The Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge key is the Forbidden Archives Key, and it is held by the knight Budaen. Reaching him takes one detour that the game never points out: the stairs near the Storm Gem look like they dead-end, but the route to Budaen runs underneath them.
On this page
The Queen's Domain Tower of Knowledge key and where Budaen is
Knowledge Keeper Wourha, in her study next to the Wing Altar near the top of the tower, complains about a foolish knight she trusted with the key to the Forbidden Archives, and that knight is your next target.
Budaen is easy to miss. He is in the book-slot room, behind a cage, next to candles and a wall of flesh, in a room full of bookshelves with a skeleton holding a love letter, a chest and statues behind bars. Talk to him and he hands over the Forbidden Archives Key.
The route to the knight
Take the Storm Gem from the large staircase by Wourha's study. The stairs seem to dead-end from there, so go back under them.
Start back up the stairs from the gem altar and jump off the side, landing on the raised area on the same side below the shrine. It is easy to miss from above.
Wind Dash to the switch on the wall. That switch rotates the staircase so it points somewhere new.
Climb the turned stairs, then take the elevator down.
Cross to the book-slot room and talk to Budaen behind the cage.
The Tower of Knowledge walkthrough has the stairway rotation.
What the key opens
Take the key back up to the Storm Gem altar and open the two large golden doors on either side of the gem. That is the route to the Forbidden Archives and the Necronomicon, and the gem itself does not open them.
The boss guide covers what waits behind it.
Other keys and levers in the tower
- The Occult Knife and a lever that sends you back up from the trap-floor basement.
- The Wind Rapier, behind a lever-locked door on the upper floors.
- A second lever that opens the stair shortcut to the Staircase Crystal Monument and the Wing Altar fast travel point.
The tower books guide lists the keys the shelves need.