Karliah Karliah is a Dunmer thief , a member of the Nightingales and a former member of the Thieves Guild . She is involved in five of the Thieves Guild quests , during which she becomes a temporary follower . Background . Karliah was trained in the art of thievery by her mother , Dralsi Indoril , and is the granddaughter of Queen Barenziah , as well as Drayven Indoril , who is rumored to be a descendant of the Dunmer saint Indoril Nerevar . She was a member of the Thieves Guild and the Nightingales along with Gallus Desidenius and Mercer Frey . She was also involved romantically with Gallus Desidenius , who called her his " Little Nightingale . " She also stated that she owes her skills to Gallus saying " He honed my skill to a razor sharp point . " Karliah was exiled from the guild for 25 years after Mercer framed her for Gallus ' murder . Appearance . Karliah is the only Dunmer in the game whose eyes are violet . Her armor is a lighter shade of gray than the Guild Master ' s Armor Set , and has the same brown - colored straps and satchels of the Thieves Guild Armor . Parts of it can appear purplish in some light and it also appears to have a unique dagger strapped to the left shoulder , though it is for aesthetic purposes . Interactions . Speaking With Silence . Mercer Frey and the Dragonborn hunt for Karliah in the dungeon Snow Veil Sanctum . Once Mercer picks the Dragon Claw door , the Dragonborn walks in first . Karliah shoots the Dragonborn with a poisoned arrow , and the Dragonborn passes out soon after . Awakening again , their vision is blurry , and Mercer and Karliah are heard talking . From their dialogue , it is learned that Mercer is guilty of committing many crimes against the Guild . Karliah escapes and Mercer notices the Dragonborn is still alive . He stabs the Dragonborn , attempting to kill them , but because of the poison on Karliah ' s arrow , made to slow the victim ' s heartbeat and stop them from bleeding out , they survive . Karliah then takes them back to her camp outside the Sanctum to nurse them back to health . After the Dragonborn regains their strength , Karliah sends them to Winterhold to figure out how to decode Gallus ' s Encoded Journal . Hard Answers . The Dragonborn is sent to Calcelmo by Enthir to duplicate the writings on Calcelmo ' s Stone , in Calcelmo ' s Tower . He will not let them in , so the Dragonborn has to gain entry to the museum in another way . Once the translation is acquired , Karliah will be present at the Frozen Hearth inn with Enthir who will translate the passages , confirming that Mercer not only stole vast amounts of gold from the Guild but desecrated something called the " Twilight Sepulcher " . Karliah will express utter shock at this but cannot elaborate just yet . With the evidence in hand , Karliah asks the Dragonborn to meet her in The Ragged Flagon to confront Mercer and reveal the truth to the Guild , awarding them with an item which once belonged to Gallus : a Nightingale Blade . The Pursuit . The Dragonborn meets Karliah and faces the Guild with her . Karliah hands over Gallus ' journal as proof of her innocence and joins Brynjolf and the others as the vault is opened to reveal that Mercer robbed it dry . Though this vindicates her , she is just as angry as the rest of them and refers the Dragonborn to Brynjolf , who asks them to find evidence of Mercer Frey ' s whereabouts and will have to infiltrate his house to get his plans . Trinity Restored . The Dragonborn learns about the Nightingales and is taken to the Nightingale Hall by Karliah and Brynjolf to become a Nightingale . She wants them to be prepared for the task of killing Mercer Frey for his betrayal . Blindsighted . Karliah and Brynjolf have traveled to Irkngthand in their pursuit of Mercer Frey . They want the Dragonborn to meet them there . Inside they need to locate and eliminate Mercer and take the Skeleton Key he has stolen from Nocturnal . Darkness Returns . The Dragonborn must return the Skeleton Key and in order to do so they have to follow the Pilgrim ' s Path inside the Twilight Sepulcher . After this is done , The Dragonborn can go back to the cave and choose a power each day .