Some time had passed since Cicero had been led to his new living quarters. He managed to get a quick look at where he was when the soldiers removed him from the wagon. It had been at least a year since the Fool of Hearts been there with his Listener, but he at least now had an idea of where in Skyrim he was.

As Salvarus and the younger soldier dragged the jester through the corridors, he took the opportunity to look around as much as he could to try to familiarize himself with his surroundings. The many rooms had been carved out of stone and caverns led to different areas that played host to more Penitus Oculatus soldiers. Cicero had counted at least twenty, and was sure there were even more, hiding like Falmer in tunnels.

Cicero's new room was not very welcoming at all. The stone walls were worn and some had crumbled with age. Torches lined the walls, and it was easily the brightest area in the structure. A cell had been installed strictly for Cicero as it was crudely built into the stone wall.

The soldiers had been kind enough to remove the jester's binds, but the kindness had been short lived as Salvarus practically kicked the smaller Imperial into the cell. After that, Cicero was left alone to his own devices. The room was empty as well his cell, save for a single sleeping mat. There were no chairs, no tables, no nothing! Minutes turned to hours, and soon the Fool of Hearts became so bored with his surroundings that he actually stood on his head hoping that a different perspective might at least make it somewhat interesting.

Eventually, the smaller Imperial from before appeared carrying a tray of bread and cheese. He had since removed his helmet, and now the Keeper could see the soldier clearly. He was young, much younger than he had thought. He could not be more than eighteen years of age. His face was partially covered by the boy's neck length brown hair. The soldier froze when he saw the sight of Cicero standing on his head and smiling out at him.

"We meet again! The one who survived the twenty seconds! The one who laughed with Cicero on the wagon!"

"I," the soldier was at a loss for words. The jester leaned forward, and did a quick tumble to his feet. He walked to the front of the cell and looked at the tray of food in the guard's hands.

"So hungry," he stated as he held his stomach. "Is that for Cicero?"

The Penitus Oculatus soldier didn't answer, he just held out the tray. The Keeper quickly grabbed the cheese and bread and began to eat it almost instantly. Once Cicero snatched the food, the soldier moved over to the door and began to stand guard, keeping his back to the jester.

Cicero stared at him as he continued to eat.

"What are you doing all the way over there? Cicero is over here!"

"I have to stand guard, and be ready when Commander Maro arrives," the boy answered, keeping his eyes locked on the doorway.

"What good is a guard if he is not guarding? You should keep a closer eye on Cicero. While you were looking at the door, he broke out of his cell. Simple child's play of a lock!"

The guard quickly spun around with his sword drawn, but was shocked to see the jester still secure in his cell.

"Gotcha!" Cicero laughed. "You should see the look on your face!"

The young solider grumbled as he sheathed his sword. This was by far the strangest man he had ever come across. Psychotic one moment, and a joker the next. The boy decided it might be in his best interest to keep his eyes on the prisoner. There was always the possibility that he was not kidding, and the fool could break out from his prison.

Cicero sighed and looked off to the corner of the room.

"Cicero must find his ebony dagger," he muttered as he stared into nothing. "Need to sharpen my blade. Make it shiny, gleamy." a wicked smile formed on his face as he thought about his weapon. "and, oh, so deadly." The jester turned his attention back to the soldier. "Cicero has told you his name. What is yours?"

"Mine?" The soldier couldn't believe that he was actually making small talk with a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Normal people fret or become aggressive when imprisoned. What could possibly be going through this jester's head?

"Bothersome Imperial! Do you not know your own name?"

"It's Vinius. Vinius Phineous."

The jester stared in disbelief for a few moments, and then slapped his knee as he started to laugh, and shake his head. "A rhyming name?" Cicero snickered. "I knew some men's names ended up in song, but usually they do something first!"

Cicero began to repeatedly sing the soldier's name over and over as he danced around in his small cell.

"If you find my name so amusing, you can just call me Finn, like everyone else does!" the young soldier barked at the jester. Cicero stopped dancing and looked at the boy in confusion.

"Finn? Sounds more like the name of slaughter fish to Cicero," the jester muttered as he leaned back against the cell wall and slid down to the floor. Despite the fool's antics, Finn still seemed willing to speak and listen to him. Cicero felt that talking was better than counting cracks in the wall. "Tell Cicero. Where does this Finn hail from?"

"Cyrodiil," Finn answered.

Cicero suddenly perked up at the mention of his homeland, and a smile once again formed on his face.

"Cicero is from Cyrodiil as well." The Keeper rested his head on his knees as he gazed out at the soldier. "Cicero had his reasons for leaving. Why would a boy as young as you want to run off?"

"It was only my mother and myself back there, " Finn answered. " It was getting harder for her to make ends meet. I am hoping by joining the Penitus Oculatus, I can make and send her enough money that she will not have to worry so much."

"Caring for his mother? You and Cicero have more in common than he thought," the jester mused as he once again rose to his feet and returned to the bars of his cell. "Cicero, too, cares for his mother. She is so far away right now. She needs poor Cicero to care for her. If only Cicero was not so slow in his killing. He would have not been caught, and would be tending to sweet Mother by now."

