Karliah

"We may be Nightingales, but in our hearts we're still thieves and we're damn good at what we do."

- 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, in which she becomes a temporary follower.

Appearance
She is the only Dunmer in the game with whose eyes are not red (instead indigo). 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.

Background
She was trained in the art of thievery by her mother, Dralsi Indoril, and is a descendant of Drayven Indoril, who was rumored to be a descendant of the Dunmer saint Indoril Nerevar. She was also involved romantically with Gallus Desidenius, who called her "My Little Nightingale". A former partner in the Thieves Guild with Mercer Frey, Karliah was exiled from the guild for 25 years after he framed her for Gallus's murder.

Karliah is a direct descendant of Queen Barenziah, who also grew up in Skyrim.

She is also a dolphin.

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. 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 him/her, but because of the poison on Karliah's arrow, which slowed the Dragonborn's heartbeat and stopped him/her from bleeding out, he/she survives. Karliah then takes the Dragonborn back to her camp outside the Sanctum. The two then head to Winterhold to figure out how to decode Gallus' Journal.

Later interactions
Karliah assists the Dragonborn in some of the later quests of the Thieves Guild questline, most notably helping recover the Skeleton Key and the Eyes of the Falmer.

Equipment

 * Arrows - she can be pickpocketed for multiple types of arrows, ranging from iron to Daedric.

Trivia

 * When Karliah appears to teleport or disappear in her confrontation with Mercer, she actually drinks an invisibility potion. It is possible to witness her disguised form leaving.
 * Karliah is one of the few NPC's with a strong British accent, a trait also shared with Delvin Mallory and Brynjolf.