Markham

Markham is the ghost of a Skara Braen man who once was proprietor of the Keg o' Spirits tavern. The Avatar can encounter him during Ultima VII.

Description
A corpulent and rougish man, Markham had been a man well-suited to his livelihood as a barkeeper, and had been quite proud of the establishment he'd inherited, which drew patrons from all corners of the realm. When the local mage, Horance succumbed to madness and transformed himself into a liche, Markham was witness to the necromancer's works - and would vividly recall later how the dead had risen from their graves at his command.

Eventually, the efforts of the townsfolk to stop Horance backfired colossally, and both Markham and his tavern fell victim to the great conflagration which resulted from Caine's failed attempt to create an antidote to the mage's fallen condition. Dying in the blaze along with his barmaid, Paulette, Markham would go on to exist as a ghost under Horance's control for many years after the fire - a predicament for which he blamed Caine. Despite these dire circumstances, however, Markham's jovial nature persisted in death, and his spirit could frequently be found in the remnants of his old pub, chatting with Paulette and Quenton.

When the Avatar arrived in Skara Brae and at last succeeded in freeing the populace from their thralldom to Horance, it fell to the hero to find a means to destroy the liche's Well of Souls, which held countless spirits imprisoned within it. To accomplish this, however, required the sacrifice of a ghost willing to commit themselves to permanent oblivion. When Markham was asked to volunteer for such a task, he refused, claiming that he hadn't the courage for such a feat. Eventually, Mayor Forsythe undertook the grim errand, and the Well was destroyed, freeing Markham and the other souls of Skara Brae that they might escape to the Void.

Trivia

 * Paulette and Quenton will chime into Markham's dialogue if they are present while the Avatar is speaking to him. Paulette will stop to flirt with her former employer, poking fun at his physique, while Quenon will gently attempt to remind Markham that Caine had good intentions when he accidentally started the fire.