The Mind of Madness

Taking Pity on an Old Madman

Wandering between the graveyard (just below the Hall of the Dead) and the Bard’s College in Solitude is a strange man named Dervenin. As you approach, you see that he has two sunken black holes where his eyes once were. Agitated, he asks you to help him. He isn’t the usual beggar you encounter in these Hold Cities. Ask what he needs and he tells you his master has abandoned him and doesn’t want to see him anymore. His master doesn’t want Dervenin interrupting his vacation. The last time Dervenin saw his master, he watched him visit the Blue Palace and snuck into the forbidden wing to “have tea” with an old friend. He hands you a Hip Bone; it’s important you have that when entering the Pelagius Wing. You can ask this mad old coot more questions about his master before you leave.

• Pelagius’s Hip Bone

You need a key to enter the Pelagius Wing. Journey southeast along the main Solitude avenue and enter the majestic Blue Palace. If this is your first time visiting, head up either staircase to the throne room, where Jarl Elisif the Fair is listening to the fearful stories of a villager named Varnius (Side Quests: The Man Who Cried Wolf). Once the conversation is over, approach the person you’re attempting to gain the key from. You can:

• Talk to Falk Firebeard, and tell him you need to enter the Pelagius Wing. If you’re friends with him (i.e., you’ve completed Side Quests: The Man Who Cried Wolf, or Miscellaneous Objectives: Delivery*), you can then reassure him that you’ll be careful, but he hands over the key warily and warns you not to return with anything from that part of the palace; too many dark deeds transpired in those halls....
• (Persuade) Ask Erdi to give you the key.
• Or speak to Una, who simply gives you the key without any problems.
• Pelagius Wing Key

Head back down the stairs and locate the locked door to the southwest. Go into the accursed wing, stepping past the debris and cobwebbed tables, animal heads, and furniture. This entire chamber is suspiciously silent. Creep up the steps and head down the long hall...until you blink out of existence!

Pelagius Has a Lot on His Mind

It’s a slightly overcast day in this wooded glade. Pelagius the Mad refuses another cup of tea; it goes right through him, and he has a lot on his mind. Edge into this unknown realm, watching Pelagius converse with a gaunt but jovial fellow named Sheogorath. The banquet of cheese and mammoth trunk looks delectable. If you know your history, or witness the ongoing conversation between the crazies, you’ll learn that Emperor Pelagius III was an old ruler of Solitude back in the Third Era, 400 hundred years ago. As the bone you’re carrying is from Pelagius’s corpse, it soon becomes clear you’re not in Skyrim anymore. Or at least, any sane part of it. Sheogorath dismisses Pelagius from his table after a perceived slight about cheese, then turns his pupilless eyes on you.

Begin the conversation with Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. You can satisfy your curiosity by asking other questions, but, you’re here to deliver that message from Dervenin, telling Sheogorath to end his vacation.

You continue your conversations as Sheogorath’s chatter becomes a little more sinister. He explains he is a shadow in your subconscious but brightens up considerably when he decides to finish his holiday here. Naturally, though, there is one condition: All you need to do is escape this mental maze, using all your wits and weaponry. Unfortunately, Sheogorath takes the latter away from you, swapping your inventory for a Wabbajack.

• Wabbajack

The Wabbajack appears in your hand. It is the only weapon, aside from your fists, that you have, and punching a Daedric Prince gets you nowhere. Instead, begin the long, strange trip to extricate yourself from Pelagius’s subconscious. The hedge stones on each avenue surrounding Sheogorath’s feast are a path into a different part of Pelagius’s psyche. Freeing the madness and doubt from each part shall set you free. Set off down any avenue you wish; complete the three parts in any order.

Path 1: Gaining Confidence

Trek southeast down this road to see a manifestation of Pelagius’s Anger towering above a tiny man named Confidence. This fight is one-sided, and you witness Pelagius’s deepest, keenest hatred for himself.

Puzzle Solution: Help even the fight by aiming the Wabbajack at Anger and hitting it with blasts. The first shrinks it to half its size. The second shrinks it to the same size as Confidence, but Anger then summons two ethereal axes to batter Confidence even more. Aim at Confidence now, and zap it with the Wabbajack. Continue this until Confidence becomes man-sized. Sheogorath congratulates you; Pelagius is finally ready to love himself, while hating everyone else. This task is now complete.

Path 2: Pulverizing Paranoia

Head northwest down this avenue to a small stone arena where Pelagius is displaying his paranoia in the arena of magic. His Stone, Frost, and Flame Thralls are receiving a drubbing as he fights himself, looking on from across the arena you cannot reach or enter.

Puzzle Solution: The thralls are merely an enticing diversion to the real problem: Pelagius the Suspicious is sitting on his throne, flanked by a Bodyguard on either side of him. The Bodyguards are the source of his paranoia, so shoot either of them. When you strike one, both turn into Wolves, turning on Pelagius and attacking him. His paranoia is vanquished.

Path 3: Neutralizing Night Terrors

Head northeast, and witness Pelagius the Tormented attempting to sleep on his bed. You need to wake him up and repel those particularly persistent night terrors.

Puzzle Solution: Pelagius the Tormented is asleep and continues to slumber throughout this literal nightmare. Zap him so the first of his night terrors, a Wolf, bounds into existence and turns on him (or you!). Use the Wabbajack and shoot the Wolf, getting rid of it. It turns into a goat. The goat isn’t terrifying at all, so leave it alone and zap Pelagius again.

A Bandit Chief then comes screaming out of the ether. Zap it before it can attack Pelagius. The chief turns into Little Pelagius, the aspect of the child who had these nightmares. Leave Little Pelagius alone and shoot the Hagraven that has appeared to torment both Pelagius aspects. The old crone turns into a Sultry Maiden, much to Little Pelagius’s delight. Don’t shoot the Maiden; blast Pelagius the Tormented instead, conjuring a Flame Atronach nearby. Quickly shoot that, then Pelagius the Tormented once again. This conjures the final terror: a Dragon Priest. Shoot that, and it turns into a treasure chest, freeing Pelagius’s mind from sleeping nightmares.

Quest Conclusion

After you’ve trekked all three paths successfully, return to the tea party and inform Sheogorath that you’ve fixed Pelagius’s mind with your Wabbajack. He is forced to honor his end of the bargain. He hopes you’ll stop in for a strawberry torte the next time you’re in New Sheoth and blinks you out of Pelagius’s mind. You return to the musty wing of the Blue Palace and can end this enforced holiday yourself.

Postquest Activities

After this quest, Dervenin has disappeared from Solitude. There’s also a (random) chance that World Encounter: Ramblings of a Mad Woman* occurs. A crazed woman demands you use the Wabbajack on her. Oblige her if you wish!