Rod of Awakening

Does anyone know if the Rod of Awakening can be enchanted before going after the spectre. I'm tryingto complete the Kill the Spectre quest, and followed the directions, but only get a message from his casket saying "You hear the voices of the dead".
I return to check if the quest is complete and am given the same instructions from the fairy that assigned it.
Please help.

Turns out it can be. I had a quest that I had to accept in order to take on the quest I posted about. I defeated the Broken Spectre.