Avanchnzel (Skyrim)

Description
Avanchnzel is approximately 30 degrees Southwest of Riften at the approximate border between Skyrim and Cyrodiil. It can only be accessed upon starting the quest Unfathomable Depths.

Upon entering Avanchnzel, the Dragonborn will see four orange figures standing at the bottom of the big open room. These are the ghosts of four adventurers who had been sent to Avanchnzel to recover the Lexicon.

Owing to the large amount of Automatons, scraps, metals and also its size, its likely that Avanchnzel was some form of Automaton repair or maintenance facility, as well as a Library for the Lexicon during the Dwemer reign. 5 Dwarven Centurions can be found here, two of them on stone slabs in one of the chambers along with other machinery, suggesting they were undergoing serious repairs. Shelves stacked with metals, scraps and destroyed Spiders and Spheres suggest storage of spare parts or storage of damaged equipment or machinery.

The Ruins start out as a cave entrance then quickly switches to the actual ruins. Expect to fight Dwarven Spider Workers, Dwarven Spider Guardians, Dwarven Spheres, Dwarven Sphere Guardians, and a Dwarven Centurion.

Avanchnzel
There is a large chamber open to the sky with a bridge; on the lower level are 3 to 5 spiders which can be killed with ranged attacks. A ramp to the left leads up to a couple of rooms and two barred doors; one door leads to Avanchnzel Balcony and the other is barred from the other side. The former is an exterior entrance that can be entered prior to starting Unfathomable Depths but only consists of a very small chamber between the exit door and a barred door. There is a Dwarven chest on the balcony with leveled loot.

Continuing on will lead you down to the bottom of the larger chamber, fighting automatons along the way. Here there are two doors to choose from. The first door on the right has a trip wire that may or may not already be tripped and leads to a small room with two chests. The other door leads down a hallway with another encounter with the ghosts who obligingly destroy two Dwarven Sphere Guardians. The hallway ends at the door to the Avanchnzel Animoncultory.

Avanchnzel Animoncultory
This area is pretty straight forward: continue to follow the hallways. There is one ghost encounter at a locked gate that has a chest with leveled loot behind it. Next is the camp of the ghosts and their four bed rolls with another ghostly encounter.

Shortly after this encounter is a door to the right; it is trapped and for lower level/health players it is instant death (the shout Become Ethereal is no protection here). The door opens to a room that appears to be a spider repair room and contains a single chest. Also on the table is the Restoration skill book, Notes on Racial Phylogeny.

Continuing on, there is a large store room which has an Alchemy Lab to the left as part of a table. There is another hallway and a small store room with a locked door to the right containing a leveled chest and a Dwarven Helmet and Mace. Additionally, there is a locked gate on the left with leveled loot behind it. Onward is another small room with a ghostly encounter then through a door into a large chamber.

Entering the chamber on a raised walkway around the room, there are at least four spiders below that can be carefully destroyed from the vantage of the high ground. There is a wall chest to the right from the entrance. In the next hallway is the body of Drennen, one of the ghosts you have been seeing, and prompts another ghostly visit. The next door leads to the Avanchnzel Boilery.

Avanchnzel Boilery
Upon entering the Boilery there is another ghostly visit. It is possible for a spider to be below the catwalk in the hallway; one tactic is to simply conjure a familiar near it until the spider is dead. The next room has a brief ghostly encounter; on through the next door, move carefully as a spinning blade trap awaits and will activate even if you avoid the pressure plates since it is part of the adjoining quest script. Watches-The-Roots' body lies at the bottom of the trap.

The next room is the Lexicon Pedestal room with a Dwarven Centurion Guardian standing to the left and the body of Breya to the right. After dealing with the Centurion, proceed to the next door which has a chest and an elevator which connects to the area behind the latter barred door in Avanchnzel.

Related quests

 * Unfathomable Depths

Dwarven Metal

 * Please note that there are quite a few Dwemer scrap pieces that can be broken down into Dwarven Metal Ingots in here. Most of them will probably come from the automatons you find on the shelves, tables and the ones you kill, although there are a few pieces of scrap lying about, as well.

