Where he heck is Mirabel (spell?) for me to ask about the staff? The map shows her just outside the hall where the students sleep - on the outside of the college, not in the courtyard. I have even gone outside once to look for her (and fell to my death). I cannot find her. Also, can I just find the next location and go through it without talking to her? The quest says that so long as this quest is active I can get int the Mzrult (or whatever) dungeon. Thanks for any help.

It's the Staff of Magnus.

Use the clairvoyant spell, it will direct you to where you want to go.

OK, so I don't have to talk to the chic. Cool. Thanks.

The Clairvoyant spell shows you "where to go next". So it should show you where "the chic" is.

My guess is that she is at the upper floor. The 2 living quarters of the Mages College have 2 rooms. Some mages are at the ground floor, some at the upper floor. There are stairs inside the building where you can go up or down.

Another option is to wait until the next morning. The NPC's will move according to their daily routine, so if you can't find her at a particular time, wait for a bit and see if you can find her then.

lol i forgot all about that spell. dont need it for this quest but a few of the "go fetch" quests