Avanchnzel ( Skyrim ) Avanchnzel is a Dwemer Ruin in The Rift . Description . Avanchnzel is approximately 30 degrees southwest of Riften , at the border between Skyrim and Cyrodiil . It can only be accessed upon starting the quest " Unfathomable Depths . " The Ruins start out as a cave entrance , then quickly switch to the actual ruins . Expect to fight Dwarven Spider Worker s , Dwarven Spider Guardian s , Dwarven Spheres , Dwarven Sphere Guardian s , and a leveled Dwarven Centurion . 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 gone to Avanchnzel to recover the Lexicon and are part of the " Unfathomable Depths " quest . Avanchnzel . There is a large chamber open to the sky with a bridge ; on the lower level are 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 the 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 . There is an apprentice - level Dwarven chest on the balcony with leveled loot . Continuing on will lead 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 and leads to a small room with two chests on the back wall containing leveled loot . The other door leads down a hallway , where it ends at the door to the Avanchnzel Animoncultory . Avanchnzel Animoncultory . Hallways will lead the Dragonborn further into the ruins . There is one ghost encounter at a locked gate that has a chest with leveled loot behind it . Further up the hallway is a small alcove on the right ( up a short flight of stairs ) with an apprentice level locked chest . Further ahead can be found the campsite where the now - deceased adventurers stayed ; another ghost dialogue encounter is seen here . There is a door to the right ; it contains a trap which is lethal at a low level ( the shout Become Ethereal offers no protection here ) . Open the door and immediately back away to avoid the spinning blades . The trap can also be disarmed — there is a mechanism at the lower right of the door . 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 , through a door , 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 . Further ahead is another small room with another ghost encounter , which leads to another door and 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 . Otherwise , go around to the left to get to the stairs down the main floor . In the next hallway is the body of Drennen , one of the ghosts from the quest dialogue , and prompts another of the quest ' s ghost dialogue . The next door leads to the Avanchnzel Boilery . Avanchnzel Boilery . Upon entering the Boilery , there is another ghost dialogue encounter . 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 ghost encounter which leads on through to the next door — move carefully as a spinning blade trap awaits . Watches - The - Roots ' fate is discovered in the form of finding their body 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 earlier barred door in Avanchnzel and allows for exiting the ruins .