Quick Links
-
Reach Last Light Inn
-
Defeat Malus Thorm
-
Rescue Thaniel From The Shadowfell
In chapter 2 of Baldur's Gate 3, you'll have to brave the shadow curse. As a manifestation of Sharran magic, the curse saps the life of everything caught in its darkness. One act two side quest revolves around lifting the curse from the shadowed lands.
Related: The Non-Binary Experience In Baldur's Gate 3 Totally Rocks
To do that, you need to have sided with the druids and Tieflings in act one. Halsin is required to lift the curse, and he will tell you healing the curse relies on you being able to find a fey boy named Thaniel. The completion of this quest is also how to make Halsin an active party member.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on October 6, 2023: This guide has been updated to include new links throughout to help guide readers to relevant and valuable content to enhance their Baldur's Gate 3 experience.
Reach Last Light Inn
Your first clue lies at the Last Light Inn. A sleeping man named Art Cullagh sings about Thaniel in while drifting in and out of consciousness. You can inform Halsin, and he will examine the man and give you some insight. In order to wake him, Art needs to hear something familiar. A note in his pocket will point you to the House of Healing.
RELATED: Baldur's Gate 3: Should You Free The Pixie Dolly Dolly Dolly?
Defeat Malus Thorm
At the House of Healing, you encounter Malus Thorm. This deranged worshiper of Shar delights in making pain an art form, and to reach the next step, you must figure out a way to deal with him. The easiest method is to pass a difficult speech check and persuade him to show you how to end one's own life by example. He will, for some reason, agree to this and stab himself through the eye.
Fail those speech checks, and you will have to fight him. Preparing spells suited to dealing with undead will help take him down, as he relies on his assistants to fight his best. Once he is defeated, retrieve Art's lute from his body. Bring the lute back to the inn and interact with Art to wake him. Art will then tell you Thaniel is trapped in the Shadowfell.
Related: How I Blundered My Way Into Rage-Quitting Baldur's Gate 3
Rescue Thaniel From The Shadowfell
Halsin can retrieve Thaniel from the Shadowfell, but not without your help. When you're ready for a fight, meet him at the beach near the inn. He will open a portal to the Shadowfell and head inside while you must guard it from threats.
There will be a lot of threats. For four turns, you must guard the portal from shadows, wraiths, and cursed undead. There are dozens of enemies you need to keep at bay, but many can be taken out with one blow. Spells that create AoE hazards are great for this fight. Radiant Spirit Guardians are very effective, as is Turn Undead. All the enemies are undead.
After four turns, Halsin will emerge. His return will end the combat, but sometimes an enemy may survive the cutscene for you to finish off after. Though Thaniel has returned, he will be partially corrupted by the curse and unable to heal. Halsin will tell you he is missing a piece of himself consumed by shadows, and you'll need to find it. Around this point, Halsin will offer to accompany you as a party member.
Meeting Oliver & Curing Thaniel
Near the Shadowed Battlefield fast travel point, you will find a ruined house occupied by a boy named Oliver. This boy wants to play a round or two of hide and seek. He's also the shadow half of Thaniel. After playing his games, you can confront him and urge him to return to Thaniel. He will refuse and vanish through a shadow portal.
At this point, prepare for another fight. Necrotic resistance is very useful against shadow creatures, so if you're having trouble, it will help. Follow Oliver through the portal, and battle his shadow family and illusory clones. Oliver himself is in a protective bubble that will lose health as you defeat his projections. The fight isn't particularly hard, and it ends when the bubble pops.
A conversation will begin with Oliver where you must pass speech checks to persuade him to return to Thaniel. Alternatively, you can have Halsin talk to Thaniel instead, and he will succeed without the need for a check. Oliver will return, and next time you rest at camp, Thaniel will be waiting near Halsin to give you the last step: kill Ketheric Thorm.
From here, you can consider the quest complete, as only proceeding through the main story will let you reach that final task. If you've completed all the steps, you will see life returning to the ancient battlefield as you make your way to Baldur's Gate.
Next: Baldur's Gate 3 Is Missing One Great RPG Feature From Divinity: Original Sin
