Arquen
From the OblivioWiki – your guide to everything Oblivion
Arquen, a female Altmer, is a Speaker of the Black Hand, the core of Dark Brotherhood. At the end of the Dark Brotherhood quest series, she is the longest serving member of the Black Hand.
Arquen first appears at the completion of the quest Following a Lead. Although she is not a Listener, she leads the player and other Speakers of the Dark Brotherhood during subsequent quest Honor Thy Mother. After the completion of the Dark Brotherhood quest series, she will reside in the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary in Cheydinhal and become the main contact person of the player.
She is dressed in Black Hand Robe and Black Hand Hood. Her primary attack is melee with a dagger. She has incredible amount of health for any NPC. (2000 HP as indicated by 'getAV Health')
Attacking her can cause her to turn hostile to the player. However, she is designated as an essential NPC in the game design, thus player cannot kill her. However, she will always accept a yield from the player, so she is an excellent trainer.
During the quest Following a Lead, player receives Dead Drop Orders #8 to kill Arquen. However, the player is not to carry out this order, as it is a fake. This quest completes at her instead of Lucien Lachance, the quest giver. Lucien Lachance is executed by other Speakers of the Black Hand and the player is promoted to Lucien's position.
In the following quest Honor Thy Mother, she is the predominant actor. She is also the only Speaker, other than the player, to not die during the event. At the end of the Dark Brotherhood quest series, Arquen is the only remaining Speaker, because the player has been promoted to Listener.
