Yeah, I was in the Avadon Fortress when I wrote that. I, too, spent about an hour uncovering everything and backtracking before I finally gave it up as a lost cause. I was hoping it would tie up that plot thread earlier, but I'm guessing there's a reason for Tarkus popping up later in the game.
This is not the type of game where skimming the text works. The reason I'm playing it is because of the story, with all its twists. It's fun to follow. Reminds me a lot of Baldur's Gate, and Planescape: Torment, both games which I love. My young son couldn't get into it, because of the difficulty and the necessity of reading a lot (and no autojournal -- but the Record function is very nice). But he is a child of the Oblivion and Skyrim era, where my first CRPGs were Ultima II and Wizardry -- walk around til you find it, take notes, and pay attention.