The Cure for Madness
Quest Giver	Astrid
Location	Dawnstar Sanctuary
Prerequisite	Breaching Security
Next Quest	Recipe For Disaster
Reward	Shadowmere
Faction	Dark Brotherhoood

Walkthrough

Starting the quest

Speak to Astrid and find Cicero's Journal to get the password for the Dawnstar Sanctuary.

Sanctuary in Shambles

When you arrive in the Sanctuary, you will be met by Gabriella, who, though pleased you completed your previous mission, will bid you speak to Astrid immediately. Astrid informs you that Cicero went crazy and attempted to kill everyone before fleeing. She instructs you to search Cicero’s room for clues. On an end table next to his bed is The final volume of Cicero's Journal. All the previous volumes can be found on nearby elevated surfaces. When you read the final volume, it will provide you with details of the password and location for an older and unused Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary near Dawnstar. Your next objective is to let Astrid know of your findings, and upon doing so, she will instruct you to kill Cicero and provide you with her horse, Shadowmere, as a means of getting to him. As Shadowmere is unique in appearance, you may choose to obtain him, but it is not essential to complete the quest.

And when they say butter knife it`s probably some sort of dagger, or its still a knife, that cicero wields.

Track Cicero

Travel to Dawnstar and talk to Arnbjorn who is sitting injured on the ground just outside of the Dawnstar Sanctuary. He informs you his injuries were from a fight with Cicero, but that he injured Cicero equally as seriously and you should just "follow the blood" to find him. After suggesting that he return to the home Sanctuary, enter Dawnstar Sanctuary and follow the linear path (fighting the guardians, and a troll, whilst avoiding traps) to Cicero.

Confronting Cicero

Navigating through to the end of the Sanctuary, you eventually find Cicero lying on the ground faking to be injured. He asks that you spare his life and lie to Astrid about killing him. Should the player decide to let him live, there is no effect on the outcome of the quest nor the attitudes of the other Brotherhood members toward the player. If you kill him, you can loot his body for his outfit (the jester outfit on the table at the entrance is less powerful), some gold, and leveled dagger, and you do not have to lie to Astrid. If you decide to attack him, however, he will get up and fight back revealing that he isn't actually injured.

Completing the Quest

Return to Astrid and inform (or lie to) her about Cicero's death. She will then thank you and suggest you hold on to Shadowmere "a little longer," in addition to starting you on your new quest, Recipe for Disaster.

Notes

• If you have the Ghost of Lucien Lachance active while exploring the Dawnstar Sanctuary, Lucien will tell you that it is not wise to kill Cicero, because Keeper is a sacred position in the Dark Brotherhood. He says that "This is not what Sithis wants!"
• There are two skill books located on a table if you take the left path down the stairs after the spear trap. The books increase one handed and archery.
• The Jesters Outfit can be picked up just as you enter the Dawnstar Sanctuary. You will find a full set on a table just to the left of the entrance. (you can loot a better version from Cicero, IF you kill him)
• For those who dislike the chore of leveling the Sneak skill, this is the perfect opportunity to crunch out some Skill levels. Although time consuming, this quest has perfect capabilities to level this skill. When you get to the sanctuary, grab the Jester Outfit which will help with your sneak. Equip the outfit and find your way to Cicero but Do not kill him. After speaking to him, go into the corner directly behind him and crouch into the sneak position. Once the Sneak eye will says you are hidden, face the corner and slowly walk (or if you have the "Silence perk", you can walk at a regular speed). This method is quite time consuming, but it works. (Hint: Use a rubberband, do something else for a while, and when you come back you'll have your levels. Also, come back and check every now and then to make sure you haven't been detected.)
• Cicero's 500 gold may be taken twice. This can be done by pickpocketing him before attacking. [If the Dragonborn is caught pickpocketing Cicero's gold, Cicero will attack and talk about his ploy to trick the Dragonborn and reveal he's not really injured. But- if the Dragonborn sheathes his/her weapons, Cicero will accept the surrender and go back to his fetal position.
• If you choose to spare Cicero (just lie to Astrid when you return to the Falkreath Sanctuary and tell her you killed him), and complete the quest "Hail Sithis!" you will have the option to get him as a Follower. If you choose to let him resume his role as Keeper inside the Dawnstar sanctuary, Nazir will state that he knew you wouldn't kill him. Nevertheless, Cicero is back.
• If you decide to kill Cicero, you can unbar the door across from the door leading to the room Cicero is hiding in and back up onto the steps in the first room. Sneak and shoot Cicero with a bow from a distance. He will get up and immediately lay back down. Continue to shoot Cicero until he is dead.

Bugs

•  360   PS3   Although you can't loot the guardians after you kill them, you can pickpocket them for Shrouded Armor pieces and weapons/arrows, if you have the Misdirection and Perfect Touch perks. If done fast enough the weapons they drop when killed can be picked up.
•  PS3   You may get stuck in an infinite loop where Astrid says "You need to hear this!" and then never says anything else. To fix, simply "wait" in position for an hour. This seems to get her back on track.
• If you kill Cicero, loot his armor set, raise him (Conjuration) and then bring him through a new loading screen his armor will re-spawn on his body.
•  360   If you kill the last guardian and try to loot him, the game may freeze.
•  360   Sometimes after retrieving Cicero's journal, when reporting back to Astrid it will tell you, "This person is busy." Simply reload the game from entering the Sanctuary, talk to Astrid, grab the journal, and report back to her - this time it should work.
• The door in the south-east corner of the room just before the snow covered caves can be opened. Simply jump over the door bar and you will be just outside Cicero's room.
•  360   PC   Sometimes after you return to Astrid once Cicero has been killed, she will say her first line of dialogue and will be unable to be interacted with. Instead when you try to talk to her she will repeat the same line of dialogue again.
•  PS3   360   Occasionally when attempting to leave the Sanctuary after killing Cicero, the door will not respond to Use (Or be replaced by a wet stone wall) and you can't leave. Simply restarting the console will fix this.
• When you arrive at the Dawnstar sanctuary, you may not be able to talk to Arnbjorn straight away, if you attack him and kill him then he might talk to you.
• Sometimes Shadowmere does not spawn outside in the pool of water. If Shadowmere doesn't spawn, stand by the pool and open your console. Input "prid 0009CCD8" and "moveto player". This will then spawn Shadowmere in the pool.
•  360   Cicero may not attack you in occasions when you are attempting to kill him.
• Time may permanently slow down when fighting the Sanctuary Guardians in the Dawnstar Sanctuary, if you have the block perk Quick Reflexes and it comes into effect while fighting them, then time will still be slowed down after the effects of the perk should have worn off. This can be solved by opening your the skills or map menu, exiting and re-entering the sanctuary, or saving then loading that saved game.