One of the primary quests of Baldur's Gate 3 Act One is "Find a Cure." The protagonist and the first set of party members all have a mind flayer tadpole in their brains, and they'd much rather get them out.
The situation is desperate, and so players will end up searching high and low (literally) to find someone or something that can rid them of this parasite without killing them and without turning them all into mind flayers. This guide will explain which Act One quests in Baldur's Gate 3 can be part of the "Find a Cure" search and what benefits players can expect from each one.
Get Help from Healer Nettie
The druid enclave, the Emerald Grove, is just past the beach where the protagonist and several starting party members wash up. Speak to the inhabitants to learn that the head druid, Halsin, is missing, but the specialist Healer Nettie might be able to help. Nettie is inside the cave near where the ritual is taking place, and she's several rooms back from the confrontation with Arabella.
Nettie will bring out a thorny branch and question the party. Players should answer her questions truthfully because it turns out she's ready to kill the party with poison if they show signs of turning. She has no cure to give, but she'll give the active speaker a vial of poison and ask them to take it before it's too late. Players can swear to use it or not, but they can use the poison on a weapon because the moment to drink it will never come up.
Get Help from Auntie Ethel
Players can find an old woman called Auntie Ethel in the Emerald Grove. She has a few items for sale, and if she learns about the parasite, she'll offer to help and mark her home's location on the map. Ethel's shop in the grove is on a stone dias in the northwest area, and her home is in the swamp to the southwest. Players can also encounter Auntie Ethel (and a pair of brothers) near the entrance to the swamp.
Ultimately, it turns out that Ethel is an evil hag whose deals are never worth the price. If players ask her to help with the tadpole, she'll offer to pluck out their eye, enchant it, and put it back in. This gives the protagonist the permanent condition "Paid the Price," which gives +1 to Intimidation, disadvantage to Perception checks, disadvantage to attack rolls against hags, and the ability to see through hag illusions. However, she can't remove the tadpole because of its enchantment, and so instead, she gives the protagonist a one-use Enhance Ability charm as a consolation prize.
Ethel will leave the tea house and go deeper into her lair after this interaction, but players should note they can continue the quest "Save Mayrina" by following her through the illusory hearth. Beating Ethel will be more difficult with the Hag's Eye, but not impossible.
Ask the Goblin Priestess for Help
A captured goblin in the Emerald Grove will mention Priestess Gut, a cleric, and healer back at the goblin camp. The party can enter the camp peacefully by using their tadpole's connection to the Absolute brands, and they'll find Priestess Gut in the first big chamber of the former Selune temple. Players can get branded by her to access the special abilities of certain magic items.
Players can also speak to Gut about the tadpole, or a "darkness" within, at which point she'll offer to look at the party in her private chapel. Note that this is a great way to get her alone and assassinate her if players are trying to help the druid grove against the goblin raiders.
If players follow through with asking Gut for help, she'll discover the tadpole, which she doesn't realize is what makes a True Soul true. She'll ask the protagonist to speak to her alone, without the rest of the party present, and once they leave the room, she'll offer a potion. If the protagonist drinks it, they'll wake up in chains in a dungeon. Players can try Acrobatics or Strength to escape the chains, but if they don't, a woman named Korrilla will show up and kill both Gut and her ogre assistant. Korrilla's master sent her to save the protagonist, and players will meet this master either shortly before or soon after this encounter.
Rescue the Druid Halsin
Halsin is the master of the Emerald Grove who went missing in the goblin camp. Players can find him by looking for a door near the back of the camp that leads to a separate area, the Worg Pens. If the party frees him and brings up the tadpole, Halsin will use his magic to inspect the protagonist.
Halsin will also discover the magic of the tadpoles that prevents the transformation from happening, and he also has no way to remove them. However, he'll mention that they're coming from Moonrise Towers (the centerpiece of Act Two) and offer to help the party if they first help him kill the leaders of the goblin raiders.
Alternatively, players can avoid the Worg Pens and either kill the goblin leaders or bait the raiders into attacking the druids and then defend the grove. Once the threat has ended, Halsin will return to the grove on his own and join the party if they've proven to be allies.
Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite
In Ebonlake Grotto, the myconid colony in the Underdark, players can encounter a hobgoblin named Blurg and his friend Omeluum, a free mind flayer. Much like Halsin and Ethel, Omeluum will notice the magic protecting the parasite, and he suggests brewing a potion to negate the enchantment.
To make this potion, Omeluum needs Tongue of Madness and Timmask Spores; two mushrooms players can only find in the Arcane Tower on the south end of the Underdark region. Bring the items back to Omeluum, then drink the potion he offers.
Sadly, the potion only ends up strengthening the tadpole. This unlocks the unique action Survival Instinct, which acts like the spell Death Ward but for only three turns. Omeluum apologizes for his failure by offering his Ring of Mind-Shielding, although players will still need to pay him for it. The ring gives its wearer advantage against Charmed effects.
Find the Githyanki Creche
If players rescue Lae'zel from the beach, she'll insist that her people have a way to remove the parasite. She'll suggest looking for Zorru, a tiefling in the Emerald Grove who saw a githyanki patrol in the area. Zorru is standing in front of the locked wooden shack near the prison cave. Players can let Lae'zel handle the conversation to get through it quickly and without violence.
Zorru will point to a location southwest of Waukeen's Rest, and the patrol will explain where to find Creche Yllek (just be careful not to mention the Astral Prism). The creche is the main feature of the Mountain Pass region, and while the Mountain Pass is in Act One, players should make sure they do everything else they want to before going there.
Pass through Rosymorn Monastery to reach Creche Yllek, and once again, let Lae'zel do the talking to get inside without any fighting or skill checks. The githyanki guards will direct the party to the creche infirmary and a device called a zaith'isk.
Unfortunately, it turns out the zaith'isk is designed to extract the memories from an infected githyanki and then kill them, not to remove the parasite. Either the protagonist or Lae'zel will permanently lose ability points if they don't get out in time. Still, this moment is important since players can later use it to convince Lae'zel that her queen doesn't have her best interests at heart.
Ultimately, none of the methods available in Act One will remove the parasite, and the party will have to get through the whole game to find a way to permanently remove it. Still, most of the methods that show up in the "Find a Cure" quest are worth the attempt, thanks to the side benefits that come from completing them.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now on macOS, PC, and PS5.
