When you venture into the Shadow Cursed Lands in Baldur’s Gate 3, your primary objective at first is to reach the Last Light Inn. This sanctuary is protected from the Shadow Curse, but it still houses some sick people affected by it. One of those people is a man named Art Cullagh, who you find in one of the side rooms at the inn.
At an initial glance, Art Cullagh seems like an unwell individual who is recovering from an illness on a bed. However, if you continue listening to Art, he will mention the name Thaniel. If you have spoken to Halsin in your BG3 camp, you will know Thaniel is a boy that has been lost in the Shadowfell region for a century.
To learn more about what Art knows regarding Thaniel, you need to wake him up from the plague that currently afflicts him.
Waking up Art Cullagh in Baldur’s Gate 3
If you have Halsin in your camp, you can return to him with news that a man mentioned Thaniel by name. Halsin will immediately go to Art’s bedside at the Last Light Inn, and you can join him there as soon as you leave camp. Halsin will say that the only way to wake Art up is to bring him an item of significance that can jog his memory.
Even if you don’t have Halsin in your camp, the item you need to wake up Art remains the same. You need an item called the “Battered Lute,” which is currently in the possession of a doctor, named Malus Thorm, at the House of Healing. This area is located in Reithwin Town, which is due southwest of the Last Light Inn.
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To reach it, you need to once again brave the Shadow Cursed Lands. Before leaving, make sure to speak to Jaheira and Isobel; they will both make your journey easier.
Upon reaching Reithwin Town, head to the west to find the House of Healing. Located toward the back of the building, you will find Malus Thorm in the middle of an auditorium surrounded by nurse sisters. Go up and speak to Thorm or simply attack him to make things quicker.
In any case, Thorm needs to die for you to acquire the Battered Lute that is in his possession. I was actually able to make the nurses kill Thorm willingly by saying Thorm should be the test subject of the sisters.
Once Thorm is dead, you can loot his body for the lute and then go back to the Last Light Inn. Here, you can play the lute in front of Art. If Halsin is there, talk to him first. Once the Battered Lute has been played, Art will wake up and you can begin to further uncover the mystery around the boy named Thaniel and the Shadow Curse that plagues the lands around you.
