Arnold Timsh



"Please pay attention! Who are you, a kitchen worker? A grounds keeper? This is the chance of your miserable lifetime!"

- Arnold Timsh berating Daud in Coldridge Prison

Arnold Timsh is a character featured in The Knife of Dunwall. He is the corrupt City Barrister of Dunwall under the regency of Hiram Burrows, who attempts to keep his niece Thalia Timsh from inheriting the family fortune by hiding her ailing grandmother's will, which Thalia tasks Daud with retrieving. Timsh is the assassination target of the mission, Eminent Domain.

Biography
A lawyer by trade, Timsh used to work as a maritime Barrister in Dunwall. He notably provided Bundry Rothwild with his whaling license and later plotted with the businessman to sell part of the slaugherhouse's supply of whale oil, violating the Lord Regent's whale oil ban. He was elevated to the position of City Barrister by Hiram Burrows after the death of the empress Jessamine Kaldwin to serve as a liaison between the government and the Dead Counters of the City Watch. His position was created in order to restore the evaluated assets left behind by victims of the Rat Plague to their next of kin, or in case there was none left to seize them for the government. An audiograph found in Timsh's office at his estate reveals that he frequently abuses his power, seizing the property of families who were not victims of the plague and turning it over to his friends and business associates. He personally has immunity from property seizure via a decree from the Lord Regent, which he keeps on his person at all times.

Arnold once knew Delilah Copperspoon and was deeply infatuated with her, writing her in as the benefactor of his mother's will and compromising the ailing woman's health for Delilah's benefit. He also named a ship after her, which he later sold to Bundry Rothwild after Delilah disappeared from his life. Despite his deep love for Delilah, Thalia also suggests that Timsh feared her, and he is still haunted by her memory years after her disappearance.

It is revealed in The Brigmore Witches that Delilah used her painting of Timsh to possess him, using the barrister as a test case for future such rituals.

The Brigmore Witches
Provided that he was not assassinated, Timsh later goes to prison. During his imprisonment Timsh is completely delusional about his situation. He can be witnessed threatening the guards using what he feels is his position of power and authority and can be heard shouting, "None of you understand what I can do to you. It's almost laughable isn't it? When you think about it? You're signing your own death warrant". He also threatens to add particular guards' names to a signed notarized deposition, which he has apparently sent word of to the Lord Regent's office. He is insistent that there has been a terrible mistake and that once it is cleared up he will gain control of half of the city.

Canon Fate
Canonically, Arnold Timsh was arrested and sentenced for life. Since then, his niece Thalia rose among the Dunwall aristocracy, pulling her family with her while building her own reputation.

Trivia

 * Timsh is voiced by John Mariano.
 * Timsh was slated to appear in Dishonored, but was cut. One mission involved Corvo Attano having to steal documents on the corrupt lawyer from the Bitterleaf Almshouse.
 * In his conversation with the statue of Delilah, Timsh reveals that he is well aware of Hiram Burrows' conspiracy to gain control over the Empire, and that he was informed of Emily Kaldwin's disappearance from the the Golden Cat.
 * Timsh and Morgan Pendleton share the same death animation.
 * Timsh keeps an audiograph in his quarters that states comforting lies for his mother, should she ever wake up.
 * A note written by Timsh to a maid named Melissa, suggests that he is not entirely professional toward his servants. This is also demonstrated in a private conversation between him and the same maid, in which he pressures her into spending the night with him.
 * Timsh is first mentioned during the Dishonored mission The Royal Physician in a note written by Anton Sokolov in which he expresses his feelings about making a statue of the barrister to be displayed in Timsh's Estate.
 * He is mentioned again by party guests during Lady Boyle's Last Party after having ruined another aristocrat by the name of Bannerman.
 * Unlike the majority of aristocrats found in Dishonored, Timsh will actually fight against his attacker, using both a sword and a pistol.
 * If Timsh is found in Coldridge Prison, Daud can use the cell controls to open his cell, allowing him to try and escape. If this is done, he will make a desperate run for the bridge before being killed by the guards, without increasing chaos for Daud.
 * On his estate, a Timsh family war medal can be found, implying that someone from his family or even Arnold himself has been in a war.