You’ve made it to a new land on your way to the Moonrise Towers and, ultimately, to Baldur’s Gate. But all is not well with these lands — a shadow curse has fallen over them, corrupting nearly everything within. Dangers abound, but this walkthrough will guide you safely through the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Note: The original version of this guide was written by Graves, and much of its information was sourced by him initially.
Map
Points of Interest 1 – Shadow Curse 2 – Druid’s Camp 3 – Harpers and Shadows 4 – Abandoned Camp 5 – He Who Was 6 – Dead Harpers 7 – Bagida 8 – Hidden Burlap Sack 9 – Blight Ambush 10 – Dead Raven 11 – Shambling Mound 12 – House in Deep Shadows 13 – Dead Tieflings 14 – True Soul Korliss 15 – Potter’s Shop 16 – Pottery Storage 17 – Harper Ambush Site 18 – Burlap Sack 19 – Skeleton 20 – Rolan 21 – Traveler’s Chests 22 – Cultist Camp 23 – Blight Ambush 24 – Elegis
Treasure ? – Dirt Mounds
Exits A – Grymforge B – Mountain Pass C – Last Light Inn D – Reithwin Town
Waypoints W – Shadowed Battlefield
Points of Interest
1 – Shadow Curse
Regardless of whether you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands via Grymforge (Exit A) or the Mountain Pass (Exit B), you will soon begin feeling the effects of the Shadow Curse. This dangerous curse will deal necrotic damage over time to any characters not protected by some form of light — not counting Shadowheart, who is immune. The amount of damage dealt increases each turn spent in the Shadow Curse, but this damage can (for now) be easily mitigated.
Before you step into the Shadow Curse, you simply need a way to beat back the shadows. The most convenient way to do this before receiving any additional gear or conditions is to use spells that produce light, most notably the Light cantrip, in order to illuminate your path. Alternatively, you can carry a torch in an off-hand. Some weapons (like the Blood of Lathander) also work for this, but others (like the Everburn Blade) don’t.
Later on, Selune’s blessing from Isobel at the Last Light Inn (Exit C), a working Moonlantern taken from Kar’niss (#17) or Moonrise Towers, or a Pixie Blessing (granted from freeing the pixie inside Kar’niss’s Moonlantern) will also protect you from the curse, and are more reliable to use.
There is a denser version of the Shadow Curse which snuffs out most light around Reithwin Town. Traversing it safely requires either a Moonlantern or the Pixie Blessing, though there spots where you can run through it quickly while carrying a lesser light source (see Exit D).
At this camp you’ll find a skeleton and a Dead Druid’s Journal. The journal will detail the druid’s attempts to stave off the Shadow Curse — obviously unsuccessfully. You won’t gain any extra insight by beating a passive DC-18 Nature check when reading the journal, but if you have a Sage (like Gale) in your party, then reading the journal will give you the Corrupted Beyond Recognition inspiration.
3 – Harpers and Shadows
Enemies
Harper Yonas – Lv. 5
6 x Shadows – Lv. 5
When you approach this area, you’ll encounter a group of Harpers attempting to traverse the Shadow-Cursed Lands to reach the Last Light Inn (Exit C). They’ll spot you right away, but no matter what you say, Shadows will ambush them and turn one of their party, Harper Yonas, into a Shadow-Cursed Undead.
When the dust settles, it’ll be you and the remaining three Harpers against six Shadows and Harper Yonas. Shadows hit hard, but they don’t have a lot of hit points. They also turn invisible if they’re not in bright light, but you should have started the fight with lots of lights on to battle the Shadow Curse, and there are also a couple of braziers in the area that you can turn on. A spell light Daylight (available to Shadowheart) should also be useful here (since Shadows have Sunlight Weakness), but we couldn’t tell if it made any difference.
After the battle, the remaining Harpers, if any, will urge you to follow them to the Last Light Inn (Exit C), and they’ll mark its location on your map.
Next to the tent here (#4), you’ll spot a grave dedicated to Ellie May. It’ll highlight when you get close to it, without the need of passing any sort of check. When you loot the grave, you’ll discover that it’s empty, and you’ll determine that an animal must have rummaged through it.
Nearby (#4a), you’ll find a skeleton with an Unsent Letter. The writer will talk about the grave and how it’s supposed to contain a Family Ring, potentially worth a lot of money in Baldur’s Gate.
