Misdirection Misdirection is a quest in . Because of the recent events , Hieronymus Lex has pulled guards from all over the Imperial City to the Waterfront in an attempt to root out members of the guild including the Gray Fox . Walkthrough . Talk to S ' Krivva in Bravil and she will tell the Hero that Hieronymus Lex has pulled guards from all over the Imperial City to the Waterfront in an attempt to root out members of the guild including the Gray Fox . The Thieves ' Guild must stop him at all costs or the guild may be finished for good . She will then tell them to meet with Methredhel in the Imperial City . Travel to another area of the Imperial City other than the Waterfront and talk to the beggars . After a " donation " ( or with a high Personality and maxed persuasion minigame ) , they will say that Methredhel is hiding out in the Talos Plaza District . Travel there and go to Dynari Amnis ' s house and talk to Methredhel . Methredhel says she has a plan . The guild will stage a series of high - profile thefts in different areas of the city . Due to the lack of guards , the thefts should prove easy . That will give Lex a bad reputation and force him to return all the guards to their original stations . The Hero ' s job is to swipe Hrormir ' s Icestaff from the Arch - Mage ' s Quarters in the Arcane University and leave a note in the bedside table beside him . She adds one final piece of information ; the Arch - Mage sleeps between 1 : 00 AM and 7 : 00 AM . Note : if not a member of the Mages Guild , the hero will be trespassing on every level after the entry way ( * see Join the Mages Guild ) . Additionally , if the hero is caught stealing , they will be kicked out of the Mages Guild , unless the hero is the Arch - Mage . Head to the Arcane University during the designated time slot and enter the Arch - Mage ' s lobby . Take the first portal to the left , then on the second floor take the one on the right . Hrormir ' s Icestaff is on the chest of drawers right in front so go over and take it . Now they need to leave the note in the nightstand beside the bed , no key is needed as the note will slide into the nightstand without unlocking it . If this does not work they ' ll have to pickpocket the key from the Arch - Mage . Be careful doing this if they are also a member of the Mages Guild because if they get caught they ' ll get kicked out . Likewise , if the Hero have already become Arch - mage , they may simply walk into the Arch - mage quarters and take it . Save beforehand if you leave the note before taking the staff . See Bug explanation below . Head back to Methredhel and tell her of the success stealing the staff . She is pleased that all the thefts were successful and will then ask the Hero to spy on Lex until something noteworthy happens . Head back to the Waterfront and once they are within earshot of Lex , a Dremora will come up to him and deliver a message . Lex reads the note , then begins to lead the Imperial Legion out of the Waterfront , leaving the note behind . Look at it and one ' ll see that it ' s from Raminus Polus , one of the heads from the University . He is angry that a thief stole something from right under the Arch - Mage ' s nose , but even more so that Lex took away the very guards that could have stopped it from happening . Pick the note up and return it to Methredhel . Methredhel is glad that the plan was a success , but does not want the Mage ' s Guild to become enemies with the Thieve ' s Guild . She orders the Hero to return the staff and as the Hero can ' t just stroll into the Arcane University with the staff in hand , as that would get them arrested or possibly killed , she wants them to place the staff in a chest belonging to a former University researcher by the name of Ontus Vanin . As a former member of the Mage ' s Guild and their unwitting accomplice , he will return the staff without putting the Hero in danger . Ontus ' house is conveniently located right here in the Talos Plaza District . Wait for him to leave the house in the afternoon and break in . Go to the second floor and open the chest and the staff will automatically be inside . Then return to S ' Krivva for the reward . S ' Krivva knows that Lex has left the Waterfront and gives the Hero a gold reward and a promotion . They now have access to Luciana Galena in Bravil as a fence .