The Shadow Curse is annoying, and nobody outside Shar’s inner circle likes it. In this guide, we’ll show you how to lift the curse — provided you didn’t kill any important bears in Act 1.
Map
Points of Interest 1 – Art Cullagh 2 – Portal 3 – House in Deep Shadows 4 – Central Square
Exits A – Road to Baldur’s Gate
Background
During the quest Wake Up Art Cullagh, you’ll meet Cullagh in the Last Light Inn (#1). He’ll be catatonic, singing about himself and someone named Thaniel. When you travel to your camp and tell Halsin about this, he’ll recognize the name Thaniel as the spirit of the land — and the key to ending the Shadow Curse. This conversation will trigger the quest and cause Halsin to travel to the Last Light Inn.
Note: If Halsin is dead, then you won’t be able to lift the Shadow Curse.
Walkthrough
To advance this quest, you’ll need to complete the quest Wake Up Art Cullagh. At that point, when you talk to Halsin in the Last Light Inn, he and Cullagh will discuss the Shadowfell, and Cullagh will remember smelling lavender whenever he was around Thaniel. Halsin will decide that this is enough information for him to track Thaniel down.
Of course, Halsin will need some help. He’ll ask you to meet him “by the lakeshore” (#2), which is just out of range of the moon shield surrounding the inn. When you talk to Halsin there, he’ll tell you that he’s going to create a portal (aka a Shadow Crossing) and enter the Shadowfell alone to find Thaniel, and that while he’s gone, he’ll need you to protect the portal and prevent it from being destroyed.
When Halsin enters the portal, combat will start up. You (and the portal) will get attacked by a variety of shadow creatures, including Shadows (level 5), Shadow Creepers (level 6), Shadow Mastiffs (level 6), Shadow-Cursed Humanoids (levels 1-8), Shadow-Cursed Ravens (level 1), and Wraiths (level 7). You’ll start out on high ground with the portal, and the shadow creatures will attack from the south and east (mostly the east).
Almost all shadow creatures have Sunlight Weakness, but Wraiths will extinguish any lights near to them. So target any Wraiths you see first, and then cast a spell like Daylight to give yourself an advantage. Or at worst cast multiple Light spells and stay near the portal (which is also a light source) to prevent shadow creatures from using Shadow Blend and disappearing from sight.
More shadow creatures will appear at the start of each turn, so you won’t be able to win the fight outright. You’ll just have to survive and protect the portal for five turns. The portal starts out with 142 hit points, so it can take some abuse, but the horde of enemies you’ll be facing can wear it down quickly. So focus on the higher level, higher damage enemies, and also any enemies with ranged attacks, since they’ll always target the portal. Also, while the shadow creatures will be bunched together just begging for you to unleash area-effect spells (like Turn Undead) on them, don’t waste your best spells on level 1 enemies. Save them for the last couple rounds when the higher level Shadow-Cursed Humanoids appear.
When Halsin returns, any remaining shadow creatures will disappear, and the battle will end. Halsin will have Thaniel with him, but Thaniel will be unconscious, and Halsin will note that something is wrong with him — that Thaniel is “hollow.” Halsin will then take Thaniel back to your camp.
When you return to your camp, Halsin will tell you that Thaniel is resting, but strangely you won’t see him anywhere around. More importantly, Halsin will inform you that when Thaniel was transported into the Shadowfell, he was split in two, and that to cure him, you’ll need to find his other half.
To help you out, Halsin will give you some hints. He’ll reveal that the other half of Thaniel will look like him and have his power, and that the power will manifest itself in the world around him, bringing life where there shouldn’t be any. Halsin will then mention spotting some wildflowers in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and he’ll mark the location on your map. Finally, Halsin will at long last become available as a companion, and he’ll offer to join you in your search.
You’ll find Thaniel’s other half, Oliver, in the Shadow-Cursed Lands at the House in Deep Shadows (#3). If you didn’t play hide and seek with Oliver earlier, then he might require you to do that before you can proceed, but regardless, he won’t be all that keen on reuniting with Thaniel. In fact, before you can say much of anything to him, Oliver will create a Shadow Portal and flee through it.
When you follow Oliver through the portal, you’ll end up in Reithwin Town at the Central Square (#4). Oliver will be there shielded by a Nightdome, and he’ll summon shadow creatures to attack you — including a pair of wraiths called Mummy and Daddy (both level 7), numerous Shadow Friends (level 1), and a cursed owlbear named Shadow Plush (level 7).
You’ll have two options for the fight:
You can attack the shadow creatures. Each time you kill one, it’ll damage the Nightdome. Mummy, Daddy and Shadow Plush will cause 60 damage. Shadow Friends will cause 10 damage.
You can just attack the Nightdome. It starts with 300 hit points, and it’s resistant or immune to all damage other than Radiant, but you can wear it down. However, it’s easier to fight the shadow creatures.
When you destroy the Nightdome, Oliver will talk to you again, and this time he’ll be more receptive to what you have to say. No matter which approach you use to convince him, he’ll agree to merge with Thaniel, and he’ll disappear. Then when you return to your camp, you’ll find Thaniel, awake and healthy, waiting for you at Halsin’s tent. When you approach him there, he’ll lament what has happened during his absence, but he’ll tell you that the only way to lift the Shadow Curse is to remove its anchor — Ketheric Thorm.
To complete this quest, you’ll have to kill Ketheric Thorm — see the quest Defeat Ketheric Thorm for details — and take the road to Baldur’s Gate (Exit A), ending Act 2.
Share this article:
Steven Carter
Starting with cassette tape games on the TRS-80, Steven has been playing, creating, and writing about games for a long, long time. This makes him experienced, not old. Lately, Steven has been focusing on walkthroughs, making sure everybody knows how to solve Towers of Hanoi puzzles.