Avanchnzel

 * Alchemy Ingredients:
 * Glowing Mushroom - 2
 * Dwarven Oil - 0+ (These are common drops from the Dwarven Automatons)
 * 2 Iron Ore Veins - Before entering the actual ruins proper (as in, in the cave section, still...near the entrance)
 * 1 Dwarven Armor - Once you reach the cavern floor of the big chamber, on the southern side of the wall there is a door that has a trap wire on it. Through that door (and the next one right after), the armor is lying on the ground, with a potion on the table right in front of it.
 * Containers/Chests:
 * Chest - On the right side of the path on the corner of a wall, a little bit past the first door you have to open. It's right where the ruins open up into a big open chamber for the first time.
 * Chest - At first crossroads, keep going straight (don't take the ramp going upwards)...eventually you'll start going downhill along a ramp and at a corner you'll come across an Apprentice locked gate. The chest is behind that.
 * 2 Chests - Once you reach the cavern floor of the big chamber, on the southern side of walls there is a door that has a trap wire on it. Through that door (and the next one right after), the chests are on the wall over top of the table that the Dwarven Armor mentioned above is sitting in front of.
 * Chest - Continuing on through the dungeon, at the point where you see the third instance of the ghostly figures...there is a chest to the left right beside one of the Dwarven Sphere corpses on the ground.

Avanchnzel Animoncultory

 * Dwarven Oil - 0+ (These are common drops from the Dwarven Automatons )
 * Book - Racial Phylegony (Skill Book - Restoration) - Going past the point where Fathom's expedition set up camp, you will come across a door on your right. This door is trapped, but going inside (after you disarm it OR avoid the trap, whichever) you will find this book on a table on the left side of the room.
 * Other Items:
 * 3 Iron Ingots - On a table behind the Adept locked gate in the first room after entering the area (where you encounter more "ghosts" talking about the locked gate)
 * 5 Garnets - 2 On a table behind the Adept locked gate in the first room after entering the area (where you encounter more "ghosts" talking about the locked gate)...3 more on the table with the Alchemy Lab
 * 1 Ruby - On the floor under the table with the Alchemy Lab (it may be that this is SUPPOSED to be on the table but it clipped through to under it)
 * 1 Dwarven Bow - On a table after going through the next hallway (past the Apprentice level chest)
 * 1 Dwarven Helmet - Continuing on, will come across a room with a giant set of shelves and some automatons wandering around, to the right right after getting into the room there is an Adept level locked door. The helmet is at the back of this locked room, on a table.
 * Containers/Chests:
 * Chest - To the right of the table behind the Adept locked gate in the first room after entering the area (where you encounter more "ghosts" talking about the locked gate)
 * Apprentice level locked chest - Continuing down the path further into Avanchnzel, you will see some stairs to your right that leads to a small alcove. This chest is on the table in that alcove.
 * Chest - Going past the point where Fathom's expedition set up camp, you will come across a door on your right. This door is trapped, but going inside (after you disarm it OR avoid the trap, whichever) you will find this chest on the ground to the left of the bed next to the table with the book on it.
 * Dresser - Same room as the previous chest, just to the right of the table the Racial Phylegony book is on.
 * Novice level locked chest - Continuing on, will come across a room with a giant set of shelves and some automatons wandering around, to the right right after getting into the room there is an Adept level locked door. The chest is under a shelf behind the door.
 * Chest - In same area as the door that leads to the previous chest, on the other side of the shelf, there is an Apprentice level locked gate. The chest is behind that gate on a table.
 * Novice level locked chest - After the next set of ghosts appear, continue on through the door and go to the right once through it. The chest is on the wall on the other side of the fire pot.
 * Chest - In the same room as the previous chest, but on the lower level...this one is on one of the shelves around the room with the Dwarven Spiders on them.
 * Chest - Just past Drennen's corpse, there is a chest underneath of the shelf.

Avanchnzel Balcony

 * Apprentice level locked chest - There is a chest once you come outside onto the balcony. Just go to the right across the small walkway to get to it.

Avanchnzel Boilery

 * Dwarven Oil - 0+ (These are common drops from the Dwarven Automatons )
 * 10 Dwarven Metal Ingots - Once you see the 3 remaining red "ghosts" approach the door, you should be able to see these. 4 are on the table, and 6 are on the shelves to the right of said table.
 * Containers/Chests:
 * 2 Chests - Moving through the beginning part of this area, the first set of shelves you run into, the set on the right has these 2 chests on it.
 * Chest - Just before the elevator out of this area, on the left...you'll find it on the ground.
 * Chest - Just before the elevator out of this area, on the left...you'll find it on the ground.