Overview
The Chronicler keeps two journals: one for the lore visitors are allowed to see, one for the lore he hopes is never confirmed. The second journal opens with a single sentence: "The Forgetting is not a curse. It is an answer." He has spent a lifetime trying to find the question.
The Pages of the Forgotten are the only fragments of the original Avalon Codex that survived the night the Fortress fell. They survived because they were never inside it: one drifted into the Marsh, one was sealed into the Hall of Banners by a knight who knew what was coming, and one ended up in a villager's keepsake chest by accident.
This Lore Quest layers directly onto SQ-2 Lost Pages — the three pages are physically the same objects. Pick up both quests first and you collect once, hand in twice, and walk away with two Codex entries that change the meaning of MQ-3.
Objectives
- Collect three Codex pages (shared with Lost Pages).
- Return them to The Chronicler at the Ancient Library.
Walkthrough
Step 1 — Pick up both quests
Visit The Chronicler at the Ancient Library and accept The Ancient Codex. If Lost Pages is available in his dialogue, accept that too — the objectives stack.
Step 2 — Page of the Marsh
Easternmost Marsh tile, under a half-submerged altar. Perception 5 auto-finds it.
Step 3 — Page of the Fortress
Hall of Banners inscription puzzle: speak the name Aldric.
Step 4 — Page of the Village
Talk to the Elder → Merchant Thorn → Old Maren in sequence. Maren delivers the final page from her late husband's papers.
Step 5 — Return to the Library
Hand in all three pages. The Chronicler decodes them and unlocks both Era of Portals and The Forgetting Origin Codex entries simultaneously.
Rewards
| Reward | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Experience | 120 XP | |
| Codex: Era of Portals | 1 entry | Required for Phase 2 opening |
| Codex: The Forgetting Origin | 1 entry | Reframes MQ-3 negotiations |
Related Lore
The two Codex entries set up the Phase 2 narrative. Era of Portals describes the four Realms before they were broken; The Forgetting Origin names — finally — who created the curse and why. Both are foreshadowed in The House That Remembers.
Tips
- Always stack with Lost Pages. Same pages, different rewards.
- Save the hand-in until after MQ-2 so you can pick up the Fortress page without backtracking.
- Read the Codex entries before MQ-3. They make the negotiate path's revelations land much harder.
- Phase 2 prep: the Era of Portals entry is mandatory for the Court of Shadows opener.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Ancient Codex the same as Lost Pages?
They share the same three Codex pages but track different objectives. The Ancient Codex is a Lore Quest focused on the Era of Portals and Forgetting Origin entries; Lost Pages is the Side Quest that also rewards Insight.
Can I complete both quests in one trip?
Yes. Pick both up first, then collect the three pages. Both quests resolve on the same hand-in.
What is the deep-lore reward?
Two Codex entries: Era of Portals (history of the four Realms) and The Forgetting Origin (the curse's source). Together they reframe everything you have seen in Phase 1.
Does this quest connect to Phase 2?
Yes. The Era of Portals entry is required reading for the Court of Shadows opening quest in Phase 2.