Your common mouse will run from blood and battle. The mad mouse seeks them out."

Ser Shadrich is one of those characters with ambiguous intentions that has appeared in more than one of our POV's storyline (Brienne/Sansa). I thought it would be interesting to look into him as a character see if we can learn anything about his intentions.

Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen and everything we know about him.

Background

History

Ser Shadrich is from the Shady Glen which is one of several Named Places with an Unknown Location in Westeros. And while that could just be similar to place he was knighted (like Bronn of the Blackwater and Rolly Duckfield), it is all we know about his past before very recent events.

Appearance

Ser Shadrich was a wiry, fox-faced man with a sharp nose and a shock of orange hair, mounted on a rangy chestnut courser. Though he could not have been more than five foot two, he had a cocksure manner. -AFFC, Brienne I

and:

Ser Shadrich was so short that he might have been taken for a squire, but his face belonged to a much older man. She saw long leagues in the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth, old battles in the scar beneath his ear, and a hardness behind the eyes that no boy would ever have. This was a man grown. Even Randa overtopped him, though. -TWOW, Alayne I

Claims to have lost everything on the Blackwater

Shadrich claims to have fought for Stannis on the Blackwater:

"Aye, love of gold. Unlike your good Ser Creighton, I did fight upon the Blackwater, but on the losing side. My ransom ruined me.

Skill

Brienne assumes he is at least passable with a sword:

If it was Ser Shadrich dogging her heels, she might well have a fight on her hands. She did not intend to partner with the man or let him follow her to Sansa. He had the sort of easy arrogance that comes with skill at arms, she thought, but he was small. I'll have the reach on him, and I should be stronger too.

She had learned the truth of that once she went into the world. Even Jaime Lannister had come at her that way, in the woods by Maidenpool. If the gods were good, the Mad Mouse would make the same mistake. He may be a seasoned knight, she thought, but he is no Jaime Lannister. She slid her sword out of its scabbard. -AFFC, Brienne II

Encounter with Brienne

On the road to Duskendale, Brienne comes across a merchant (Hibald) and his servants as well as a hedge knight protecting him:

Three hours later they came up upon another party struggling toward Duskendale; a merchant and his serving men, accompanied by yet another hedge knight. The merchant rode a dappled grey mare, whilst his servants took turns pulling his wagon. Four labored in the traces as the other two walked beside the wheels, but when they heard the sound of horses they formed up around the wagon with quarterstaffs of ash at the ready. The merchant produced a crossbow, the knight a blade. "You will forgive me if I am suspicious," called the merchant, "but the times are troubled, and I have only good Ser Shadrich to defend me. Who are you?"

"Why," Ser Creighton said, affronted, "I am the famous Ser Creighton Longbough, fresh from battle on the Blackwater, and this is my companion, Ser Illifer the Penniless."

The merchant looked to his escort. "What say you, ser?"

"Oh, these three are nought to fear." Ser Shadrich was a wiry, fox-faced man with a sharp nose and a shock of orange hair, mounted on a rangy chestnut courser. Though he could not have been more than five foot two, he had a cocksure manner. "The one is old, t'other fat, and the big one is a woman. Let them come." -AFFC, Brienne I

As they continue their journey, Brienne has the following back and forth with him:

As they resumed their journey, the hired knight dropped back and looked her up and down as if she were a side of good salt pork. "You're a strapping healthy wench, I'd say."

Ser Jaime's mockery had cut her deep; the little man's words hardly touched her. "A giant, compared to some."

He laughed. "I am big enough where it counts, wench."

"The merchant called you Shadrich."

"Ser Shadrich of the Shady Glen. Some call me the Mad Mouse." He turned his shield to show her his sigil, a large white mouse with fierce red eyes, on bendy brown and blue. "The brown is for the lands I've roamed, the blue for the rivers that I've crossed. The mouse is me."

"And are you mad?"

"Oh, quite. Your common mouse will run from blood and battle. The mad mouse seeks them out."

"It would seem he seldom finds them."

"I find enough. 'Tis true, I am no tourney knight. I save my valor for the battlefield, woman."

Woman was marginally better than wench, she supposed. "You and good Ser Creighton have much in common, then." -AFFC, Brienne I

They finally move onto a discussion about Sansa:

Ser Shadrich laughed. "Oh, I doubt that, but it may be that you and I share a quest. A little lost sister, is it? With blue eyes and auburn hair?" He laughed again. "You are not the only hunter in the woods. I seek for Sansa Stark as well."

Brienne kept her face a mask, to hide her dismay. "Who is this Sansa Stark, and why do you seek her?"

