Quick Links
Welcome, Gamers!
One of the key conflicts within the first Act of Baldur’s Gate 3 is that of the Tieflings and the Druids. The Tieflings, refugees of the fall of Elturel, are immigrating across the continent to the welcoming city, Baldur’s Gate. However, the Goblin presence in the Wilderness surrounding the Emerald Grove has driven them to take shelter in the Druid Circle. The Druids, convinced the Tieflings' presence puts the nature in the area at danger, wish to see the Tieflings gone - and the loudest of the Druidic voices is that of Kagha.
Kagha has assumed leadership in the Grove after the disappearance of the First Druid Halsin, and since she has taken the reins, the tensions between the Druids and Tieflings have been mounting. When you arrive in the Grove, the Druids are preparing the Rite of Thorns in response to this conflict - a ritual that will seal the Grove away from the outside world forever. It goes without saying, but this would also ensure that all the Tiefling refugees would be killed by the Goblins in the area should this happen.
How to Start the Quest
You will firstmeet Kagha interrogating the child, Arabella, who tried to delay the ritual by stealing the Druidic Idol which acts as its catalyst.
After this conversation, you can search the area. Directly across from the main stairway coming into the circle, there will be a library. Go to the back of the room, where you’ll see a break in the wall. Climb in there with a sneakier chracter - I used Astarion - and lockpick the chest hidden behind the broken wall. There will be a note within that chest that you can read, and this will begin the quest to investigate Kagha.
From here, you will want to head West of the Grove to theBlighted Village, where you will turn south. You will take thesame path you would to get to Auntie Ethel’s Tea House, but instead of going straight through the Red Caps, you will take a left and head east instead. Eventually the path will end and you’ll have to jump across some water to some rocks.
Jump across, and then jump across the next gap, and you will be thrust into combat close to the Tree.
This fight is tricky, because the Mephits will explode when you kill them - and they do quite a bit of damage. Additionally, Ancient Mephits also summon Young Mephits, so make sure to kill them quickly if you don’t want to fight ten monsters all at once. The other monsters willheal themselves when they step onto Twisting Vine terrain, so make sure that you eitherburn away the Twisting Vinesor push them off of those areas as much as possible.
Lightning is very effective against the monsters here!
After you’ve finished killing these monsters, walk around the tree in the center until you get a Perception check. You will notice a crevice in the tree that you can loot. Within is another letter, which implicates that Kagha is in league with Shadow Druids and looking to convert the Emerald Grove circle.
Confronting Kagha
When you bring this information back to the Emerald Grove, you have a few choices. All of which will end in a confrontation, but you can convince Kagha to redeem herself of her ways if you try to appeal to the Druidic teachings of Silvanus with a few skill checks.
Personally, I prefer to kill her and get her experience and loot. That said, the fight is quite difficult when Kagha is fighting against you, so keep that in mind while you prepare to face some druids.
Kill the Shadow Druids as quickly as you’re able to. Druids can shapeshift, and when their shapeshifted form hits 0 health points, they simply revert back to their human forms without having taken any damage at all.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Save Arabella in Act 1
This guide will walk you through how to keep Arabella alive in Act 1.
