There are many odd NPCs in Oblivion, but none have lingered in my mind like Falanu Hlaalu.
She's not part of any major quests and doesn't stand out in terms of power, danger, or importance. Every time I interact with her, there's this strange feeling in the air.
It’s subtle at first—almost too subtle to notice—but once it clicks, it’s hard to see her as just another shopkeeper. Falanu manages All Things Alchemical in Skingrad, a humble potion shop nestled between the chapel and the guilds.
Polite and composed, the Dunmer offers ingredients and potions with the familiar lines that most alchemists stick to. Talk to her for a while, and she’ll completely shatter that illusion. Mid-conversation, she’ll lean in with a calm voice and ask, “Do you happen to know what the fine is here in Cyrodiil for necrophilia?” That’s the moment where everything changes.
It’s the most quoted line associated with her, but what makes her so unforgettable goes beyond that one piece of dialogue. She’s not joking or being quirky; she’s genuinely curious and treats the question like any other casual comment.
There’s no reaction from other NPCs, no quest that spins off from it, and no further explanation. Just a chilling question asked in the most mundane tone possible. She often visits the graveyard behind the chapel after hours and stays there in silence.
The game doesn't make a big deal of it, but once you spot it, it’s hard to unsee. There’s also an abandoned and burnt-out version of her shop near the Imperial City, bearing the same name—All Things Alchemical. It’s never explained.
The location isn’t tied to any quest, and nothing in the game points you to it. But the connection is there, just out of reach. Theories have been circling for years. Some believe her original shop was shut down or burned after she was discovered doing something illegal—or unnatural.
It could also be her strange line was part of a cut quest that Bethesda never implemented, possibly one that would’ve revealed more about her past or involved her in something darker than the game ever shows. Whatever the case, the game leaves it completely unresolved.
Falanu is also a rare case of an NPC whose character is defined almost entirely through implication. She doesn’t have a detailed backstory written into the game, but the hints are strong enough to build one around her.
She’s unsettling not because she attacks you or behaves erratically, but because everything about her feels deliberately unfinished—like there’s something the game isn’t telling you. New players meeting her for the first time now have the same reaction many of us did years ago: confusion, disbelief, and a lingering discomfort that stays long after the interaction ends.
Falanu Hlaalu doesn’t need to be at the center of the story to leave a strong impression. She manages to be one of the game’s most disturbing characters by saying almost nothing—and doing just enough to suggest she’s hiding something far worse. Among the mayhem of NPCs, it's the quiet unease that makes her one of a kind.