The Staff of Magnus (quest)

The mages of the college cannot seem to get to Ancano who has put up a magical barrier around himself and the Eye of Magnus. You are asked by Mirabelle to recover the Staff of Magnus, the only thing that can take down the barrier.

Enter Labyrinthian
The dungeon is located just south of Morthal. The dungeon contains three areas, but the one you want is called Tribune. Be wary of the Frost Trolls that infest the area. Follow the quest marker and you will pass a ghost of a younger Savos Aren. You can not interact with any of the ghosts so just ignore them from now on (unless you like to listen to the lore). Go past to the Ceremonial Door and enter the dungeon.

Find the Staff of Magus
You will be in a large chamber filled with skeletons. Head to the door on the far side and the ghosts of Aren and his four students will appear in front of you. They will begin excitedly discussing their expedition into the dungeon. On an altar nearby you will find a tome of Ironflesh. Go through the door and find yourself in a wide corridor that leads into the dungeon. Follow the corridor down until you come to a lever with a barred gate ahead. Beyond will be a very large hallway with about 7 skeletons of varying toughness.

A trick you can use is to charge a bolt spell, raise the gate and blast a skeleton beyond. The gate will close before the skeletons reach you and you can repeat as necessary. When you enter the hallway, a Skeletal Dragon will spawn from a pit in the middle. You can use the same trick you used on the skeletons by returning to the previous hall (the lever is to the left of the door). Once all the enemies are dealt with, head to the exit at the far side and continue on.

You will arrive in a small chamber where the ghosts of the expedition appear again. This time their enthusiasm has been hampered by losing one member to the Skeletal Dragon. Head to the right and down some stairs to the Labyrinthian Chasm. You will be in a corridor with two paths, both lead to the same area at the foot of the stairs. To your right you will see a door covered in ice. When you approach the door, you will be attacked by a Frost Spirit. Kill the Spirit and use some fire spells on the door to open it.

A few steps into the new passage, you will be blasted by a wave of magic that staggers you and completely drains your magicka followed by someone speaking out of thin air. This will happen several more times through the dungeon.

In front of you will be a Draugr patrolling a stone ramp leading down. Below the ledge you appear on are two Draugr Wights in an adjoining passage that will be alerted when you engage the Draugr. One of the Wights will throw Ice Spikes at you. Further on down the path is yet another Wight (archer) that may be attracted by the sounds of battle. Facing off against 3 Wights at once is going to be difficult so I suggest using the initial ledge you were on to pop in and out and shoot them from afar.

Down the corridor where the first two Wights came from is a door with a Lightning Rune on it. Behind the door will be a Draugr. Inside the room is an Alchemy Lab and an Arcane Enchanter along with some materials for Alchemy and Enchanting.

Go back the way you came and continue following the stone bridges. When you near the bridge with the stone arch support, another blast of magic will drain your magicka. Now you can either continue following the bridge to the left and down into the shaft and skip the following chambers, or head straight across the bridge into a large hallway lined with coffins.

If you choose to go into the shaft, there will be a passage to your right that will lead straight into the next area. If you go across the bridge, you will arrive in a long room with coffins along one side and a Draugr Wight patrolling the far end. When you get closer to the far end, a coffin to your left at the end of the room will pop open and a Draugr will appear. Kill them both and proceed down the short flight of steps to a tunnel. In the tunnel, hug the right wall and go up a narrow ledge to find a dead Argonian and a chest. Loot it and continue down the tunnel to an underground river. Turn left and you will be struck with another magicka draining blast. Continue to the Labyrinthian Thoroughfare.

Go down the corridor to find a Draugr around the corner. In the area where it was in, there is a locked door (novice) that leads down a small stream to some loot and a short cut. Go back the way you came and continue further to be drained of magicka again. Around the corner will be a skeleton and to your right will be a pool with Malachite Ore in it. Follow the corridor and turn left when you way is blocked. Go down an incline to an aqueduct, turn right and follow it to the next area.

You will be in a large hall with a Troll guarding the exit to your right. If you drop down to your left from the stairs, you can find a low alcove with a chest in it. It is recommended you fight the Troll in the wide hall as it gives you much more room to manoeuvre. Kill it and head through the doorway it was guarding to be drained of your magicka again. Ahead is a large cavern guarded by a handful of skeletons. Across a bridge in the middle of the cavern is a short tunnel system containing a couple of Trolls and some loot. Go back to the large cavern and head to the barred gateway.

