Revealing the Unseen (Skyrim)

Revealing the Unseen is a quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Overview

 * Prerequisite: Good Intentions
 * Quest Giver: Mirabelle Ervine
 * Reward: N/A
 * Reputation Gain: N/A

Secrets of the Synod
Arch-Mage Savos Aren has requested that you speak to Mirabelle Ervine, who may have some knowledge regarding the Staff of Magnus. You may find her wandering the Hall of the Elements or in the exterior courtyard within the College.

Ask her about the staff, and after a few roundabout conversations, Mirabelle recalls that some Imperials from the Synod were interested in it and came to the College to question them.

Leaving empty-handed, it appears they had a secondary plan: to head toward the sprawling dwarven ruins of Mzulft, which apparently has a derelict observatory that would somehow help locate the staff.

In the foothills by the edge of the mountains that carve through Eastmarch Hold, south and a little east of Windhelm, you come across ancient carved stone columns and archway entrances and a spectacular stone-and-pipework facade with steam still hissing from the hillside. Enter the huge golden door and step inside.

Slumped to the right of the second interior door is an Imperial named Gavros Plinius. He was ambushed while attempting to reach the Oculory, where another member of the Synod, Paratus, is holed up.

Before collapsing, he murmurs something about a crystal being stolen. Search his robes for a couple of important items: a key so you can enter Mzulft and a Research Log. Reading the log allows you to understand who exactly was here (an attendant on behalf of the First Adjunct Oronrel) and what he was doing (delivering a new Focusing Crystal to the Oculory). Unfortunately, the crystal that is mentioned is nowhere to be found. Now use the key to open the second door.

Onward and Upward
Enter this dwarven labyrinth, heading along the corridor and checking the body of a Synod Researcher. As you reach a connecting corridor of belching steam pipes, tough mechanical Dwarven Spiders attack you. These pester you as you continue up the linked corridors.

Soon you’re met by more Dwarven Spiders and a huge gold door. Head through into a more natural cavern, but with elements of dwarven architecture still visible.

In a natural rock cavern, engage your first Chaurus. Use the wooden scaffold to escape it during this war of attrition. Your third and fourth dead Synod Researchers are found here, at the foot and the top of the ramped scaffold.

Beware of a trip wire releasing a pile of rocks as you move through into a second, much taller cavern with a mammoth skeleton, more Chaurus, and an arched granite entrance. Enter another ramped corridor and expect Dwarven Spheres to elongate and attack at the top.

Then continue up, pausing to dispatch Dwarven Spiders along a mechanical corridor. Head past a sunken chamber with stone steps until you reach a pipe-pillar room, where you tackle more dwarven creations. Your internal mountain climb continues, past the corpses of a dead Falmer or two, and finally to the gold doors leading into the Mzulft Boilery.

Gaining Focus
The upper chambers inside the Boilery are less tall and have had periodic rockfalls in the past, where ferns now grow. Falmer roam these halls. Dispatch them. Continue into a hub room with cage doors. Go through the open doors to the east, across a raised platform, and through a gap in the wall, caused by Falmer tunneling. This continues past a chest; expect further Chaurus and Falmer incursions. As the tunnels take on a more eerie glow caused by fungus, battle (or sneak past) a small Falmer camp, and ascend farther up into another broken wall. Step back into the dwarven-built chambers.

The ceilings are higher and the chambers more impressive as you reach a huge gallery with a sunken central area. Falmer are swarming about in this location. Search any chests you wish, but be sure to head up the steps in the west wall and into one last corridor. The doors at this corridor’s end lead to the Mzulft Aedrome.

The Aedrome is comprised of three giant chambers connected by corridors of ornate pillars and snaking pipes (the locked door [Master] to the north ends abruptly with a Falmer chest).

The central chamber has numerous Falmer, but one is especially important: a Centurion Sphere Master boss, or a Falmer Gloomlurker that carries a Focusing Crystal. Pry it from its corpse (or pickpocket it if you’re being extremely stealthy), and then head east, passing the plinth with dwarven metal resting on it, into a dead-end chamber dotted with Falmer corpses and a powerful automaton. There is an important chest here; it contains the key that will open the important chambers on this level.

Oculory Jocularity
Paratus Decimius is behind a closed door up the western corridor ramp, accessed via the key. He is expecting Gavros (the Synod Researcher you found dead at the entrance) and is displeased by your presence. Inform him you have the Crystal, and Paratus strolls along the corridor leading to a giant Dwarven Armillary.

Paratus isn’t sure what the dwarves called this huge focusing globe, but from the Synod’s research, the machinery appears to have been made to collect starlight, for an as-yet-unknown purpose. Paratus replaced one of the elements with his crystal, after months of perfecting it. Using the Focusing Crystal will allow the Synod’s research to continue. And you’re the one who has to activate the giant, tumbling machinery!

