I usually kill Ethel right inside her tree entrance, before I even get to the masked people. But, the people wearing the masks are still kinda dumb. One of them will actually talk to you but the other 3 are in denial basically.
I believe one of them may be right and she really can't die just like that. Together with the freed mask becoming a hag hunter, and the mysterious M Ethel is in contact with, we might fight her again in Baldur's Gate!
