Mercer Frey Mercer Frey is the Breton leader of the Thieves Guild located in Riften and the primary antagonist of the Thieves Guild questline . He is also the owner of Riftweald Manor in Riften , although he is never actually found in or around this location . Background . Mercer joined the Thieves Guild at some point during the tenure of Guildmaster Gallus Desidenius . Mercer soon began skimming funds from the Guild ' s treasury , which was eventually discovered by Gallus . He took over the position of Guild leader after his predecessor Gallus Desidenius was supposedly murdered by Karliah , Mercer ' s former partner , until the Dragonborn discovered the truth while looking for Karliah with Mercer in tow in the ruins of Snow Veil Sanctum . During the Dragonborn ' s initiation to the Guild , Mercer is usually the one that gives out tasks for them . It is noticeable from the beginning that he always acts impatient and irritated towards the Dragonborn . He shows obvious distaste towards them and becomes increasingly annoyed the more they progress in the Thieves Guild Questline . He eventually tries to kill the Dragonborn during " Speaking With Silence . " Multiple followers . Mercer Frey is one of the quest characters that can be exploited to follow the Dragonborn throughout Skyrim along with a follower of their choice . In the quest " Speaking With Silence , " after they enter Snow Veil Sanctum , they can leave and he will continue to follow them wherever they go . This is a simple way to obtain a powerful follower as , whilst the mission is still available , he cannot be killed off by the Dragonborn or others . While it is not possible to converse or trade objects with him similar to an ordinary follower , he will remain an unkillable ally ; at least until Karliah is found . Personality . Mercer is generally quite pessimistic , stressed , and irritable . Despite his personality , he appears to be quite sly , for example killing the previous leader of the thieves guild , Gallus and blaming it on Karliah , and using her to lure the Dragonborn to Snow Veil Sanctum . He also seems to be adept in swordsmanship , as Karliah states when talking to Mercer , " " Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence , Mercer . " " He seems to be a master of sneak as he was able to silently approach Falmer and assassinate them swiftly while also sneaking past many of their Chaurus . This could possibly be the result of Mercer unlocking his hidden potential with the Skeleton Key . His lockpicking skill is debatable : he is seen picking locks that are unpickable , but this is almost certainly because he uses the Skeleton Key , which was in his possession at the time . It is also possible that he has generally good knowledge of the locks themselves . As the true extent of his actions are revealed , Mercer is shown to be a man completely lacking in scruples both personal and moral , willing to betray and murder anyone who trusts him for personal profit . Over the course of more than twenty - five years , Mercer broke his sworn Oath to Nocturnal and stole the Skeleton Key , robbed the Thieves Guild blind , murdered his predecessor and pinned the blame on Karliah . Interactions . Loud and Clear . Mercer will assign the Dragonborn the first job in the Thieves Guild , which requires the Dragonborn to go to the Goldenglow Estate to teach the proprietor a lesson . Before going there , the Dragonborn can optionally talk to Vex in order to discover the location of the secret entrance to the estate . Dampened Spirits . Maven Black - Briar tasks the Dragonborn to shut down a competitor , newly opened Honningbrew Meadery , and to find out how its owner Sabjorn has managed so quickly to fund its opening . Speaking With Silence . After following Mercer inside the Snow Veil Sanctum , all the way to the word wall , he will attempt to end the Dragonborn ' s life . But Karliah saves them and nurses them back to life and will then reveal Mercer ' s treachery to the guild . Blindsighted . The Dragonborn travels to Irkngthand , a vast dwarven ruin that supposedly contains the legendary " Eyes of the Falmer . " Karliah and Brynjolf are waiting for them within . Together they hope to stop Mercer Frey from stealing the Eyes and escaping from Skyrim with the Skeleton Key of Nocturnal . Mercer ' s bookcases . The shelving behind Mercer ' s desk in the Cistern slowly fills with trophies relevant to any exploits and larceny targets sold to Delvin Mallory , such as the Left Eye of the Falmer . Those items can be taken from the cases . Upon finishing the additional jobs Delvin and Vex give the Dragonborn , trophies of recovered items begin to fill the shelves too :