
For some players, the Save Vanra quest is bugged. You will face this bug when you are talking to Captain Grisly. After she turns into her Hag form, she starts at 0 HP instead of participating in the fight. This prevents you from going further with the story, and you cannot save Varna in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Therefore, the best way to fix this bug is by healing her before she turns into the Hag. This allows her to start the fight at maximum health. Thus fixing the bug.
