Baldur’s Gate 3: Save Arabella Guide

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Linden Garcia

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Baldur’s Gate 3 gets you used to tough decisions early on, and Emerald Grove serves as the game’s initial way of teaching you this.

Amid the overarching morally binary choice of saving the Tiefling refugees or selling them out to the Goblins, there are a wide variety of side tasks serving to build the background context and help you make your decisions. One of these is the Save Arabella quest, a microcosm of sorts within the Tiefling-Druid conflict.

This seemingly minor side quest serves to propel the main story forward, introducing the player to key characters and broadening the scope of the troubles at the Grove. As such, it’s something you don’t want to miss out on; in this Baldur’s Gate Save Arabella Guide, I’m going to walk you through where to go and what to do to complete the quest which, as a beginner player, should help you understand the principles of tackling similar quests going forward.

NOTE: Be aware that there will be spoilers ahead for several quests.

Bottom Line Up Front

If you’re in a rush, here’s what you need to know about saving Arabella in a nutshell.

• The quest Save Arabella is one of the first side quests you’ll have the opportunity to engage with in Baldur’s Gate 3, and can be accessed by visiting Emerald Grove and talking to her parents (map location below).
• Having spoken to her parents, the player will need to venture into the Druids’ Lair and speak with Kagah. The easiest way to save her is to choose any of the persuasion options and free Arabella diplomatically.
• After bargaining with Kagah for Arabella’s safety, she heads back to her parents: speak with them to complete the quest and receive an enchanted piece of jewellery.
• If the persuasion checks with Kagah fail, you can also expose this character’s alliances with the Shadow Druids by looting her personal chest in the servants’ area of the Druids’ Lair, reading the documents within to start a new quest. The result of the quest is Kagha’s shunning by the rest of the Druids and subsequently Arabella’s freedom.
• Arabella and her parents can be met later on in Act 2  provided you choose to save the Tiefling refugees, so be aware that your actions have knock-on consequences later on in the game.

How to Save Arabella

Starting the Quest

As you’ll likely know by now, Emerald Grove is split into two sections: the Tiefling Camp and the Druid settlement. The two areas are connected by a set of stairs located in the image below. This is where you’ll find Arabella’s parents, Locke and Komira — you’ll be drawn to the area having overheard a standoff between them and a hostile group of Druids, and walking up to investigate triggers a short cutscene.

We learn that the Druids are holding their daughter Arabella captive for supposed thievery and that she will be tried for her crimes. The situation begins to escalate as one of the Druids transforms into a bear, and it’s up to you to step in and cool things down.

Interacting with Arabella’s parents reveals that the child tried to steal a precious artifact named the Idol, which the Druids have been using for their rituals. Ignoring Shadowheart’s suggestion to not get involved, choose the dialog option which states you’ll help reason with the Druids to guarantee Arabella’s safety.

Finding Arabella and Resolving the Conflict

First, though, you’ll have to actually gain entry to the Druid’s area, which is presently being blocked by the same individuals (and a very angry transformed bear) involved in the initial standoff. The Druid in charge, Jeorna, will be reluctant to let you pass no matter what dialog option you choose when you talk to her, but one of the other Druids whispers in her ear that someone named Kagha wants to speak with you.

Kagha wants to discuss matters pertaining to the wider issues at Emerald Grove, but she’s also the one holding Arabella captive. The group will promptly let you pass, and to meet Kagha and find Arabella, you’ll need to head to the Druids’ Lair: you’ll need to follow the Sacred Pool around to the back of the area to locate a stone door with ancient symbols hewn into the rock, which will lead you into the groups base of operations.

Once inside, you’ll immediately hear Arabella pleading with the Druids and expressing her profuse apologies for the crime she is accused of. This is where you’ll meet Rath and Kagha, the former strongly disapproving of Kagha’s ruthlessness in wishing to imprison children, and the latter being who you’ll need to convince to let Arabella go.

Kagha has taken leadership of the Druids and the escalating Tiefling situation while Master Halsin is away and rules the camp with an iron fist. You can interject as the two Druids quarrel over Arabella’s fate: choose the dialogue option “Imprison her? She’s just a child” to start the sequence of persuading Kahaga to let the child go.

You’ll then have several dialogue choices for persuading Kagha to release Arabella: a couple with standard persuasion checks and one (or possibly two) depending on the attributes you chose when you created your character — these attributes add additional points to help you achieve a successful roll in combination with the standard persuasion check. Choose the option that includes both the persuasion check and your personal attribute check to give yourself the best chance (for me, I had the Nature check as an extra option, which has the advantage of appealing to the Druid’s fundamental sensibilities)

Although you have a very good shot at it, it’s not a given that you’ll make a successful role (see the section What to do if you fail Kagha’s persuasion checks if this happens to you), but assuming you have succeeded, Kagha will agree to let the girl go — albeit not without a flamboyant protest first. Arabella also has the opportunity to speak for herself, where she’ll reveal that she only took the idol to prevent the ritual in hopes that she and her people could stay longer at Emerald Grove, sheltered from the treacherous, goblin-infested roads they’d have to traverse otherwise.