When you approach the bars at the far side of the cavern, your magicka will be drained again. Pull the lever to continue. Follow the path around the corner and you will find a skeleton. Kill it and proceed. If you head in the direction where the skeleton came from, you will find some stairs. At the top, turn right to find a chest. Go back down to an area filled with small stone carins (???) and Wisps. Patrolling at the far side will be a Wispmother. Kill them all and head up to where the Wispmother was. There will be a chest to your left when you round the corner.

Go straight ahead and across the wooden bridge and you will be drained of magicka. Ahead will be a door on fire. Just use ice spells on it until it opens. Continue through and turn left. In this room, the ghosts will appear yet again, short one member who was picked off by the Draugr. Go through the circular tunnel to the right and you will be attacked by a Spectral Warhound and a Draugr. The Spectral Draugr you will encounter carry weapons that drain the various resources (Magicka, Health, and Stamina). Inside the following chamber is a trapdoor you can open to take pot shots at the enemies below. It is also a short cut down. If you want to take the long way. Take the other tunnel out of the chamber and down some stairs.

As you approach the next room, a coffin will pop open and a Draugr Wight will appear. In this chamber there is also a skeleton and a Restless Draugr (archer) on the lower level. Head down and through a door where you will get magicka drained again. Further on will be the chamber underneath the trap door with two Draugr Wights. Turn right and down a short corridor to enter the Tribune.

Follow the passage and you will encounter a Draugr and a Warhound. Deal with them and follow the passage until you reach some stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a pair of open doors. Waiting behind the door will be a Draugr Wight. On a pedestal nearby is a spell tome for Steadfast Ward. You will need this shortly. Beside it will be a chest. Go down some stairs and there will be a short pillar with a Soul Gem on it. Quickly grab the Gem from the pillar before it has a chance to blast you with ice. Opposite the corridor from the pillar is an empty brazier with a basket containing some potions. One of those potions is one that increases your magicka regenerates by 70%, I suggest you drink that.

Behind the two thick pillars is another one of the spell traps. So grab the Gem off that too. In the middle of the corridor is an Frost Rune. At the end of the corridor are three more trapped pillars that will bombard you with fireballs. You can knock the gems off with a bow or turn on the Steadfast Ward and make a dash for the end. Take the Gems to deactivate the trap. Now the noise would have attracted the attention of a a couple of Restless Draugrs up above, a Draugr Wight in the next chamber and a Warhound.

Kill them all and keep going forward. When you get a few steps into the next passage, you will be drained of magicka again. At the end of the passage it will fork. To the right is a locked door (adept) with some magical items. The left fork will take you to a large double door where your magicka will be drained again. Beyond the door you will see a throne on a raised platform with it is back to you. There is a Draugr Deathlord sitting on the throne and a Warhound accompanying him. Use the raised platform to your advantage and lead the Deathlord in circles while you pelt him with spells or arrows.

Continue into a hallway lined with pillars. Halfway down the hallway your magicka will be drained again and a Draugr Wight, Scourge and skeleton will spawn. The Scourge will summon a Frost Atronach to assist. Dispatch them all and continue through the hall to a large cavern with two mages channelling a beam keeping a Dragon Priest in check. Kill the two mages, preferably starting with the lower one to release Morokei. You cannot damage Mokorei while the mages are still alive.

Once he is free he will start attacking you with Lightning Bolts and occasionally summon a Storm Atronach to assist. He will usually stay on the platform that he was on and blast away at you as long as you stay in range. Exchange spells with him until he falls and loot his body for the Staff of Magus. His mask "Morokei" can also be looted in order to complete the Monument located outside the Labyrinthian.

Return to Tolfdir
Once you have the staff, head for the exit at the back of the chamber. Head up some stairs until you come to a barred gate with a lever on the right. Pull the lever and enter the room to be waylaid by Estormo. Ancano sent him to retrieve the staff. Finish him and continue through the passage until you exit to Skyrim. You cannot fast travel to the college at the moment so travel to Winterhold and run towards the college to find out why. You will see Tolfdir and the others being blocked by Ancano's barrier which has expanded to engulf the whole college. Speak to him to continue.

Der Stab des Magnus (Aufgabe)