Baldur’s Gate 3: The Ornate Mirror Quiz & Balsam Ointment

The Ornate Mirror in BG3 is a part of the “Search The Cellar” questline in the Belighted Village. The quest ends after you find a necromancer’s book called “The Necromancy of Thay.” While advancing the quest, you come across an ornate mirror guarding the entrance to the laboratory. The mirror asks you a series of questions regarding your identity and the Balsam Ointment BG3.

Ornate Mirror Answers

You will find the Ornate Mirror and use the Balsam Ointment in the southeast section of the area where you read the Dark Journal (Journal of Ilyn Toth) during your quest in BG3. The mirror guards a secret behind it. To reveal its secret, you must convince the mirror that you are an ally of its master.

The mirror will ask you the following five questions upon interaction:

• Speak your name. 
• If you are his ally (Ilyn Toth), step forward and declare it.
• What do you think of the Zulkir known as Saaz Tam?
• Tell me why someone might use a balsam ointment.
• If you could see anything in me, what would it be?

To proceed further into the laboratory, you must correctly answer the above questions. If you fail any question during the dialogue, the mirror will throw an exploding projectile towards you and destroy you. 

1. Speak Your Name

To answer the question regarding balsam ointment in BG3, you must clear the first three questions. Upon starting the dialogue, the mirror will ask you to identify yourself. Four responses are available to all players regardless of their character’s backgrounds, races, and classes.

Correct Response:

1. [Tav race in BG3] I’m eh – (Tav’s Name)

2. Declare Alliance To Ilyn Toth

After you have revealed your identity to the ornate mirror, it gives you a description of its master. His master, Ilyn Toth, was a human described as pure and true by the mirror.

Once the mirror asks if you are an ally of his master, reply with either of the following:

1. Yes, I am an ally of your master. 
2. [INTIMIDATION] Open, or I’ll smash you to pieces – bad luck be damned.

3. Give Your Opinion On Saaz Tam

Now that you have declared yourself an ally of Ilyn Toth, the ornate mirror will confirm your alliance by asking a counter-question, which will ask you your opinion about Saaz Tam. Here, any character in the dialogue will perform an automatic history check about the presented query. However, if you play with Gale, he will automatically pass the history check and provide extra lore around the question.

Regardless of how you do on your history check, choose one of the following options:

1. Saaz Tam is a foul, wretched creature. 
2. [INTIMIDATION] I think seven years of bad luck sounds like a fair trade for smashing you. 

Again, you can try the Intimidation Check if you want, but the safe option is to select the first one.

The Balsam Ointment In BG3

The Balsam Ointment BG3 is rarely mentioned within the in-game interactions. To determine your wisdom, the mirror will ask you about using the balsam ointment. The correct option will appear if your character has read the Healer’s Log from earlier. Reading the log beforehand will remind you that the ointment cleans a wound. 

The origin character, Gale, will also know the answer to this question.

Here are the options:

1. I read a doctor’s journal – he used it to clean a wound.
2. It treats burns?
3. To clear a rash?

Once you have cleared the third question, the mirror will ask you the final question about what you want to see in it. A good answer to that question is that you would look for a spell that can rid you of the worm in your head. Mentioning your condition will lead the mirror to think that you seek to survive and seek power (an idea that the mirror approves.) 

The final response closes the dialogue and opens the hidden passage behind the mirror, which leads you into the laboratory.

My Tips

Even though you can skip the quest entirely and proceed to Act 2, I will suggest exploring the area even if you don’t want the Necormany of Thay. Granted, it is a useful tool for future quests, but it isn’t that useful if you don’t use casters.

Additionally, you can learn a lot more about the lore in Baldurs Gate 3 by participating in this search. However, if none of that is enough to convince you, the puzzle will give you a lot of approval for Gale very early on. Do with that information what you will, fellow explorers.

With that said, if you are looking for similar walk-throughs and guides for missions in BG3, then you should definitely consider reading about the House of Flowers Questmark or How to Rescue the Trapped Man. If you are into spell casting and wizardry, consider reading these recommended builds for Wizards and Sorcerers.

Next:

• Baldurs Gate 3: Warlock
• Baldur’s Gate 3: What Is Max Level
• Baldur’s Gate 3: Bear Scene