Lift the Shadow Curse

Lift the Shadow Curse is a Quest in Act Two of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by speaking with Halsin after entering the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Look for clues as to Thaniel's whereabouts.

• "According to Halsin, if we want to lift the shadow curse, we must find Thaniel - the spirit of the land."

Tell Halsin about Art Cullagh.

• "We found a mysterious man lying unconscious in Last Light Inn. He said the name 'Thaniel' while sleeping. We should tell Halsin about this."

Wake Art Cullagh.

• "Halsin met the mysterious unconscious man, and is certain he knows where Thaniel is. Halsin suggested something from the man's past might help to wake him."

Talk to Halsin about Art Cullagh.

• "We managed to wake the mysterious man - a Flaming Fist called Art Cullagh. He immediately asked to speak to Halsin, saying the druid was the only one who could help."

Meet Halsin by the lakeshore.

• "Halsin has a plan to save Thaniel, and lift the shadow curse. He asked us to meet him by the lakeshore by Last Light."

Defend the portal.

• "Halsin delved into the Shadowfell to rescue Thaniel. We must defend the portal Halsin created, or he will be trapped in the Shadowfell forever."

Meet Halsin at camp.

• "Halsin rescued Thaniel from the Shadowfell, but the spirit of the land is ill. If we want to help, we should speak to Halsin at camp."

Seek Thaniel's Shadow.

• "Halsin has told us to seek a place where flowers still grow in the shadow-cursed lands. Among the blooms we might locate Thaniel's missing half, the key to curing his illness."

Speak to Halsin at camp.

• "It took some convincing, but Oliver agreed to reunite with Thaniel. We should check in with Halsin next time we're at camp, and see if Thaniel is doing any better."

Kill Ketheric Thorm.

• "Reuniting Oliver and Thaniel is not enough. Ketheric Thorm is the anchor of the curse. For the land to heal, he must be defeated."

Quest Complete

• "If the party fails to protect the portal: Halsin is lost to the Shadowfell. Without him, we can't lift the shadow curse."
• "We left for Baldur's Gate without finding a way to lift the shadow curse. Halsin decided to stay behind to try and lift the curse without us."
• "We successfully lifted the shadow curse. In time, these lands will flourish once again."
• "Halsin died. Without him, we cannot lift the shadow curse."

Walkthrough

This quest can only be undertaken if  Defeat the Goblins is completed and Halsin agrees to accompany the party to Moonrise Towers.

It can be initiated by speaking with Halsin while at the Campsite and asking him how to lift the Shadow Curse. He explains that the land is not made up merely of soil and roots, but has a spirit of its own - a young fey boy named Thaniel. Halsin has not felt the boy's presence since the curse was unleashed, and believes he was banished to the Shadowfell. Halsin asks that the party look out for any clues as they venture through the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

The quest can also be started if having Art Cullagh's Battered Lute in the inventory of the talking party member when interacting with Art while Halsin is in camp.

The Spirit of the Land

Information regarding Thaniel's whereabouts can be found in the Last Light Inn, in a room on the northern end of the ground floor. Inside, a man named Art Cullagh is lying on one of the beds, unresponsive and singing a song about climbing trees with Thaniel - whose name he could only know had he actually met the boy himself.

Interacting with him starts the quest  Wake Art Cullagh. To proceed, the party must obtain the Battered Lute from Malus Thorm within the House of Healing and bring it back to Cullagh in order to wake him up. Once awake, Cullagh asks to see Halsin, as Thaniel had told him to seek the druid out.

Halsin may already be at the inn if told about Art's condition beforehand, or the party can go fetch him now. Either way Halsin asks Cullagh what he remembers of Thaniel and where they met. Though Cullagh struggles to explain the shifting landscape of the Shadowfell, he does remember that he always smelled lavender when Thaniel was around.

Alternatively, if Art Cullagh dies due to Isobel being kidnapped or is killed during  Resolve the Abduction, then  Speak with Dead can be used to get the same information from his corpse.

Halsin returns from the portal with Thaniel.

Once given this information, Halsin asks the party to follow him down to the lakeside, which is north of the Last Light Inn, just outside of Isobel's barrier. Once there, speaking with Halsin results in him explaining that he has spent years studying and seeking the Oak Father's favour in order to find a way into the Shadowfell. However, he needs the party's help to keep the portal open so that he can return, since once he enters, those taken by the shadow curse will swarm the portal in an attempt to destroy it.

