![[MarkhamSouthwellPathfinder-v1.png]]
# Markham Southwell
_Human Sheriff | [[Bryn Shander]]_
## Summary
The sheriff of [[Bryn Shander]], responsible for law and order within the walls. [[Lynne]] warned him that [[Vareth Justicar]] — a Knight of the [[Order of the Gauntlet]] who killed her mother — was coming to the city, and he took the warning seriously. He later arrested [[Brynjar Rimeheart]] for inciting the townsfolk.
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## Now
Holding the peace inside Bryn Shander as it fills with refugees and soldiers ahead of [[Storvald]]'s assault. Quietly wary of [[Vareth Justicar]] since Lynne's warning, and watching for trouble among the crowds at the gates.
## Appearance
Brawny and plain-faced, a man built for the work. Says little and means what he says.
## Personality
Steady and hard to rattle, more listener than talker. Takes a credible warning at face value and acts on it — his concern was immediate and visible when Lynne named a fallen Knight of the Gauntlet. Protective of his town and impatient with anyone stirring panic in it.
## Connections
**[[Lynne]]** — warned him against Vareth Justicar; earned his trust.
**[[Vareth Justicar]]** — regards him with fresh suspicion.
**[[Duvessa Shane]]** — serves the Speaker as the city's law.
**[[Brynjar Rimeheart]]** — arrested him for preaching sedition at the gates.
## Background
**Sheriff of Bryn Shander:** Keeps order in the largest of the Ten-Towns, a job that swelled overnight as the Winter Empire threat drove the region behind Bryn Shander's walls.
**The warning:** [[Lynne]], recognized at the House of the Triad as [[Aribeth de Tylmarande]]'s daughter, told him directly not to trust [[Vareth Justicar]] — an [[Order of the Gauntlet]] fanatic who had killed her mother. He believed her.
**The arrest:** Detained [[Brynjar Rimeheart]] when the shaman planted himself near the gates proclaiming the coming of the Red Dragon King.