The party is ambushed by the Winter Knight and his undead frost werewolf minions. After a fierce battle, they manage to defeat the Winter Knight, while he tried to flee. The group then brings the unmanned ship, Curious Jester, safely into port at Candlekeep.
As a reward for returning the stolen necromancy tome taken by Orion, the Wizards of Candlekeep allow the party to stay as their guests, granting them access to the grand library. While at the keep, the party receives a letter from the Order of the Lotus, informing them that Field Marshal Anaphiel has been excommunicated. During this time, Luciel is summoned to the library’s sending room and receives a message directly from Anaphiel. She explains that she is the one who hired Blackwing to investigate Vespasian. Though she doesn’t provide much detail, she emphasizes that anyone who mentions “Rubicon” can be trusted.
The next day, the party is approached by Pelk, a female dragonborn librarian. She introduces herself as a follower of Rubicon and presents the group with a disguised tome that is a copy of the book stolen from the Lotus Library in Vaasa by the Winter Knight and the Eternal Lord. The book, titled The Common Law of Gardening and Barrel Making, turns out to be a cover. Upon reading it, the true contents are revealed: The Chronology of Acererak the Eternal.
The tome provides a detailed history of Acererak, including possible locations of his phylactery and instructions on how to bring him back to this plane. It also describes the location of a Jade Pyramid off the coast of the Shining Sea, once used to perform sacrifices. These sacrifices were meant to extract the essence of vampires into orbs to restore Acererak to this world.