After Halsin has entered the portal, waves of enemies begin to spawn. They prioritise targeting the portal to the Shadowfell above all else. The portal must be kept intact for four turns, at which point Halsin returns. The enemies which spawn include Wraiths, Shadows, Shadow Mastiffs, Shadow Creepers, and Shadow-Cursed members of the Harpers, the Flaming Fist, and the Cult of the Absolute, as well as some Shadow-Cursed Githyanki Warriors. If the portal is destroyed, Halsin is lost to the Shadowfell forever, and the quest fails.

• Wave 1: Shadow ×3, Wraith ×1, Shadow Mastiff ×2, Shadow-Cursed Harper ×2, Shadow-Cursed Pilgrim ×3
• Wave 2: Shadow-Cursed Raven ×8, Shadow Creeper ×3, Shadow-Cursed Pilgrim ×3, Shadow-Cursed Harper ×3, Shadow-Cursed Flaming Fist ×3
• Wave 3: Shadow ×1, Wraith ×1, Shadow-Cursed Zealot ×3, Shadow-Cursed Flaming Fist ×2, Shadow-Cursed Githyanki Warrior ×3

If Halsin succeeds, he exits the portal with an unconscious Thaniel in his arms. He explains that something is wrong, as it seems a part of Thaniel is missing, and asks the party to meet him back at camp to discuss what to do next. Party members with the  Outlander background gain the  Grove Keeper's Keeper inspiration for defending the portal.

At camp, Halsin reveals that Thaniel's spirit was split in two when the curse took hold - half was taken to the Shadowfell, but half of him was left behind amidst the curse, and while that half may have been strong enough to resist, it has surely succumbed to the curse over the past hundred years. If it can be found, however, it can be reunited with Thaniel, allowing the land to finally heal.

While seeming like a "needle in a haystack" situation at first, Halsin explains that the curse cannot completely suppress Thaniel's power, and that the party should look for signs of life in the darkness such as wildflowers where everything else has died. He points the party towards the Ruined Battlefield and a house where he saw several fresh blooms.

At this point, Halsin joins the party as a full Companion. It is recommended to make room in the current party for him to come along for the next stage of the quest.

Oliver

Oliver is a corrupted part of Thaniel, left to decay in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Oliver is the missing half of Thaniel's spirit. He is located in the House in Deep Shadows (which is marked on the map as "House of Flowers"), found to the east of Last Light Inn. If the party has not already played hide-and-seek with him, he might ask them to do so - but regardless of whether or not his game is played, Oliver gets angry when reminded of who Thaniel is, and eventually runs away into a shadow portal.

Use the portal to follow Oliver to the middle of Reithwin Town. Oliver shields himself under a Nightdome, which reflects any damage it is dealt back to the attacker. He then summons several enemies to protect him: two Wraiths called Mummy and Daddy, as well as a shadowy owlbear called Shadow Plush. He also summons five Shadow Friends at a time. Killing each of Oliver's summoned allies deals damage to the Nightdome without reflecting the damage back.

Once the dome is destroyed, party members with the  Entertainer background gain the  It Came From Shadows inspiration. Oliver complains about being disturbed and says he does not want to go back to Thaniel, who he perceives as having abandoned him. The party can choose to be kind when convincing Oliver to rejoin Thaniel and be whole again, or be aggressive; they can also let Halsin handle it. Oliver always agrees to rejoin with Thaniel, but being aggressive about it causes Halsin to lose approval, while allowing him to handle it or being kind gives a large boost to his approval.

Healing the Shadow-Cursed Lands

After Oliver finally returns to Thaniel, the boy finally awakens. He appears at camp, near Halsin's tent. He explains that even though he is awake, the land cannot truly heal until Ketheric Thorm - the one responsible for originally cursing it - is dead, once and for all. The quest is not fully resolved until  Defeat Ketheric Thorm is completed and the party leave the Shadow-Cursed Lands to venture forth to Baldur's Gate, at which point a cutscene triggers showing the land beginning to heal.

If this quest is not resolved before leaving the Shadow-Cursed Lands, Halsin leaves the party and chooses to remain behind to look after the land and attempt to lift the Shadow Curse himself.

Quest rewards

• Halsin joins the party as a companion
•  A Tale of Two Souls ( Entertainer background)

Companion approval

• Agree to play with Oliver  +1  -1  +1  +1  +1
  • After agreeing to play with Oliver, change your mind  +1  -1
• Agree to play a second round with Oliver  +1  -1  +1  +1  +1
  • Alert the shadows before finding Oliver  -1  -1  +1
  • Find Oliver without alerting the shadows  +1  +1
• Confront Oliver regarding his identity as Thaniel (I know who you really are, and where you really belong.):  +1
• Heal Oliver  +3  +40  +5  +1
  • Be cruel to Oliver  -1
  • Be kind to Oliver  +5

Related quests

•  Wake Art Cullagh