Oblivion:Boots of Springheel Jak

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Oblivion: Quests: Thieves Guild

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Find out where Springheel Jak is buried and retrieve a pair of magical boots for The Gray Fox. edit
Jakben's house in The Imperial City.
Jakben's house in The Imperial City.


[edit] Quick Walkthrough

  1. Amusei summons you to the Gray Fox
  2. The Gray Fox gives you the mission.
  3. Investigate Jakben.
  4. Defeat Springheel Jak and retrieve the Boots of Springheel Jak.

[edit] Detailed Walkthrough

[edit] The Gray Fox

The Gray Fox will summon you to meet with him at Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal and ask you to retrieve the Boots of Springheel Jak for him. The current owner of the boots, Jakben, Earl of Imbel, is located somewhere in The Imperial City.

[edit] Jakben, Earl of Imbel

Speak to any beggar in the city to learn that Jakben lives in the Talos Plaza District. Upon arriving at the house, sneak upstairs to the very top room, where you will find Jakben, if he's at home. He is usually there during the day since he tends to be more active during the night. Jakben is so frightened by your intrusion that he begs you not to kill him and is scared into giving you the basement key, where the crypt is located. In the desk in Jakben Imbel's Private Quarters you will find a book called Imbel Genealogy. If you take this, a quest update will tell you to bring it to the Gray Fox, but the Gray Fox does not ask about it.

[edit] Springheel Jak

Head down to the crypt where you will encounter some vampires. You will eventually reach Springheel Jak's coffin where you find his diary, but no boots. The diary reveals that Springheel Jak became infected with vampirism and may still be around! In fact, after you have the diary Jakben appears and attacks you. Defeat the vampire, retrieve the boots from his corpse and return to the Gray Fox for your reward. Jakben isn't particularly hard to defeat, and he will have some fine loot other than the boots.

[edit] Blood Price

Killing the following NPC whilst this quest is active will require you to pay a blood price to Armand:

[edit] Tips

  • Do not enter Ganredhel's house with your weapon unsheathed because Luna and Daisy (the dogs) will attack you if you do.
  • Unless you are careful, the boots will be destroyed during the next Thieves Guild quest. See the next and final Thieves Guild quest for a tip on how to complete the quest and keep the boots. They are not leveled and have a constant Fortify Acrobatics 50 enchantment. If they survive the next Thieves Guild quest, they still count as a quest item with no weight.
  • If you are having a hard time killing the vampires and zombies in the basement, try sneaking in and only getting the attention of one or two of them at a time, then running out of the house and into the main square. Keep fleeing the baddies until the Imperial Guards turn up and kill them. You can speed up the process by doing this in the daylight. The vampires are holding a number of useful (and expensive) weapons and armors. This method is also useful for dispatching Jakben himself.
  • When you talk to Jakben you'll notice that he is, in fact, a vampire. You could kill him in cold blood, loot the boots from his corpse and not need to visit the basement at all. This will give you a bounty of 40 gold and a guard will run into the house to arrest you. The boots, along with the other loot from him will not count as "stolen". 40 gold and a quick trip to the Imperial Prison may be a fair deal for getting past the vampires in the basement. Alternatively, you can go downstairs, bribe him to get his disposition up and wait until he runs back upstairs, then assassinate him and incur no bounty.
  • After talking to Jakben and getting the key, try pickpocketing him. You can take his sword and armor, making the fight with him later much easier.
  • Planting an equipable item with a Damage health on Jakben will kill him.
  • If you kill an innocent and incur a blood price, returning to Armand to pay it will result in an extra reward for your character, regardless of whether or not he has acquired the boots. This will also occur when visiting the Gray Fox.
  • An easy way to bypass all the work in this quest is to use Frenzy and Invisibility when you see Jakben in the house. Cast a relatively short lived frenzy on him when he's in line of sight of the human that lives in the house. He will attack the human, who will run away. Shortly thereafter, the guards will show up and kill Jak. This method is almost pathetically easy, and can be made even easier by pickpocketing Jak to get his weapon and armor first.
  • Another easy way to do this quest is get the key, pick the lock on the basement door, and not fight anything. Run to Jak's crypt and take the diary, then run straight back upstairs. Grab the attention of Jakben and lure him outside, not fighting him. Hop about and let the guards take care of him.