Finn was slightly more anxious, since Cicero had once again mentioned the killing. Against his better judgment, he continued to speak to the jester. "Is your mother a member of the Dark Brotherhood as well?"

The question made Cicero burst out in laughter at the absurdity of it. He laughed so hard that was almost started to cry.

"Is she part of the Dark Brotherhood?!" the fool howled. "You jest! You jest with the jester!" He laughed as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Slowly, his laughter began to die down, and the jester regained composure of himself. "Cicero likes you, Finn. You are much more fun than that Salvarus. He's no fun at all!" Cicero allowed his arms to hang out of the bars in his cell, and leaned onto it, grinning at his guard. "Finn should have joined the Dark Brotherhood instead. Lots of shiny, clinky coin to be had! Much more than what these soldiers could possibly offer."

"I don't think I could kill for money," Finn answered as he rubbed his shoulder. Cicero once again laughed loudly, which made the guard jump back in surprise.

"Not kill for money?!" Cicero cried. "Silly, Finn! Silly! What do you think a soldier does? Pick flowers?!"

"I," Finn grumbled as he looked to the side. "Damn, I guess you got me there."

"Cicero understands. Silly Finn just made silly choices. Cicero has made plenty of them, believe me!"

Finn leaned against the wall as he peered at the jester curiously. It was hard to believe that this merry and laughing fellow was the same person that had killed three of his fellow officers with hardly any difficulty.

He could not forget what he had seen the previous night. The jester's face had a dark yet expressionless look plastered on it and his killing technique was almost reminiscent of dancing. The flawless swings of the dagger seemed to never miss its intended target. It was only thanks to Salvarus striking the man in the head with the hilt of his sword, that the slaying had come to a stop. Six men had set out that night, and only three came back.

Cicero hummed happily to himself as his eyes wandered about the large empty chamber. Finn had to assume that this was some farce. There was no other explanation for this obvious assassin's sudden personality change.

"Do you always keep this act up?"

The Keeper looked at Finn and tilted his head to the side. He was confused by the question.

"Cicero does not understand what Silly Finn means."

"This merry man persona. This is just a way to trick people into believing you're harmless. So they don't see it coming when you kill them."

"Act? You think Cicero is an act?" The jester waved a finger at his guard, and shook his head disapprovingly. "Cicero is Cicero!" He then bowed to the soldier as he took off his cap. "The Fool of Hearts, at your service!"

Finn chuckled and rolled his eyes. There was no hope of trying to find sense or reason in the fool. "I think you're crazy."

"Crazy? Cicero?" The jester chuckled and then gave a menacing look towards Finn as a wicked smile formed on his face and he growled, "That's madness."

Finn continued to watch over his prisoner. Cicero did not mind his captor's company, as he was very amusing. As the two waited for the Commander to appear, the fool regaled his guard with humorous tales. Finn had tried to remain professional, could not help but laugh at some of the ridiculous stories.

As Cicero continued to tell jokes and stories, he scraped small bits of dust and gravel from the wall, collecting them in his other hand.

"If you are trying to dig a tunnel out, I think the Commander will arrive before you get very far."

" Silly Finn, thinks he's so clever. Doesn't know Cicero well at all."

"And you're clever?" Finn asked with a smirk.

" Cicero is the cleverest of them all!" the jester boasted as he continued to scratch at the wall.

" Fine then, answer me this. What is so fragile that it can be broken by merely saying its name?"

Cicero stopped what he was doing and spun around with a huge grin on his face. " Riddles? You wish to challenge Cicero with riddles?" The Keeper could not contain his excitement as Finn merely nodded in agreement. " Easy! Too easy! Why, the answer is silence! Silence is that fragile! Finn must do better than that!"

"Alright." Finn could not help but smirk as well. He couldn't explain it, but Cicero was becoming less of a prisoner to him and more of a companion. "Answer me this, jester. A farmer has a barrel that is filled with a hundred gallons of oil. The farmer added something to the oil, and now it weighs less than a hundred gallons. What did the farmer add?"

"Hmmm." Cicero rubbed at his chin as went into thought. "Ah! Fire! The farmer set the oil on fire! Now that is a farmer after my own heart!" The Keeper chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, Finn! Cicero is clever! Let's see how clever you are!"

"Try your best. I'm pretty good with riddles," Finn challenged.

"So is Cicero," he giggled. "I am what men love more than life. Hate more than death or mortal strife. I am what the content desire. The poor have, the rich require. The miser spends me, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry me to their graves." The jester grinned wickedly at Finn. "What am I?"

The Imperial was dumbfounded. He rattled his brain, trying to come up with an answer to Cicero's riddle. He growled in frustration and ground his knuckles into his temple.

" Don't hurt yourself. It's only a riddle. Until you answer it, it just means that I am still the cleverest."

"I'll get it! I just need to think."

"Finn!" a gruff voice barked. The younger soldier quickly stood up straight with his arms to his side as Salvarus entered the room. The older Imperial glared at Cicero and then turned back to Finn. "Commander Maro has just arrived. He will be here soon." He turned back to Cicero. "You will be on your best behavior!"