To figure out what happened to the ring, you’ll need to search around the grave. If you pass a DC-10 Perception check, then you’ll notice some beast tracks leading towards the chasm to the east. If you jump down a couple of times and pass another DC-10 Perception check, then you’ll detect a burrow (#4b) containing the Family Ring, which gives +2 to Death Saving Throws.
5 – He Who Was
Deep in the shadowy lands (okay, not that deep), you will find He Who Was, standing near a raven, a ritual circle, and a body. In case the signs weren’t clear enough, or you didn’t know them to begin with, this man, who goes by “He Who Was,” is a shadar-kai — a servant of the Raven Queen (which you can determine yourself with a Passive History check).
When asked about the body, he will explain that the body belongs to a woman who betrayed all of her friends, and deserved punishment. The preparations he has made her are so he can resurrect her and put her to trial for her crimes, but he needs one final thing: evidence. He Who Was will ask you to retrieve the evidence in question of her foul deeds: he will tell you that the woman was a bartender at the Waning Moon distillery in Reithwin Town (Exit D), and that she has a logbook documenting her crimes.
Should you retrieve the ledger — proving exactly what He Who Was claims — you can bring it back, and be part of the ritual. It involves He Who Was channeling the bartender (Madeline’s) spirit. From here, He Who Was will encourage the player to “break” her, but you have a choice. Should you choose to shame her for cowardice (DC-10 Persuasion), or make her stab herself once (DC-14 Persuasion), then He Who Was will be satisfied and will reward you with the Raven Gloves. If you forgive her (DC-10 Persuasion) or stab her a second time, however, He Who Was will be upset, and will engage you in combat.
You do not need to pass the checks to resolve the dialogue, it will progress either way.
Paladins should be exceedingly cautious, as all oaths can be easily broken by resolving this dialogue in ways not in alignment with them.
6 – Dead Harpers
You’ll discover a trio of dead Harpers here, including Harper Lightspark, who will be carrying a Harper Journal. The journal will give you some information about a house to the south (#12) — including the possible presence of children and githyanki warriors there — and mark its location on your map.
7 – Bagida / Locked Chest
You’ll find the remains of Bagida here (#7). When you loot her skeleton, you’ll find Bagida’s Diary and a Key. The key unlocks a chest to the west (#7a).
To detect the burlap sack here (#8), you’ll need to beat a passive DC-10 Perception check. Inside the sack, you’ll find a Key, which unlocks a chest to the east (#8a).
When you get close enough to the blights hiding here, you’ll trigger a passive DC-30 Perception check. If you manage to beat it, then you’ll detect the blights, which will prevent you from being Surprised when they attack you. But for best results, you should attack them first. Even if you fail the Perception check, you should still be able to force-attack them to initiate combat.
The battle against the blights should not be too bad, even if you get ambushed. Just note that the Needle Blights will explode when they die, so try to kill them with ranged attacks. A well-placed Fireball might be able to take out half the enemies at once.
When you approach the dead raven on the ground here, you’ll trigger a passive DC-15 Arcana check. If you beat it, then you’ll detect that the raven has been tainted by the shadows, and is best avoided. If you interact with the raven anyway, then you’ll get ambushed by a dozen Shadow-Cursed Ravens, who will Surprise you during the first round of combat.
The Shadow-Cursed Ravens are only level 1, and they only have 1 hit point, so they should be easy to dispatch. Area-effect spells, or even an upcasted Magic Missile, will make short work of them.
Numerous blights will be hiding in and around the tower here, hoping to ambush you. If you beat a passive DC-30 Perception check when approaching them, then you’ll detect them before they can attack, which will prevent you from being Surprised if they attack you before you attack them. Even if you fail the Perception check, you can still attack them first by force-attacking one of them before they show themselves.
This can be a fairly nasty battle. The six Needle Blights are only level 3, but they’ll hit you pretty hard whenever they connect, and they’ll explode when they die, dealing even more damage. Meanwhile, the Shambling Mound has over 150 hit points, and it can do a variety of nasty things — like using Adhesive Whip to draw a character to it and then Multiattacking them to deal up to 50 damage, or Devouring a character who has been Entangled (by it) or Constricted (by a Vine Blight). Plus, the two dead Harpers nearby will rise up during the fight and attack you as well.
So you definitely want to attack first. If you can kill a couple of Needle Blights right away, then their explosions will hurt their allies, and you might make a nice dent in the number of creatures attacking you. The Shambling Mound in particular has four Needle Blights around it, so if you can hit them with a Fireball or some other area-effect spell, then you might start a chain reaction and reduce the difficulty of the battle by a significant amount.