[edit] Notes

  • After you complete this quest, a special edition of the Black Horse Courier is published: "Vampire Nest in the City!".
  • Jakben Imbel is a homophone of "Jack be Nimble", from the nursery rhyme.
  • Springheel Jak is a possible reference to Spring Heeled Jack, a figure in British folklore known for his ability to jump very high.
  • Interestingly, if you talk to the manservant in the house, Gemellus Axius, and Jakben isn't in the house, he will tell you that his master is out in the city "searching for his supper".
  • In Jak's diary it hints that he used to be friends with the Gray Fox, presumably the original one, and Jak seems to have difficulty remembering who he is.
  • If you somehow manage to get arrested in Jakben's basement and decide to pay your fee or go to jail, Jakben will be waiting for you in a full set of armor when you return.
  • Jak will be 'cowering' on the ground if you enter his locked attic while he is in it.

[edit] Bugs

  • If you find the Imbel family geneology after receiving the tomb key, Jak's diary, or the boots, you will receive a message suggesting you discuss it with the Gray Fox. However, no topic is added.
  • Reading Jakben's Diary will add a topic about Jakben knowing the Gray Fox, but only if it is dropped then read. The topic will not be added if it is read from your inventory.
  • At the end of the quest, after retrieving the boots, DO NOT discuss the diary entry OR the Imbel Family Tree (if you stole it from Jak's desk) with the Gray Fox until after you've turned in the boots for your reward. It will glitch the quest, making it impossible to finish. The Gray Fox will simply stand there saying "Not now. I need to think" when you try and talk to him. You can fix this glitch by typing setstage TG10Boots 50 in the command line, in order for the quest to finish. When you will have fenced 1000 gold, the next and final quest will be enabled.
  • The cause is unknown at the moment, but after finding/reading the diary, Jakben does not appear, and there is no way to get the boots. Workaround: type setstage TG10Boots 45 and player.additem 000148D4 1 in the command line to proceed past the fight and give you the boots. Note: Before resorting to console codes, try checking his private quarters (through the trap door at the top of the stairs on the upper floor) - he sometimes gets stuck there.
  • Cause also unknown: Jakben appears after reading the diary, but not wearing the Springheel Jak boots. Instead, he had regular leveled boots Workaround as above.
  • Even if you do not encounter Jakben immediately after reading the diary, don't worry, simply wait outside his house a bit and he should appear in his leveled armor ready to fight you outside in the Talos District. As guessed, Jakben won't even attack you but rather go after the guards. So all you have to do is simply relax and watch him get mauled by the Imperials. Once done, simply loot his body for the boots.
    • Dropping the diary then re-reading it may fix the issue.
  • Sometimes after you have fenced over 800 gold this quest won't appear, to fix this simply enter in the console setstage TG10Boots 10 this command will initiate the quest and you’ll find The Grey Fox at Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal, as the quest entry suggests. 360 and PS3 users (Possible Fixes): go to Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal and roam around, that should update the fence quest therefore letting you continue on with the Grey Fox. If that doesn't work, roam around a city for a couple of minutes; hopefully the quest will update. Setting Independent Thievery as your active quest also helps with this.
  • If you kill any innocent people in this quest and get a Blood Price, do not go to the Gray Fox first because if you give him the boots with the need to pay a Blood Price, you can never start the final Thieves Guild quest. After going to Armand, when you talk to The Gray Fox he will just say he needs time to think and end the conversation.
  • If instead you go to Armand first with the need to pay a Blood Price, you'll get the reward from both him and the Gray Fox and no Blood Price gold will actually be removed (so you will end up 500 gold better off than completing the quest normally.) However when you talk to the Gray Fox, do not choose any dialog topic but the "Boots" one or the topic may disappear and you will have to reload.
  • The Imbel Family Crypt Key is a quest-specific item and cannot be removed from your inventory even after the quest is complete. PC players can use Console command to fix this problem: SetQuestObject 000152FF 0.
  • It is possible to find Jakben before the quest, or even quest line, is started. As previously stated he will go for the guards, and will have the boots on him. A journal entry will tell you to meet the Gray Fox.
  • Attempting to read Jak's diary subsequent to dropping it may cause the game to freeze.

