Boots of Springheel Jak (Quest)

Background
Amusei will meet you in a major city and ask you to meet the Gray Fox at Ganredhel's House in Cheydinhal. The Gray Fox wants you to steal the Boots of Springheel Jak from a former thief who died 300 years ago. He knows that a descendant of Springheel Jak, Jakben, Earl of Imbel, lives in Imperial City.

Walkthrough
Head to Imperial City and ask around for Jakben's house. He lives in the Imperial City Talos Plaza District at Jakben, Earl of Imbel's House in the main courtyard. Jakben is out of the house at night, but at home during the day, and he has one servant. Sneak upstairs into his Private Quarters.

In his private quarters, you'll find a book of the Imbel genealogy, but won't reveal anything useful about the location of the boots. A message will come up telling you to ask Jakben himself about his ancestor and the boots. You can simply wait around for Jakben to return (if you happen to be there at night). When he sees you, he'll be afraid, but simply ask him where it is and he'll tell you it's in the crypts downstairs in the basement.

Head to the basement and into the crypt. There will be five vampires with very nice loot (Vampire Battlemage, Vampire Scout, Vampire Spellsword, Vampire Thief, and Vampire Patriarch). The Patriarch is guarding the last room where Springheel's coffin lays, however, once you search the area and the coffin, you'll find a strange diary note.

Head back upstairs and find Jakben, or wait a few moments after reading the diary and he'll come to you. You'll discover that Jakben himself is a vampire and is Springheel Jak, so you'll have to kill him to get the boots (remember to avoid killing the servant). Kill Jakben, take the Boots of Springheel Jak (and whatever armor is on his body, as it is usually magical and/or rare), and return to the Gray Fox in Cheydinhal for your reward.

Before you finish up with talking to Gray Fox, there is a book which you can acquire during this quest. If you have the book in your inventory when you talk to the Gray Fox at the end of the quest, you will not be able to finish Boots of Springheel Jak, and get your Cowl of Nocturnal. It is not recommended to carry any books until the last quest begins.

Alternative strategy
Instead of going through the family crypts to find the journal, you may simply kill Jakben. When you attack him, he will summon his armor and boots and you can lift the boots from his corpse. Note that you will likely have to pay a bounty, although it may be minor if no one catches you.

If you want to avoid fighting as much as possible, this may be a good option as well. Technically, you don't have to fight the vampires in the crypt, but once you discover the diary, Jakben will come running to you and if you didn't kill the vampire matriarch in the room before, that may pose a problem. Regardless of where the final fight takes place, you can make it much easier if you manage to pickpocket Jakben's weapon when you meet him the first time. In fact, if you have a high enough level of sneak, you can pickpocket all his armor, causing him to be much easier to kill.

Bugs
*It is possible to freeze your game if you read his diary, then drop it, then read it again, if it is timed right, the quest update and diary will both appear at the same time, and freeze your game.
 * It is possible that if you do not retrieve the book of genealogy first, but go straight down to the crypts and find the diary that when you kill Jakben he is simply wearing Glass Boots and not the Boots of Springheel Jak.
 * It is possible to not fight Jakben if you are arrested by the city guards for breaking in. A guardsman will try to arrest you and if you choose to pay fines or go to jail, Jakben will not show up and never will. Therefore you will not be able to get the Boots of Springheel Jak

Trivia

 * Springheel Jak's name, Jakben Imbel, is a play on "Jack Be Nimble," a nursery rhyme about jumping.
 * The name Springheel Jak is a reference to Spring-Heeled Jack, a figure from English folklore.
 * The servant may also give hints that Jakben Imbel is a vampire. For example, he claims that his master is 'finding something to eat' during the nights.