Afterwards, if you climb up to the top of the tower, then you’ll discover the skeleton of a treasure hunter plus a locked chest. The Key for the chest is right next to the skeleton. Inside the chest, you’ll find a Ring of Self Immolation, an excellent item for heat-based builds.
Inside this house, you’ll meet a tiefling boy named Oliver, who has clearly been infected in some way by the Shadow Curse. If you pass a DC-14 Arcana check, then you’ll learn that he’s not an ordinary boy, and is instead “ancient” and “sad.”
Oliver will ask you to play hide and seek with him. If you question him, then he’ll talk about his family — Mummy, Daddy, and Doggy (aka Betsy) — but if you beat a passive DC-14 Insight check, then you’ll sense he’s probably lying about them.
If you refuse to play with Oliver, then he’ll summon his family — shadow creatures all — and you’ll have to defeat them. If you agree to play, then the game will proceed over two rounds:
Round 1. Oliver will turn invisible and hide behind the cart to the west of the house. When you get close to him, you’ll trigger a DC-10 Perception check. If you beat it, then you’ll spot Oliver and win. Otherwise, you’ll lose — even if you have See Invisibility active and can plainly see him. But it doesn’t make any difference if you win or lose this round. Oliver will want to play again.
Round 2. For this round, Oliver will turn invisible and hide in the eastern part of the house, but he’ll also summon his family, who will start hunting for you. What you’ll need to do is find Oliver without his family detecting you. This might be easier if you play the game with one character — your stealthiest — rather than your entire party.
There won’t be a Perception check this round. You’ll need to spot Oliver at his hiding place, and then talk to him. If you’re hiding at the time, then you’ll need to select “talk” from Oliver’s context-sensitive menu. Or you can stop hiding and then talk to him quickly before his family notices you. This should cause Oliver to declare you the winner and give you a Ring of Shadows.
If Oliver’s family spots you, then combat will start up. At this point it won’t be possible to find Oliver. You’ll have to kill his family. Luckily, at the end of the battle, Oliver will announce that you’ve come in “second place,” and he’ll give you the ring anyway. So as long as you survive the encounter, you’ll get the same reward — and since Oliver’s family is worth over 400 xp, maybe losing is better.
Afterwards when you search Oliver’s house, you’ll come across a locked wooden chest and a locked wooden desk. You’ll need to pass a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check to open them. Inside, you’ll find a Ring of Mental Inhibition and Oliver’s Diary. You’ll also find a Stuffed Owlbear Toy on a broken cupboard.
Oliver is also critically important to Halsin’s questline in the region to clear the Shadow Curse, and should be visited after Halsin deals with Art Cullagh and the Shadowfell Portal at the Last Light Inn. During that quest, Oliver will become upset and take a portal directly to the center of Reithwin Town, where an extremely difficult combat will initiate, so make sure you are immune to the Shadow Curse and are prepared for a battle when that happens.
13 – Dead Tieflings
If you sided with the tieflings in the Emerald Grove, then at this spot you’ll learn that they didn’t all live happily ever after. They were attacked by cultists on their way to the Last Light Inn, and many of them fell here. You won’t find anything useful on the corpses — any keys they have were only relevant in the Emerald Grove — and if you use Speak with Dead on them, they won’t have anything to say.
The chicken run here is surrounded by blue-glowing torches, and you’ll find the body of True Soul Korliss inside. If you interact with the torches and beat a DC-14 Arcana check (or have Gale in your party), then you’ll recognize that they’re magically-created Continual Flames. If you use Speak with Dead on Korliss, then you’ll learn that she created the flames while hiding out from Shadow Mastiffs, before eventually starving to death. You can also read the Journal Log of True Soul Korliss, found in a nearby backpack, for similar information.
If you feel like battling the mastiffs, then you’ll need to destroy all five torches. When that happens, three Shadow Mastiffs and one Shadow Mastiff Alpha will converge on the chicken run from four different directions. They’ll use hit-and-run tactics along with Shadowjaw Bite to knock you down.
If you have trouble with the battle, then there isn’t any reason to start it in the chicken run. You can stand far away and use ranged attacks to destroy the torches, and then let the mastiffs charge at you — and hopefully cut them down before they arrive.
After the battle, you’ll find a Shadow-Cloaked Ring on the alpha’s corpse, which will allow you to deal extra damage to creatures in the shadows or made of shadow.
