Skyrim:The Mind of Madness

Quick Walkthrough
# Investigate a man called Dervenin.
# Gain access to the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace.
# Search for Dervenin's master in the Pelagius Wing.
# Complete the First Trial.
# Complete the Second Trial.
# Complete the Third Trial.
# Escape from Pelagius Wing.

Detailed Walkthrough
Solitude
While in Solitude, you may hear a rumor at the Inn about a mad beggar roaming the streets and ranting, or come across the beggar near the Bards College. Dervenin will be found walking in the streets, lamenting his missing master. Speak to him and he will complain that his master is neglecting his duties and that chaos will ensue. He says that his master is in the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace having tea with an old friend. He will tell you that you'll need "the hip bone" to enter, and give you Pelagius' Hip Bone.

Blue Palace
Enter the Blue Palace and locate one of the cleaning staff. The key can be obtained from Erdi or Una by discussing the Pelagius Wing with her and telling her that Falk asked you to "look into it". You must pass an easy level, invisible Speech check to persuade her to give you the key. Alternatively, you can convince the castle steward to let you in if you have completed the quest The Man Who Cried Wolf.

If you lack the respective requirement, the final dialogue option will not appear; the NPC will simply exit dialogue.

Exploring briefly in the wing will show it in a state of disrepair. Further travel will require you to walk through some spider webs before you suddenly find yourself transported into a strange realm.

Pelagius' Mind 
thumb|145x145px|right|"It's all you've got."
You will find yourself suddenly wearing a full set of Fine Clothes with your inventory inaccessible and your abilities removed. The scene before you appears to be an extravagant dinner set in the middle of a misty wood and surrounded by stone archways. Two people are sitting at the table, one wearing a distinctive outfit and sitting on a throne, and the other a depressed man. The latter is Pelagius III who is complaining of various woes, although he sounds strangely sane, which delights the man across from him. Pelagius will leave after a short conversation during which the other man tries to cheer him up.

The other man is actually Sheogorath himself. Tell him that you have a message for him and that he needs to come back from vacation. Sheogorath says he will leave if you can make your way out of Pelagius' mind. He will give you the Wabbajack to help you. There are three arches which lead to three separate trials, all of which must be completed. To the southeast is the Arch of Confidence, to the northeast is the Arch of Night Terrors and to the northwest is the Arch of Paranoia. These trials can be completed in any order.

Pelagius' Confidence

thumb|right|Pelagius' Anger beating up Pelagius' Confidence
In this scene you will see Pelagius' Anger beating up Pelagius' Confidence. Confidence doesn't look like he is doing too well, since he is tiny and Anger is huge. Sheogorath wants you to tip the scales. Use the Wabbajack on Anger (casting twice) until he is tiny, and then on Confidence (again casting twice) until he is as big as Anger was. You must act quickly, as Confidence will shrink every time Anger hits him. During the battle, two spectral figures labeled Self Doubt will appear and begin to spar with each other. They do not seem to serve any purpose other than to get in your way as you attempt to complete the trial.

Pelagius' Night Terrors
thumb|right|Pelagius with his converted night terrors in the background
You will see a bed in the middle of the forest with Pelagius sleeping on it. Sheogorath tells you that Pelagius has been suffering from night terrors since he was a child, and you are tasked with getting rid of them. Use the Wabbajack on Pelagius the Tormented to start the sequence, and then use it on each terror in turn as they arrive. After a successful attack with the Wabbajack each will turn into something more innocuous. Do not attack the innocuous creatures; instead, use the Wabbajack on Pelagius again to call the next terror. Repeat this process of zapping Pelagius and then the creatures that appear until he wakes up. Don't take too long in zapping the creatures after they appear, or you will have to start over. In order, the creatures or enemies that appear are:

# A wolf will appear (to be turned rather humiliatingly into a goat).
# A bandit chief will then appear, to be turned into a younger version of Pelagius.
# A hagraven will appear. After use of the Wabbajack, it will be turned into one of Pelagius' sultry maidens, from his early days.
# A flame atronach will appear. It turns into a bonfire after use of the staff.
# A dragon priest will appear, to be turned into an inaccessible chest behind the bonfire.  (The Dragon Priest may summon an atronach as well, but Wabbajack has no effect on it, so you should ignore it.)

After all of the terrors have been converted, everyone will convene around the bonfire, and Sheogorath will communicate with you and ask you to progress to the next area.

Pelagius' Paranoia
thumb|right|Pelagius' Paranoia
Through the Arch of Paranoia to the northwest is a small fort-like structure with steps leading up to the edge. In the middle of this structure there is an arena occupied by two fighting Storm Atronachs. Supposedly, one is yours and one is your opponent's, who is sitting opposite you with two other men. You are instructed to use Wabbajack to defeat your enemy. Don't bother zapping the atronachs themselves, as one will respond to the changes the other goes through, making the fight endless. Instead, aim for one of the two bodyguards sitting next to your opponent and Wabbajack them. Both of the men will turn into wolves and attack your opponent, killing him.

Your Reward
Go back to Sheogorath when you've finished his tasks and tell him you've fixed Pelagius' mind. He will summon Dervenin and return to the Shivering Isles, telling you to keep Wabbajack. He mentions his chamberlain, Haskill, as he prepares to depart, saying, ''"Well, I suppose it's back to the Shivering Isles. The trouble Haskill can get into while I'm gone simply boggles the mind..." You will then be transported back to the Pelagius Wing with all the items and powers you had when you started, as well as your new staff and clothes. Before leaving, move further down the hall and down the stairs to find a copy of the Lockpicking skill book Surfeit of Thieves.

Notes
This quest contains several references to events in Oblivion and the Shivering Isles expansion. See here for more information.
The Items, Magic, Map, and Skills keys are disabled during the quest, but the Map can be opened by first going to Quest, then pressing M to show on map, then pressing L to show local. Consequently, it is also impossible to open the chest in the Night Terrors scene. The Favorites menu and hotkeys are also disabled.
If you open the menu using the method above (or by pressing X on a highlighted quest, if playing Xbox360) you can fast travel out of Pelagius's mind. However, you will be unable to open menus, favorites, or change equipment. You will still be wearing the same outfit as in Pelagius's mind and be holding the Wabbajack.
It is also possible to access your inventory while in Pelagius' mind; at the Night Terrors scene after the wolf is turned into a goat, other terrors can kill it. Its body can be "looted", rendering you able to take off your current equipment.
You cannot pickpocket Sheogorath or Pelagius the Mad, but you can pickpocket Pelagius' Confidence (once Pelagius' Anger is defeated) and Dervenin (once he is summoned).
One of the atronachs may attack you before fading away.
Right before you enter Pelagius' mind, you may appear naked for a brief moment.
Punching Dervenin after he is summoned by Sheogorath constitues a crime and will net you a bounty in Haafingar.
This quest can be done as early as level 1.  If your Speech skill is too low to convince the maids to let you into the Pelagius Wing, you can increase the skill with Fortify Persuasion effects. You can get The Gift of Charity bonus from Dervenin by giving him 1 gold before asking him about anything else, and you can get the Blessing of Dibella from the Temple of the Divines in Solitude.

Bugs
 
 
 
 
Loading from an earlier save usually fixes this.
 
 

Quest Stages