The Last Light Inn is a sanctuary for those who are struggling against the Absolute and shadows that curse the land. But there’s one man who’s been out in the dark far longer than most, and he’s suffered grievously for it. Here’s how to wake Up Art Cullagh in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3: How to Wake Up Art Cullagh (BG3)
To start the side quest Wake Up Art Cullagh, you’ll need to head to the Last Light Inn. Go to the northeastern room to find Art on a cot. You’ll need to interact with him to get more information about his condition. Once the quest details are added to your journal, you’ll need to speak with Halsin at camp next to initiate the quest.
Art’s likely been in the dark for decades, teetering between oblivion and life. And now, the only way to wake him up and find out what happened to him is to find one of his personal effects.
Here are the bullet points for how to wake Art Cullagh in Baldur’s Gate 3, with a more in-depth explanation below.
- Speak to Art Cullagh in the Last Light Inn.
- Speak to his attendee to get the letter that describes his last location: the Healing House.
- Go to the Healing House and enter the medical theater.
- Speak to Malus and either have his nurses kill him or kill him yourself.
- Loot the Battered Lute from Malus’ body.
- Return to the Last Light Inn.
- Interact with Art Cullagh, then choose to play the lute.
If you haven’t found Art yet (or just forgotten where he is), he’s in the Last Light Inn in the far-right room on the bottom floor. Investigate him to the best of your ability, though passing skill checks isn’t really necessary here. Speak to his attendees, and you’ll receive a letter telling you to investigate the House of Healing.
You can also opt to speak to Counsellor Florrick in front of the fireplace to learn that Halsin can help. But we found the most efficient way to complete this quest was to skip speaking to Halsin altogether, as he doesn’t add much help. Instead, make your way directly to the House of Healing, which is in a place that’s steeped in a much stronger shadow curse.
If you don’t have the Moon lantern yet, make sure to speak to Isobel in the inn, then complete the Harper ambush. The Harper ambush option will be available on the bridge that leads out of the sanctuary and back into the shadowlands.
Additional Ways to Get A Moonlantern in BG3
Moonlanterns are rare story items that you can find in a few places.
- Balthazar’s room in Moonrise Towers.
- Loot on Kar’niss’s body at the Ruined Battlefield.
- You can find a broken Moonlantern off True Soul Nere in the Underdark. You can put a dead pixie and put the lantern inside the ritual circle that’s found in Balthazar’s Room to repair it.
Finding the Healing House
The Healing House is in the very southern reaches of the shadow-cursed land, across a bridge. You can find it at the coordinates (X: -52, Y: 145).
Once inside, you may find that the nurse doesn’t want you to enter the medical theater and instead asks you to wait. You can stealth your way in or persuade her that you’re actually the doctor’s assistant. If you succeed, she’ll send you immediately into the theater.
Speaking or Defeating Malus in Baldur’s Gate 3
Malus is a very tanky boss, with 276 HP. But what makes him even deadlier is his wide range of status-inflicting attacks and the assistants he’ll consistently revive.
If at all possible, we highly recommend you simply kill Malus through a series of persuasion checks. Here are the checks you’ll need to pass.
- Malus Thorm: We do not wish to see you suffer so. Let us cure you.
- Respond: [PERSUASION] The sisters aren’t ready. They’ll make me sick instead of curing me.
- Charisma Roll: 16.
If you succeed, you’ll go onto the next and last roll.
- Malus Thorm: How to steady their hands, I wonder.
- [PERSUASION] Only with sacrifice is mastery gained. For the sisters to learn, you must submit.
- Charisma Roll: 21.
- [PERSUASION] Why not have them hone their skills on each other?
- Charisma Roll: 21.
If you opt to have the nurses kill themselves, you can pass an additional Charisma Roll (again 21) to have the Doctor blind and kill himself, thus killing the entire room without lifting your hand. But for this quest, it’s sufficient to kill the doctor with the “Only with sacrifice is mastery gained” option.
This option will have the nurses turn their blades on him, and they’re… not precisely surgical. More stabby-like. After the doctor dies, the nurses will remain friendly, and you can loot Malus’ body without contest.
The Battered Lute will be one of his lootable items, which you can then bring to Art.
“A lute with the initials AC meticulously carved into the body.”
Playing the Lute for Art
Once you have the lute, you can return to the Last Light Inn and interact with Art. Doing so will you give you the option to play the instrument for him, causing him to wake up at the melody.
Congrats! And now you have a brand new quest you can tackle. You will get some EXP for completing the quest, along with the loot found off of Malus’s body, including a Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet.
If you’re really struggling with those charisma checks, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s a way to get a big charisma boost before you take on this fight just in the town square. You’ll just need to solve the plaque puzzle to get it.
