Quick Answer
Enter the Tower of Knowledge after lighting three island beacons with the Azure Torch you collect outside its door. Inside, light gargoyles 3 and 7, collect the Storm Gem, then rotate the staircase to reach the Forbidden Archives Key. Use that key near the gem to continue toward The Necronomicon.
How do you open the Tower of Knowledge?
You must light all three island beacons with the Azure Torch before the tower door opens.
Collect the Azure Torch outside the tower
From the Cemetery Precipice Crystal Monument, face northwest and approach the tombstones beside the cliff. Look north and down toward the bridge with torches beside it. Drop down, approach the bridge, then jump and air dash across.
Turn right and head east uphill, then turn left toward the north. Take the glowing Azure Torch beside the tower doorway. The entrance inscription explains why you cannot enter yet: the bell must ring three times.
Light the first two beacons above the starting area
Return to the first save point and head uphill. Wind dash across to the higher save point. Climb the rocks between the pillars to reach the second wind gem, which gives you another air dash.
Return to the pillars, jump toward the little blue lantern, and dash across to the broken stairway. Defeat the skeletons at the top and light the first gargoyle statue.
The first gargoyle beacon.
Shown at 02:27 in Gamer Guides’s video.For the second statue, reach the higher area above the first save point, near your earlier dash crossing. Find the elevator leading down to ground level. Wrap around north from the elevator and light the gargoyle beside the locked gate.
Light the final beacon and return
The third gargoyle is outside the dungeon after the Dagoom the Sea King fight. Light it with the Azure Torch.
The third gargoyle, just outside the temple.
Shown at 05:24 in Gamer Guides’s video.Nearby, a fast travel point returns you to the starting area near the second gargoyle and locked gate.
With all three beacons lit and the bell rung three times, return to the Tower of Knowledge. You can now enter.
Which gargoyles solve the balcony puzzle?
Light gargoyle number 3 and gargoyle number 7 to open the nearby door inside the tower.
The balcony has numbered gargoyle statues and three clue plaques. One plaque lies among the rubble. You only need the two correct statues to unlock the route onward.
Light gargoyles 3 and 7.
Shown at 06:17 in Gamer Guides’s video.Lighting an incorrect gargoyle triggers an attack involving the gargoyle and book bugs. Leave the other numbered statues alone if you want to avoid that fight.
Go back inside and pass through the unlocked door. Continue to the next save point, then climb the stairwell to the top. You will find a fast travel point there.
Where are the Storm Gem and Forbidden Archives Key?
Find the Storm Gem up the massive staircase, then use the switch beneath its location to reach the key.
Collect the Storm Gem
From the upper area near the fast travel point, take the massive staircase to the Storm Gem. The locked doors nearby are your eventual route forward, but you need the Forbidden Archives Key first.
The Storm Gem at the top of the staircase.
Shown at 06:36 in Gamer Guides’s video.Rotate the staircase
Return beneath the place where you collected the Storm Gem. Air dash across to the switch and activate it to rotate the stairway. This opens the route you need when the upper doors leave you stuck.
The switch that turns the staircase.
Shown at 06:51 in Gamer Guides’s video.Ride down to the NPC
Climb the rotated stairway, then take the elevator down. Speak to the NPC there to receive the Forbidden Archives Key.
Getting the Forbidden Archives Key.
Shown at 06:57 in Gamer Guides’s video.Unlock the doors near the gem
Return to the doors near the Storm Gem and open them with the Forbidden Archives Key. There is another save point here. Take the elevator up, then work through the enemies to reach The Necronomicon.
How do you beat The Necronomicon and leave?
Use ranged attacks against The Necronomicon, then use its acid vial reward to clear the face-shaped flesh barriers.
Keep your distance while throwing daggers, piercing daggers, or occult knives. Occult knives are available after dropping through the tower's trapdoor. When the book falls, move in to slash it. You can also set it alight with the Azure Torch.
During its goat form, keep away until it changes back. Its ranged attacks inflict status effects, so expect those throughout the fight.
After winning, collect the acid vial. It coats your basic throwing daggers with acid, letting you destroy the screaming faces and flesh barriers. You cannot clear those obstructions before defeating the boss.
The acid vial from The Necronomicon.
Shown at 07:35 in Gamer Guides’s video.Return to the NPC who gave you the key. Clear the nearby flesh barrier to reveal the path toward the mausoleum. For the wider route, continue with the Queen's Domain walkthrough. Every other fight is under Queen's Domain bosses.
FAQ
You must light all three island beacons with the Azure Torch. The entrance opens after the bell rings three times.
Light numbers 3 and 7 on the balcony. They unlock a nearby door inside the tower.
Activate the switch beneath the Storm Gem location to rotate the staircase. Climb it, ride the elevator down, and speak to the NPC.
Use the Forbidden Archives Key you receive from the NPC reached through the rotated staircase route.
Defeat The Necronomicon and collect the acid vial. Your basic throwing daggers can then destroy the face-shaped flesh barriers.