Oblivion:Jakben, Earl of Imbel

Jakben, Earl of Imbel (RefID: 00015300) (lore page)
Home City	Imperial City, Talos Plaza District
House	Jakben Imbel's House
Race	Breton	Gender	Male
Level	PC+0	Class	Spellsword
RefID	00015300	BaseID	000148D5
Other Information
Health	38 + (4+1.8)x(PC-1), PC=5-30
Magicka	175 + 1.5x(PC-1) (max=300)
Responsibility	35	Aggression	20
Essential	Until Boots of Springheel Jak
Faction(s)	IC Citizens; Jakben Family; Vampire

Jakben, Earl of Imbel

Jakben, Earl of Imbel is a snobbish Breton spellsword who owns a huge mansion in the Talos Plaza District of the Imperial City. According to the Gray Fox, Jakben is the last descendant of the famous thief, Springheel Jak. The Gray Fox will send you to investigate the Earl during the Boots of Springheel Jak quest. However, when confronted Jakben turns out to be a seemingly helpless, cowardly man, at least until he reveals his true persona.

For a nobleman, Jakben sleeps at unusual times; at 6am he will enter the family crypt in the basement and stay there for twelve hours. After waking up at 6pm, he heads up to his private quarters and spends the rest of his day wandering around, interrupted only at 7pm and 3am when he will spend two hours in his study. On all days but Sundas, he will break off his routine at 10pm and leave the house for a nightly four-hour stroll in the garden behind Umbacano Manor. After you have received the related quest from the Gray Fox, Jakben will skip his twelve-hour sleep due to a bug.

Jakben, being a wealthy noble, wears fine upper class clothing consisting of a black and burgundy outfit and the Boots of Springheel Jak. He carries a red velvet garment and a spare pair of gold trimmed shoes. Besides his house key, he also carries leveled light armor (best possible quality for his level) and a leveled amount of gold. He is also equipped with a longsword or claymore, which may be enchanted if you are level 3 or above. During the quest he will also carry the key to the family crypt underneath the mansion. He is also able to cast Spellsword spells (always strongest for Jakben's skill level).

Related Quests

• Boots of Springheel Jak: Find out where Springheel Jak is buried and retrieve a pair of magical boots for the Gray Fox.

Dialogue

Speaking to Jakben before beginning his related quest will have him rudely greet you with:

"Jakben, Earl of Imbel. We do not know one another. And, given your modest social standing, I doubt we ever shall."

Imperial City

"It is so kind of you to favor me with your attention. Please excuse me if I seem unappreciative of the honor. ... Was I insufficiently clear? I beg your pardon. You do not interest me. We will not be having further social discourse."

Quest-Related Events

Boots of Springheel Jak

Jakben, armored and hostile in the crypt

Once you agree to the Gray Fox's plan to retrieve the boots of Springheel Jak, he will point you in Jakben's direction: "Capital! The Earl of Imbel is the only descendant of his line that I have been able to locate. His name is Jakben, and he lives somewhere in the Imperial City. There might be a clue in the Earl's house."

The Imperial City's beggars will provide you with some information: "The Earl of Imbel has a home in the Talos Plaza, on the inner wall. He is an odd one. Keeps to himself mostly. Only goes out after dark. A real night owl." Gemellus Axius will provide further detail: "He is a very private man and does not leave his home often. He has a rare skin condition that forces him to sleep during the day. If you wish to contact him, wait until nightfall. Even then, I doubt he will receive you."

As soon as you get near Jakben, he will cower and shout:

"An intruder! Help! Don't hurt me!"

When you talk to him, the Earl will say:

"What do you want? I'll do anything you ask!" or "Please don't hurt me!"

Springheel Jak's tomb

"Take everything, just spare me!"

Just answer my question!

"The family crypts are under the house. They give me the creeps. I have the key. Take it. Just don't hurt me!"

When you exit conversation he will say:

"I'm... I'm still alive!"

He will then run into his study and lock it. However, in the Crypt underneath the mansion, his cowardly demeanour will be revealed as the performance that it truly is. The Crypt houses a horde of hostile vampires and undead.

Within the crypt, the Diary of Springheel Jak reveals that Jakben is, in fact, the famous thief Springheel Jak himself, who, far from being buried with the Boots, has continued to wear them throughout his 300 years as a vampire. When you put the diary down, Jakben will appear in full armor and attack you, shouting:

"Fool! I am no effete noble! I am a vampire, a Lord of Blood!"

He will then fight you to the death.

Rumors

After the quest, a new edition of the Black Horse Courier will reveal what happened and the citizens of the Imperial City will start saying: "Did you hear that the Earl of Imbel's house was robbed?" and, more accurately, "The Earl of Imbel was attacked and killed in his own home. I heard the body burned in the sunlight."

Notes

• Jakben's diary tells the tale of a thief he once knew, who "dared to steal from Nocturnal herself". This suggests he knew Emer Dareloth, the first Gray Fox.
• Despite being a stage one vampire, Jakben has certain stage four vampire abilities such as +20 Fortify Attribute and Fortify Skill to all relevant vampire attributes and skills, Hunter's Sight and Embrace of Shadows.
• Jakben, Earl of Imbel was given a clever name. By removing the appellation of "Earl of" and spaces from his name, you are left with JakbenImbel. Divided properly, it may be read as Jak be nImbel, or "Jack be nimble". As the famous thief Springheel Jak - a reference to Spring-Heeled Jack, a character from English folklore - his unique boots (granting a +50 Acrobatics boost) are quite useful for jumping over candlesticks.

Bugs

• When you accept the quest from the Gray Fox, Jakben will stop sleeping in the crypt between 6am and 6pm. This package was supposed to be reactivated when you have received information from the beggars, but the corresponding Journal Entry (25) is missing from the game. This causes Jakben's schedule to break and he will never go to sleep again.
• Jakben was supposed to 'hunt for supper' on Morndas, Middas, and Fredas only. Instead, he takes his 10pm trip outside six days in a row because the package runs past midnight, in the process messing up the days for the AI.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.4.0, fixes this bug.
• Jakben does not drop vampire dust when he dies.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.3.6, fixes this bug.
• Despite his Spellsword class having Heavy Armor as a major skill, Jakben wears Light Armor.
  • The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, version 3.5.5, addresses this issue. His class is changed to Nightblade, as is his leveled spells list.