Arniel ' s Endeavor Arniel ' s Endeavor is a quest available in . Background . After completing the quest " Hitting the Books , " the Dragonborn will have the option to ask Arniel Gane if there is anything he can be assisted with . Doing this will start the quest , which has four phases . Speaking to Arniel , who is located in the College of Winterhold , will reveal that he is working on a secret project and requires the Dragonborn ' s help . Walkthrough . Part one – Dwemer Cog s . Arniel will first ask the Dragonborn to find ten Dwemer cogs . Initially , he will not say what he wants them for . This quest may be started either prior to receiving the quest " The Staff of Magnus , " or after that quest has been completed . After obtaining the cogs head back to the College . This part will become available after the quest " Good Intentions " has begun . Before that , he will not speak about the Dwemer Cogs at all . Part two – Warped Soul Gem . After turning in the cogs to Arniel , he requests that Enthir be asked about delivering some purchased goods . After a discussion with Enthir , the Dragonborn is tasked with finding a staff ( the Staff of Tandil ) at a random location ( some are listed below ) , and returning it to Enthir as payment for a Warped Soul Gem that is warped beyond the ability to be able to capture a soul . Known locations of the staff include : Part three – Dwemer Convector . This part of the quest cannot be started until the quest " The Eye of Magnus " is complete . Upon speaking to Arniel again , it is discovered that his project is going terribly . He claims to have forgotten to take into account the heat gain and has consequently destroyed his only working model . It is at this point that he reveals he is attempting to discover how the Dwemer disappeared " instantly , and completely " by recreating the event . The parts the Dragonborn helped recover were made into a Dwarven convector , which broke during his last attempt to recreate the event . When asked if he wants to build another , he says that he would rather have the Dragonborn find the convectors , scattered throughout Skyrim , made by the Dwarves themselves . Arniel then teaches the spell required to heat the convectors ( a novice Destruction spell ) . Three seconds burn with the spell is all that is needed to heat the soul gem . Arniel postulates that by doing this , the Dwemer may possibly be contacted again . The locations of Dwemer convectors are marked on the map , and can be fast - traveled to . Upon completing this part of the quest and returning to Arniel , the Dragonborn is thanked and told that the final piece will be arriving soon . Part four – Keening . After leaving the College of Winterhold for a few days after dropping off the modified soul gem , conversing with Arniel again will reveal that once again Enthir is giving him trouble . When Enthir is asked about it , however , he claims that this time it is not actually his fault . He says he did not keep close tabs on this package because Arniel set up the delivery himself . Enthir suggests searching for the courier , and directs the Dragonborn to one of the following radiant locations : Once the Dragonborn retrieves the package , which turns out to be the dagger Keening , and returns to the College and gives it to Arniel , he will give a brief monologue about what he is attempting to do , and then proceeds to hit the soul gem with the dagger . Eventually , there is an explosion of energy , and his body vanishes ( similar to when the Dwemer vanished after Kagrenac used Keening and the other tools on the Heart of Lorkhan ) leaving the Dragonborn with a completed quest and a Conjuration spell to summon Arniel ' s shade .