A group of four Meazels will attempt to ambush you inside the potter’s shop here, but if you beat a passive DC-18 Perception check, then you’ll see it coming. The Meazels like to Garrote their targets, which silences them, but you can disrupt the Meazels (by, say, knocking them Prone or Frightening them) to end the effect. If you don’t mind taking an Attack of Opportunity, then you can also just move away from them.
After the battle when you explore the shop, you’ll find the Potter’s Chest in the back. It’ll be locked. To open it, you’ll need to beat a DC-10 Perception check in the front of the shop to detect a moveable brick, and then loot the Potter’s Chest Key from behind it. Or you can just beat a DC-14 Sleight of Hand check to pick the chest’s lock. Inside the chest, you’ll find Luminous Gloves and a Note. The Note is a clue for the quest Investigate the Selunite Resistance.
This storage chamber once belonged to the potter, but more recently it has been used by the Harpers while investigating Ketheric Thorm (as evidenced by the rather harsh Harper Interrogation Transcript found inside). A tripwire trap (DC-10 Perception to detect, DC-10 Sleight of Hand to disarm) blocks the entrance, and a locked traveler’s chest can be found in the back. To open the chest, you can pick its lock by passing a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check, or you can grab its Key from one of the vases next to it. Inside the chest you’ll find a Ring of Twilight, which gives a +1 bonus to Armor Class when obscured.
What happens at this site depends on what you’ve done earlier in the game:
If you talked to Harper Branthos at the Last Light Inn (Exit C) and learned about the planned Harper ambush of a cultist convoy, then the Harpers will be in place here when you arrive, and you’ll just need to talk to one of them to cause the convoy to show up — and you to take point in the encounter.
If you hide at the start, then the drider Kar’niss will kill Brawler Vez (which can be good or bad depending on whose side you want to take). If you beat a DC-14 Stealth check to hide a second time, then the Harpers will get irritated and attack the convoy. You can also show yourself and then pick a side, or beat DC-14 Deception or Intimidation checks to convince Kar’niss to give up his Moonlantern, or simply attack.
After the battle, if you switched sides to Kar’niss, then he’ll be suspicious of you, and you’ll have to beat a DC-13 Intelligence check (to read his thoughts), a DC-14 Deception check, or a DC-14 Persuasion check to convince him to trust you. If you’re successful, then he’ll allow you to join the convoy, and he’ll lead you to Moonrise Towers. Otherwise, Kar’niss and the cultists will attack you.
If you arrive here with Kar’niss and the cultist convoy (see #22), then the Harpers will attack as soon as you get into range. You’ll get a passive DC-14 Perception check to detect the ambush, but passing or failing it won’t make any difference because Kar’niss will detect the ambush either way. The Harpers won’t talk to you before attacking, but you’ll still be able to choose a side before the fighting starts.
After the battle, if you switched sides to the Harpers, then they’ll question you. If you beat a DC-14 History check, then you’ll know they’re a force “dedicated to freedom and balance.” However, while they won’t force you to prove yourself to them (that’ll happen when you arrive at the Last Light Inn), they’ll take Kar’niss’s Moonlantern with them, and you’ll have to follow them to the Last Light Inn (and talk to Isobel) to get it.
If you didn’t meet Branthos or Kar’niss, then you’ll be at the ambush site all alone when the convoy shows up. You’ll get the same options as with being with the Harpers, but with a couple of small differences. If you hide from the convoy twice, then they’ll just walk on by, and you’ll have to wait until you reach Moonrise Towers to get Kar’niss’s Moonlantern. And if you ask to join the convoy, then Kar’niss will welcome you without you having to convince him to trust you.
The two possible battles — against the Harpers or the cultists — should be straightforward, except for Kar’niss. He’s powerful with lots of hit points, and annoyingly he’ll cast Sanctuary every other round. Sanctuary will protect him from direct attacks, but he’ll still be vulnerable to damage from AOE attacks, like Cloud of Daggers and Fireball. So kill Kar’niss’s cultist allies (or heal) when he’s protected, and then focus on him when he isn’t, and use AOE whenever possible.
If you kill Kar’niss (here or elsewhere), then you’ll find a working Moonlantern plus the longsword Cruel Sting on his corpse. When you loot the Moonlantern, you’ll discover that it’s being powered by a pixie named Dolly Dolly Dolly. If you beat a passive but unspecified Intelligence check, then you’ll remember that pixies tend to be tricksters, which means you should be wary.