"Cicero always behaves," the jester answered as if he was insulted. "The Commander may not find me at my 'best' very inviting though."

The Keeper turned away from the larger soldier and peeked into his cupped hands. The jester giggled to himself as he peered into an opening in his hands. The older agent frowned when he saw this.

"What's that you have there?" Salvarus growled.

Cicero looked back at the Penitus Oculatus agent, and shook his head at him.

"Cicero cannot tell you. It's a surprise!"

Salvarus stormed over to the cell and pounded on the bars making the jester jump slightly.

"Show it to me!"

"That would spoil the surprise!" the Keeper whined as he held his cupped hands away from the soldier.

"Now!"

Cicero rolled his eyes and made his way towards the cell door, still keeping his hands firmly clasped together. "Stupid Penitus Oculatus is ruining this for Cicero. However, I might still be able to pull off the surprise."

"Show me what you have in your hands," Salvarus ordered Cicero. " I will not ask again."

"Oh, very well," sighed Cicero. He very slowly began to open his hands, and Salvarus leaned forward to see exactly what the jester was hiding. The Keeper then hurled the dirt, dust and pebbles he had collected right into the Imperial's eyes.

"Surprise!" Cicero chimed loudly.

Salvarus screamed in pain as he rubbed at his eyes, blinded from Cicero's attack.

"It worked! It worked! Weren't you surprised?" Cicero laughed as he clapped his hands, pleased with his accomplishment. Finn hurried over to try and help his fellow soldier, but Salvarus shoved him away.

"You bastard! I'll cut you to pieces!"

Even though he could barely see, Salvarus pulled a set of keys from his satchel and started for the cell door.

"Yes! Yes! Come and join Cicero!"

Finn noticed the change in the jester's eyes. They had become more focused and the expression changed from one of joy to one of menace. "Yes, come and join Cicero. I've have been just dying to meet with you again. You too will be DYING to meet me."

Salvarus was about to unlock the cell, when a third person entered the room. He was another Imperial, tall and proud. He frowned at the sight before him.

"Salvarus!" he barked loudly. The soldier spun around, and just like Finn, stood straight with his arms to his side. He could only manage to open one eye to see, still suffering from the jester's trick.

"Commander Maro, I…"

"Am I really seeing this? Half blind and you're going to unlock an assassin's cell?" Maro shook his head he approached Salvarus, and poked him hard in the chest. "It's that kind of irrational thinking that got your father killed! Do you think he needs a weapon to slay you?"

"I'm sorry, Commander Maro," Salvarus answered softly. He backed away from the officer and joined Finn's side as he resumed trying to remove the dirt from his eyes.

"Oh! Maro ruined all of Cicero's fun!" the jester whined. Maro quickly turned back to the Keeper, his expression still hadn't changed. "All that planning, and for what? NOTHING!" he snarled.

"So, this is the infamous Keeper?" Maro folded his arms as he looked Cicero over. "I had heard that it was a fool, but I hadn't expected him to actually be…" Maro couldn't even finish his sentence. "You and your little Brotherhood have been doing a rather efficient job of keeping yourselves hidden."

The commander began to pace in front of the cell. Cicero merely glared at him. The merry side was still trying to work its way back into the jester's state of mind.

"We did manage to find out that the main sanctuary in somewhere within The Pale. Damned if we've been able to find it."

"Did Commander Maro ask for directions?" the Keeper hissed.

"See, that is what I thought you might be able to help us with. If you are willing to cooperate with us, I will see that no charges are brought upon you. You will be pardoned for all past crimes and be allowed to roam Skyrim." Maro smiled as he folded his arms. "I think it's a rather fair trade."

"Lose my reputation as a killer?!" cried the jester. "Cicero would never hear the end of it!" He placed his thumb on his nose and wiggled his fingers at the commander. "You are wasting your time! You will get nothing from the Fool of Hearts."

"Have it your way," Maro answered as he nodded his head. "It's been a long day for me, as it has been for you as well, I'm sure. We'll continue this conversation tomorrow."

"Cicero looks forward to it," the Keeper growled.

Commander Maro turned back to the two soldiers and pointed at the younger.

"You there! Boy! What's your name?"

"Finn, sir!"

"Walk with me; I need to meet with the other Penitus Oculatus agents." He then looked at the other solider that had finally cleared his eyes. "Salvarus! You're to stand watch over this man. I do not want to find out he's escaped because you let this fool get the best of you!"

Salvarus saluted his commander.

"Yes, Sir!"

The commander then left the cell room with Finn following close behind. The large Imperial released a sigh of relief, and then glared over at the jester who was waving at him.

"Cicero failed to mention that he rarely ever sleeps."

"I don't care."

"I do like to sing though!"

"What?!" He pointed a finger at Cicero. "You will NOT be singing!"

"If Salvarus wants to stop Cicero, all he has to do is open this door," the jester purred. The soldier growled in frustration and folded his arms in protest. "Oh, goody! This first verse is one I like to call, 'The fair maid, Nelly'!"