If you are playing the game after the flow of the story, how do you get to Ethel without harming the masks? Is it by chance if exploring the coast of the swamp where the teleporter is?
There are various ways, the easiest I’m aware of is …
Cast Protection from Evil and Good on one of your characters, then have them put on one of the Whispering Masks on a table not far from the sentient fake door and the screaming elf. Have that character walk through the door and past the masks, who will assume they are a friend. Once the character is past the masks and out of sight they can remove their own mask. Have the character make their way down to Ethel’s Lair and stealth and sneak to the door of her workshop and to the fairy ring, then go through it to activate it. Have the rest of your party come to the fairy ring through the back door of the hut, then all your group can go back into the Lair using the fairy ring and confront Ethel + masks.