After you follow Paratus into the Armillary chamber (and optionally speak to him about related matters), you are instructed to approach the Oculory, the giant series of lenses atop the Armillary. Activate the Dwarven Armillary.

Gaze around the curved observatory chamber, and you’ll notice a series of circular blue focusing mirrors on the ceiling panels around you. Directly above the center of the Oculory are three focusing lenses.

During the daytime, a stream of bright light bounces off them, onto the ceiling. Some of the blue focusing mirrors are lit with starlight, as is the main circular mirror in the center of the ceiling. Head up either ramp and look to the stone table, upon which is a number of valuable items:

Items Gained: Antecedents of Dwemer Law Dwemer Cog (3), Dwemer History and Culture, Dwemer Inquiries Vol. I, Dwemer Inquiries Vol. II, Dwemer Inquiries Vol. III, Spell Tome: Flames, Spell Tome: Frostbite


 * Puzzle Solution: If you do not already know the Flames or Frostbite spells, read the Spell Tome: Flames and/or the Spell Tome: Frostbite sitting on the desk behind the control panel up the stairs. Then stand directly below the Oculory and fire a continuous stream of Flames or Frostbite (use ONLY these novice spells, apprentice or higher leveled spells will move mirrors differently) up at the crystals until each beam of light is focused on the center of a seperate horiziontally rotating pannels on the ceiling with the blue mirrors in them.


 * Now move the blue mirrors. Each of the dwarven pedestals atop the ramp rotate one of the three horizontal ceiling panels. The trick is to press the button on each pedestal so the panels shift sideways until one of the blue mirrors lines up with the light beam. (The inner row will be behind you to the right, the middle will be just to the left and the last will be just on the right.) The beam then ricochets off and up to the ceiling mirror. When all three light beams hit the ceiling, you know the Oculory is focused properly.

As a map of the northern part of Tamriel is projected onto the wall underneath the buttons, Paratus is initially excited to watch the results of his months of work. However, this is tempered slightly as the results come in: Something is creating a huge amount of interference, something at Winterhold.

You can speak to Paratus (and be as honest or as cagey as you like), but he is highly suspicious of the mages. He angrily wants to know what you did and thinks you have something at your College. Whether you tell him about the Eye of Magnus or not, steer the conversation to the Staff of Magnus’s location. Paratus finally reveals its location: Labyrinthian! Now leave before Paratus gets any more testy.

Nerien, another representative from the Psijic Order, appears from a side corridor to tell you that trying times are ahead. It is imperative that you return to your College immediately. You must take swift action and show what you’re capable of. He believes you will prevail.

Now exit through the pair of doors Nerien was standing behind (the latter of which you unlock with the Mzulft Observatory Key), and step outside into the inclement weather. Unless you fancy a precarious descent, Fast-Travel back to the College.

Tips

 * Be certain that you are attempting the oculory puzzle during the daytime. At night there is no beam, an issue that has been mistaken as a bug.
 * For lower levels the Centurion Sphere (Master) guarding the key may be too challenging. An available tactic is to drop a lightning rune and run back down the hallway. When you hear the rune activated, drop another, while running. When you reach the large room with the pillars the Master Sphere should be far enough behind that it returns to it's home. Wait an hour (autosave) and repeat.
 * Use all the Dwemer items to care and melt down into Dwarven Metal Ingots, to increase your smithing skill.
 * When fighting the Centurion Spere (Master), be aware that it cannot get through the door, so use this to your advantage and stay back, and show him with a bow, spell, or summon creature.
 * It is advised to stealthily open the door, wake it up, then hide and let a summon fight it out.
 * Just follow these steps in this video if you need help doing the puzzle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CkaRLP0c-Y

Bugs
Gavros Plinius at entrance of Mzulft frozen, will not die, cannot pickpocket. This has also happened in PC versions of the game. Cutscene did not appear. May be caused by attacking him while he is talking or attempting pickpocket. Doesn't appear to be fixed by coming back later or rebooting game so reload as soon as it happened.

-Believe this is caused by leaving and re-entering Mzulft before he dies.

-Entering in stealh appears to have done it in my case, he didnt see me so he did not begin cutscene.

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Sometimes ending the quest will not trigger the next quest in the series. Savos Aren's corpse will be outside, but no NPC will speak to you and trigger the next quest. Cause unknown. This can be fixed on the PC version by entering setstage MG05 0 in the console.

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Fighting enemies outside the door to the Oculory area will cause Paratus to say "stay away." Paratus will not open the door for the player once enemies are killed, player cannot unlock with key.

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Some players may still be unable to focus the occulary, even at day. On PC, this workaround may be inputted if you are stuck or too lazy to focus the occulary: ''player.SetStage MG06 55. Xbox360 Users can use Modio To transfer there save game to a Pc use the Pc Command to get around the Bug then transfer there save game Back to the Xbox360 and Continue.''