[edit] Journal Entries

Stage Finishes Quest Journal Entry
Boots of Springheel Jak (TG10Boots)
10 Amusei has given me another message from the Gray Fox. I am to meet him at Ganrendel's house in Cheydinhal.
20 The Gray Fox has asked me to find out where Springheel Jak is buried. This famous thief died 300 years ago. He is rumored to have owned a pair of magical boots. The story also says he was buried in those boots. A relative of his, Jakben, Earl of Imbel, lives somewhere in the Imperial City.
20 There is a descendent [sic] of Springheel Jak living in the Imperial City named Jakben, Earl of Imbel. The Gray Fox has suggested I look there for clues as to where he is buried. Once I know where to look, I am to get the boots and bring them back to the Gray Fox in Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal.
30 I found a book of Imbel family geneology. Very interesting reading. I should ask the Gray Fox about this. (This will appear in your journal if you already had the Count tell you where the mausoleum is.) or
I found a book of Imbel family geneology. No mention of Springheel Jak's burial location. Maybe the Earl himself can tell me, with a little friendly persuasion. (This will appear in your journal if you have not yet questioned the Count.)
35 What luck! The family mausoleum for the Imbels is in the basement of the Jakben's house. The poor Earl was so terrified he told me everything I needed to know. He even gave me the key! Now to find those boots.
37 The boots were not in the tomb of Springheel Jak. I did find a diary though. Maybe it can provide a clue.
40 I have read Jakben Imbel's diary, or should I say Springheel Jak's diary. Now I understand why the boots were not in the tomb. Why bury such a valuable item when you can wear it? Even more shocking, it seems that Springheel Jak may have know the Gray Fox himself! They may have been partners in crime several centuries ago.
45 I have the boots. Now to get back to the Gray Fox in Ganredhel's house in Cheydinhal.
49 The Gray Fox thanked me for getting him the boots. However, I will not get my fee until I pay the blood price for my murders.
50 0Yes The Gray Fox thanked me for getting him the boots. He paid me 500 gold coins for my efforts.
55 (Player has left house)
60 0Yes* I learned that the Gray Fox is not immortal. The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal has been passed from master thief to master thief for close to 300 years now. The original thief that stole it from Nocturnal is long dead. So who is the current Gray Fox?

* Does not finish the quest, but makes it impossible to continue.
Blood Price (TG10BloodPrice)
100 I just killed someone while trying to get the Boots of Springheel Jak. That will cost me my Thieves Guild membership unless I can pay the blood price of 1000 gold for each murder. I can pay Armand.
101 The Gray Fox has revoked my Thieves Guild membership. If I want back in, I'll have to pay 1000 gold for each murder to satisfy the blood price. I can pay Armand.
105 0Yes I have been reinstated into the Thieves Guild. The blood price was steep, but worth it.
Notes
  • Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
  • Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in random order.
  • If an entry is marked as "Finishes Quest" it means the quest disappears from the Active Quest list, but you may still receive new entries for that quest.
  • On the PC, it is possible to use the console to advance through the quest by entering setstage quest stage. Where quest is the internal name of the quest, and stage is the number of the stage you wish to complete. It is not possible to un-complete (i.e. go back) quest stages. See SetStage for more information.


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