Arabella will then follow you out of the Druids’ Lair and back up to her parents. First, though, you’ll want to speak with Rath; he provides some extra context on the tension between the Druids and the Tieflings, and it’s here that you learn of Halsin’s disappearance and are tasked with heading to the Goblin camp to bring him back. The Druids aren’t exactly thrilled with their temporary leader and her more dictatorial ways.

Having spoken to Rath, you should then venture into the back rooms to speak with the Druid healer Nettie, who will offer you more information about Halsin and also explore the topic of the Mind Flayer parasite with you — speaking with her will further the Finding a Cure quest. After speaking with both of these characters, you can exit the area with Arabella in tow.

Speaking With Her Parents Afterward

You’ll find Arabella’s parents waiting eagerly on the steps where you first spoke to them. Locke expresses great thanks for rescuing his daughter, and you’ll then have the option of accepting his thanks humbly or pressing him for some sort of reward.

Pick the former option, as you’ll be offered a reward anyway: an uncommon piece of jewelery called Komira’s Locket, which grants the wearer the ability to cast the spell Dancing Lights. This Cantrip allows you to illuminate your environment within a radius of nine meters and was my go-to for dungeon crawling for most of the game. If you’re not bothered about the spell, you can also give it to Gale so he can absorb its magic to help alleviate his condition, though you should realize this will destroy the item in the process.

What to Do If You Fail Kagha’s Persuasion Checks

It doesn’t happen often, but it is possible to fail the persuasion check with Kagha to free Arabella. If this happens, you won’t be able to bargain with the Druids directly, but you can expose Kagha as surreptitiously working with the nefarious Druid offshoot, the Shadow Druids: a group of extremists unhappy with the ways Halsin is leading the group and who presently plot his downfall. Exposing her plans will be enough for most of the Druids to persecute her directly, enabling Arabella’s freedom.

To set this alternative method in motion, you’ll need to access one of her personal chests for evidence. The chest is located in the servant’s area of the Druids’ Lair, as seen below. While there are two other chests within this room, Kagha’s is hidden behind a bookshelf in a separate alcove accessed to the right.

You can steal the key by pickpocketing Kagha or just pick the lock with Thieves Tools (the merchant near the Emerald Grove entrance sells them). Once inside, you’ll find a torn note and a book, and reading them will start a new quest involving traveling to two separate locations. Going into that is beyond the scope of this article, but eventually, you’ll need to head back to the Druids’ Lair to confront Kagha about what you’ve found.

You’re given the opportunity to either persuade her to mend her ways or fight her directly (the former is the better option for reasons explained in the Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of this article). Either way, Arabella will be given her freedom. If you’ve already guaranteed Arabella’s freedom the easier way, you can still engage with this quest by seeking out the chest afterward, and you need not worry about turning the other Druids against you, either; those opposing Kagha’s leadership will fight alongside you if you fail the persuasion check.

Some Extra Stuff to Be Aware Of

Bugs

Make sure you save regularly, as some players have reported that having saved her, Arabella will stand in front of the stone door entrance to the Druids’ Lair and won’t move. This bug also involves her parents being unresponsive when you try to speak with them, requiring you to revert to a save after they started the quest but before they persuaded Kagha to free Arabella.

If Arabella Dies, But the Tieflings are Saved

While the quest is titled “Save Arabella”, there’s also the alternative solution of allowing her to stay captive. Selling the Tieflings out to the Goblins will, of course, result in their total extermination, Arabella and her parents included, but it’s also possible to leave Arabella to her fate and save the rest of the Tieflings. Due to the duality of this choice, most players won’t have experienced this story thread; with this scenario in motion, Arabella’s mother will seek revenge on Kagah during Act 2 for an explosive ending I won’t spoil.

Time Limits

So long as you don’t finish the overarching Save the Refugees quest before engaging with Save Arabella, there’s no real time limit to completing the quest — just don’t enter the Druids’ Lair and engage in a dialogue with Kagah. Once you have, you’ll need to make a decision there and then about whether to help or leave Arabella to her fate; doing nothing will cause her death at the hands of the snake.

Wrapping up

I hope this guide helped aid you in returning Arabella safely to her parents. If you’re looking for help with other elements of Baldur’s Gate 3’s huge array of different quests, be sure to check out our wealth of other articles like the How to Defeat Auntie Ethel Guide or our guide to The Chamber of Strategy. Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on our News section to stay up to date with all that’s new in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Frequently Asked Questions

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