Dolly will ask you to free her. If you comply, then she’ll reward you with a Filigreed Feywild Bell, and you’ll automatically use it. This will give you a Pixie Blessing, which will protect you from the Shadow Curse, and free you from needing to keep your party in the light. You can also leave Dolly in the Moonlantern and continue to use that as your protection, or you can kill Dolly (by torturing her in the Moonlantern twice). If Dolly dies, then for some reason the Moonlantern will still work.
Note: If you free Dolly by smashing the Moonlantern — and damaging her in the process — then she’ll get annoyed at you and curse you with A Clown in Town, which will paint you with clown makeup. But don’t worry; this affliction can be removed with the Remove Curse spell.
After dealing with the ambush, when you explore the building here, you’ll find a locked wooden chest inside it. To open the chest, you’ll either need to beat a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check to pick its lock, or you’ll need to grab its Key, which you can find on the roof next to a skeleton. Inside the chest, you’ll discover the Hammergrim Mist Amulet, which contains the spell Fog Cloud.
18 – Burlap Sack / Locked Chest
Amongst the skeletons here (#18), you might notice a simple burlap sack containing a Key. The Key unlocks a wooden chest to the east (#18a).
19 – Skeleton
Notable Loot
Dark Justiciar Mask
You’ll discover Inquisitor Verzen Wranlock’s skeleton here. When you loot it, you’ll find Investigation Notes, which will indicate that Selunite rebels were using the potter’s shop (#15) as a place of worship. This is a clue for the quest Investigate the Selunite Resistance. You’ll also find a Dark Justiciar Mask (which gives +1 Intimidation) next to the skeleton.
20 – Rolan
Enemies
2 X Shadows – Lv. 5
After speaking to Rolan in the Last Light Inn (Exit C) and learning that his siblings Cal and Lia were captured and taken to Moonrise Towers, he’ll attempt a rescue on his own, and you’ll find him here, fighting two Shadows. You’ll discover lots of shadow-cursed remains near him, so he isn’t helpless, but if you don’t intervene then he’ll die. If you save Rolan, then he’ll express frustration that he couldn’t save his siblings — again — and he’ll return to the Last Light Inn. If you have a Folk Hero (like Wyll) in your party, then rescuing Rolan will earn you the Saving the Prodigious inspiration.
Note: If you rescue Cal and Lia before finding Rolan here or talking to him at the Last Light Inn, then there’s an excellent chance he’ll go on his rescue mission without you or anybody else noticing, and die.
The larger of the two chests can be opened using a Key found inside a barrel on the upper floor of the Reithwin Tollhouse in Reithwin Town, or by beating a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check. It contains a Gloomstrand Shield, which grants Stealth +1.
The smaller chest can be opened using a Key found inside a crate on the western side of the middle bridge leading to Reithwin Town (Exit D), or by beating a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check. It contains miscellaneous loot.
This camp is the staging area for cultists heading to Moonrise Towers. If you enter the Shadow-Cursed Lands from the Mountain Pass (Exit B), then cultists will be waiting here. But if you enter from Grymforge (Exit A), then you’ll only see the cultist convoy in progress (at #17), and you’ll miss out on the camp activities listed below.
When you first approach this camp, you’ll witness the goblin Warrior Gronag playing “fetch” with a hyena, where he’ll throw a bone into the darkness and encourage the hyena to chase it and get taken by the Shadow Curse. If you simply observe the interaction, then that’s exactly what will happen, but if you ask Gronag what he’s doing, then you’ll save the hyena. If you disapprove of Gronag’s actions, then at the end of your conversation with him, you can use your Illithid Powers to force him to fetch the bone himself. If Gronag or the hyena enter the shadows, then you’ll encounter shadow-cursed undead versions of them just to the south.
If the hyena survives, then you can use Speak with Animals or pass a DC-14 Animal Handling check to talk to it. If you use Speak with Animals, and if you pass a DC-10 Persuasion check followed by a DC-14 Intimidation or Persuasion check, then you can encourage it to find a safer home. If you use Animal Handling, then you’ll only need to pass a DC-10 Persuasion check or a DC-16 Intimidation check for the same result. If you try to get the hyena to attack the goblins, it’ll refuse.
