Thaniel is a boy who has been trapped in the Shadowfell region of Baldur’s Gate 3 for over a century. You first learn about him through Halsin, the Druid who stays at your camp if you saved Emerald Grove from the goblins in Act One.
But after speaking with Art Cullagh at the Last Light Inn, Halsin will learn more and find a way to bring Thaniel back. Of course, he needs your help to do so.
How to find Thaniel in Baldur’s Gate 3
The easiest way to find Thaniel is to complete the Wake Up Art Cullagh quest, which you receive at the Last Light Inn. During this quest, you’ll learn Thaniel’s location and can continue working through the updated objectives of the Lift the Shadow Curse questline to find Thaniel.
If you keep talking to Halsin through Act Two when you’re in the Shadow Cursed Lands, he’ll mention Thaniel as his biggest failure. Halsin has no idea if Thaniel is still alive after all these years, and without more knowledge, he has no way of finding him.
How to start the Wake Up Art Cullagh quest in BG3
To start the Wake Up Art Cullage quest, you must first find him. Art Cullagh is lying ill on a bed in the side room of the inn, roughly at the coordinates X: -64 and Y: 163.
- After finding Art, speak to Halsin, who’ll make his way to Last Light Inn right after your conversation. Halsin can be found on the bed next to Art Cullagh until he’s awoken. His dialogue will not progress much if the story of Art Cullagh is not woken.
- Go back to Last Light Inn and use the Battered Lute you obtain from defeating Malus Thorm in the House of Healing to wake Art Cullagh from his slumber.
- After waking up Art Cullagh, he’ll utter a few words about Thaniel’s whereabouts. This only applies if Art is still alive.
How to talk to Art Cullagh if he’s dead
If Art is dead, use Speak With Dead to get what you need from him. Speak With Dead is a level three necromancy spell learned by Bards, Clerics, or Warlocks. Shadowheart or Gale may already have this skill. If not, you can respec them to get it or wear the Amulet of Lost Voices to gain access to this skill, which you get in the Dank Crypt.
Speaking with Art this way will still jump-start the quest with Halsin, and it’s the key to finding Thaniel and lifting the Shadow Curse. Unfortunately, this character can die but Speak With Dead will definitely work.
How to complete the Wake Up Art Cullagh quest
Once you’ve got the information about Thaniel’s location, the Wake Up Art Cullagh quest will be complete, and you’ll have a new objective under the Lift the Shadow Curse questline.
Where to find Halsin to help him rescue Thaniel
Halsin will ask you to meet him by the Lakeshore—a short walk from the Last Light Inn, roughly at the coordinates X: -74 and Y: 204.
Meeting Halsin will reveal he plans to go into the Shadowfell to rescue Thaniel, and you need to stay behind to protect his portal from waves of enemies.
How to protect Halsin while he saves Thaniel
After progressing the storyline, you’ll obtain a detrimental task: Keep Halsin alive. Shadow enemies will continuously spawn after Halsin leaves to rescue Thaniel and will prioritize attacks against the portal.
Thankfully, the enemies have low health. You must prevent them from damaging the portal too much since this will close it and leave Halsin trapped.
Attacks that can hit multiple targets, like Magic Missile, are extremely useful. But the biggest advantage you will have here is Shadowheart. Move her into an area near a large group of enemies and use the Turn Undead spell. If an enemy fails the Wisdom Save Throw for this, they become Turned and are forced to use their turn to move as far away from Shadowheart as possible. At this point, Shadowheart should be past level five, which means this spell also deals 4d6 Radiant damage to any undead that fails the Wisdom Saving Throw. So, it’s great for taking out low-health creatures. I waited until turn two to use this because this let me group more enemies together to hit them with this spell.
You may have to reload and try again since some of it’s luck. But once the task is completed, Halsin will return with Thaniel and any remaining enemies die. Halsin, however, explains something’s wrong with him.
Return to camp and speak to Halsin, where you can recruit him as a companion. He’ll tell you Thaniel is missing part of himself and task you with finding an area with floral blooms.
The area should be marked on your map, but it appears to be bugged, as it did not for me. You can head to the coordinates X: 76 Y: 40.
How to find Thaniel’s other half
Travel to the House in the Deep Shadows to find Thaniel’s other half. If you’ve unlocked the Shadowed Battlefield Waypoint, head there for quick access. Otherwise, head to the above coordinates X: 76 Y: 40 or southeast from the Last Light Inn.
Before traveling, however, make sure you have a working Moon Lantern or Pixie Blessing. You’ll need it to complete the objectives in this quest.
Meeting Oliver, Thaniel’s other half: Hide & Seek and dialogue progression
In the House in Deep Shadows, you will run into a boy named Oliver. If you’ve already discovered Oliver, you know he will ask you to play hide and seek with him, and you must win at playing Hide and Seek. If you haven’t, play Hide and Seek.
You can talk to him if you’re returning to this location or just finished playing Hide and Seek. After he asks you to play with him, you’ll gain access to some new dialogue.
Of the dialogue options, choose the first one, where you tell Oliver that you know who he really is and that he needs to return to reunite with Thaniel since he will die without Oliver’s presence. The two are one and the same; Oliver is simply the shadow version of Thaniel.
Of course, Oliver won’t like this, and he will say you can’t make him stop playing. He will run off into a portal, which you must enter to follow him.
Here, Oliver will summon his shadow parents and dog and trap himself in a magical bubble called the Nightdome. You’ll enter into a battle with various creatures.
How to beat Mommy, Daddy, the Dogs, and the Dome
To get to Oliver, you must defeat the creatures in your path, and the best way to do that is to beat the parents first, then the dog, and finally damage the dome enough so Oliver is forced to come out.
As shadows, they aren’t too difficult to defeat, and killing them also weakens Oliver’s bubble, which has 300 health. There are a few tips and tricks you can use to beat them with ease.
- Select one high-damage-dealing person, like a Sorcerer or a Warlock, to clear the dogs.
- Magic Missiles is the best and most efficient ability to clear the mobs because you get three missiles, and they’re 100 percent guaranteed to land.
- The rest of your team will focus on the parents, starting with one, and when that one is killed, the other.
- When one parent is killed, this will deal 60 damage to the dome. So, if you can quickly kill them both, you’ll deal 120 damage to the dome.
- Oliver will also create shadows of himself that you’ll need to kill. They each have one health, so you can use an AoE spell, like Fireball or Magic Missiles, to clear them.
- Use a light to ensure you can see Shadows.
- If any of your characters are Fighters, like Lae’zel, use Action Surge to gain an extra action that turn. This will help whittle down Mommy and Daddy’s health much faster.
- If you have a Barbarian, like Karlach, you can also use Frenzy to gain an extra action and deal more damage to Mommy and Daddy.
- Once you’ve killed all the shadows, you can focus your abilities and destroy the Nightdome.
How to convince Oliver to return to Thaniel
When the fight ends, convince Oliver to return to Thaniel. To do this, tell Oliver that with Thaniel he’ll always have someone to play with and he doesn’t have to be alone anymore. This’ll make Oliver see reason and transform into a real boy right before you.
Return to camp after Oliver disappears and speak to Halsin. The Druid will say Thaniel is recovering well now Oliver has returned. Within just a few days, Thaniel will be as good as new.
Now, you can see Thaniel at your camp, and this part of Halsin’s questline is complete in Baldur’s Gate 3. And, even better, this will help you increase your favorability with him if you want to romance Halsin later.
