@Ghostwhisperer - I don't think you're really supposed to go into the Champion Academy at that point in the game. I mean, well, you can, but don't even worry about those hands holding the colored orbs - in order to solve that puzzle, you need an item you don't have access to yet. Kill whatever undead you want, then leave. You'll go back there later.
That's generally true of this game - you can often come across puzzles you just can't solve yet. If you don't know how to solve something yet, and you have others things to do, just go do the other things. Odds are that while doing the other things, you'll find clues or items you need to complete the puzzle/question you couldn't earlier.