Inside the camp, you’ll meet Kansif, the acting leader. He’ll assume that you’re Nere, a True Soul sent by Minthara, and that you have a Spider’s Lyre. If you play along, then Kansif will encourage you to play the lyre and summon a special guide who will take you and the cultists in the camp to Moonrise Towers. If you don’t have a Spider’s Lyre, then you can get one from Minthara (in the Shattered Sanctum) or Nere (at Grymforge), either by working with them or killing them. You can also attack Kansif and the other cultists, but if that’s your intention, it’s better to wait for the guide and eventually let a group of Harpers help you out (at #8).
To summon the guide, you’ll just need to play the Spider’s Lyre while talking to Kansif. You’ll be given a DC-16 Performance check, but it won’t make any difference if you beat it or not (the guide will just insult your playing if you fail). If you don’t have the lyre, then you can also summon the guide through class-specific dialogue options, which will only appear after ending your conversation with Kansif and then talking to him again. Barbarians, Bards, Clerics, Paladins and Sorcerers all get these dialogue options, which include a DC-16 check against a skill or an ability score relevant to the class. For example, Barbarians get a DC-16 Intimidation check to summon the guide.
When the guide arrives, you’ll learn that he’s a drider named Kar’niss. He’ll automatically accept that you’re working with the Absolute, and he’ll offer to take you and the rest of the cultists to Moonrise Towers. Of course, you’ll get ambushed by Harpers along the way. See the entry for that site (#17) for more information about Kar’niss and his Moonlantern.
Yet another ambush site. Blights sure are tricky. If you beat a passive DC-30 Perception check when approaching the site, then you’ll detect the blights, which will prevent you from being Surprised if they attack first. And speaking of attacking first, that’s what you should do. Even if you fail the Perception check, you should still be able to force-attack the blights to initiate combat.
After the battle, you’ll find the Frost Prince amulet (which contains the Ice Knife spell) in a nearby gilded chest.
If Elegis survived the events at the Emerald Grove, then you’ll find her corpse here. If you pass a DC-10 Medicine check when examining her corpse, pass a DC-6 Investigation check when examining the nearby ox corpse, and also read the Refugee’s Journal on the ground, then you’ll likely piece together that the ox died from the Shadow Curse, came back to life as shadow-cursed undead, and then it and Elegis fought and killed each other.
If you beat passive Survival checks when approaching these mounds, then you’ll detect them, which will allow you to dig them up with a Shovel and reveal a chest. However, inside the chests you’ll just find some random loot.
This exit will take you into a small ruined area, where you’ll find the elevator down to Grymforge. The Absolutist Expedition Trunk visible from the entrance can be opened using the Absolutist Expedition Key on the upper level, or by passing a DC-10 Sleight of Hand check. If you’re far enough along in Gale’s companion quest The Wizard of Waterdeep, then you might meet Elminster in the ruins.
In this protected bubble, you will meet Jaheira and her Harpers, who are rallying against Ketheric Thorm in Moonrise Towers. If you sided with the tieflings at the Emerald Grove, then you’ll also find several of them here. This is a safe haven for most players.
All three entrances to Reithwin Town are easily accessible, essentially bridges into the town. However, Reithwin Town is surrounded by a denser layer of the Shadow Curse which will snuff out all but the strongest light sources. You will need either a Moonlantern or a Pixie Blessing (both obtainable from Kar’niss, #17) to pass through without damage, although a well-prepared party can brave the Shadow Curse long enough to make it to Moonrise Towers to acquire a different Moonlantern if Kar’niss’s is unavailable.
W – Waypoint
There is only one waypoint in the Shadow-Cursed Lands (even though the adjacent zones have plenty), titled “Shadowed Battlefield.”
Where To Go Next
Last Light Inn: Most characters will want to visit the Last Light Inn before heading to Reithwin Town. Not only will this let you meet Jaheira, start and progress a few quests, and find some respite, but Isobel at the Inn can provide you with a blessing to stave off the horror of the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Or you can just kill them all, if that’s your thing. Either way, it should be most players’ first stop in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.
Reithwin Town: The Moonrise Towers and the Gauntlet of Shar both lie within or through this densely-cursed town, as well as the tainted members of the Khorm family. This is the location you will need to go to progress the plot, and the most loot dense area of the game so far.
Mountain Pass: If you need to backtrack, it is likely you still need to clear out the Rosymorn Monastery and Crèche Y’llek to progress Lae’zel’s story and find some out yourself.
Grymforge: You can only use this path if you’ve already cleared Grymforge, and if that’s the case you might as well fast travel.
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.