”For love, why else?”

She furrowed her brow. "Love?"

"Aye, love of gold. Unlike your good Ser Creighton, I did fight upon the Blackwater, but on the losing side. My ransom ruined me. You know who Varys is, I trust? The eunuch has offered a plump bag of gold for this girl you've never heard of. I am not a greedy man. If some oversized wench would help me find this naughty child, I would split the Spider's coin with her."

"I thought you were in this merchant's hire."

"Only so far as Duskendale. Hibald is as niggardly as he is fearful. And he is very fearful. What say you, wench?"

"I know no Sansa Stark," she insisted. "I am searching for my sister, a highborn girl . . ."

". . . with blue eyes and auburn hair, aye. Pray, who is this knight who travels with your sister? Or did you name him fool?" Ser Shadrich did not wait for her answer, which was good, since she had none. "A certain fool vanished from King's Landing the night King Joffrey died, a stout fellow with a nose full of broken veins, one Ser Dontos the Red, formerly of Duskendale. I pray your sister and her drunken fool are not mistaken for the Stark girl and Ser Dontos. That could be most unfortunate." He put his heels into his courser and trotted on ahead.

Even Jaime Lannister had seldom made Brienne feel such a fool. You are not the only hunter in the woods. The woman Brella had told her how Joffrey had stripped Ser Dontos of his spurs, how Lady Sansa begged Joffrey for his life. He helped her flee, Brienne had decided, when she heard the tale. Find Ser Dontos, and I will find Sansa. She should have known there would be others who would see it too. Some may even be less savory than Ser Shadrich. She could only hope that Ser Dontos had hidden Sansa well. But if so, how will I ever find her?

Brienne later ditches Hibald and Shadrich, etc. and heads off on her own. and Ser Shadrich disappears from our story until he appears again in Sansa's storyline.

Encounter with Sansa

As he mentions, I assume that Ser Shadrich helps Hibald as far as Duskendale, where like Brienne, he would have found out that Lysa is dead. Yet for some reason he does end up heading to the Eyrie:

"I would do the same if she were my daughter," said the last knight, a short, wiry man with a wry smile, pointed nose, and bristly orange hair. "Particularly around louts like us."

Alayne laughed. "Are you louts?" she said, teasing. "Why, I took the three of you for gallant knights."

"Knights they are," said Petyr. "Their gallantry has yet to be demonstrated, but we may hope. Allow me to present Ser Byron, Ser Morgarth, and Ser Shadrich. Sers, the Lady Alayne, my natural and very clever daughter . . . with whom I must needs confer, if you will be so good as to excuse us."

Where he enters Littlefinger's service but later hints at some possible true intentions:

Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin. Alayne turned abruptly from the yard...and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her. His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall. "My lady. My pardons if I took you unawares."

"The fault was mine. I did not see you standing there."

"We mice are quiet creatures." Ser Shadrich was so short that he might have been taken for a squire, but his face belonged to a much older man. She saw long leagues in the wrinkles at the corner of his mouth, old battles in the scar beneath his ear, and a hardness behind the eyes that no boy would ever have. This was a man grown. Even Randa overtopped him, though.

"Will you be seeking wings?" the Royce girl said.

"A mouse with wings would be a silly sight."

"Perhaps you will try the melee instead?" Alayne suggested. The melee was an afterthought, a sop for all the brothers, uncles, fathers, and friends who had accompanied the competitors to the Gates of the Moon to see them win their silver wings, but there would be prizes for the champions, and a chance to win ransoms.

"A good melee is all a hedge knight can hope for, unless he stumbles on a bag of dragons. And that's not likely, is it?"

"I suppose not. But now you must excuse us, ser, we need to find my lord father. " -TWOW, Alane I

Sansa also dances with him:

He was her first partner of the evening, but far from the last. Just as Petyr had promised, the young knights flocked around her, vying for her favor. After Ben came Andrew Tollett, handsome Ser Byron, red-nosed Ser Morgarth, and Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse. Then Ser Albar Royce, Myranda's stout dull brother and Lord Nestor's heir. She danced with all three Sunderlands, none of whom had webs between their fingers, though she could not vouch for their toes. Uther Shett appeared to pay her slimy compliments as he trod upon her feet, but Ser Targon the Halfwild proved to be the soul of courtesy. After that Ser Roland Waynwood swept her up and made her laugh with mocking comments about half the other knights in the hall. His uncle Wallace took a turn as well and tried to do the same, but the words would not come. Alayne finally took pity on him and began to chatter happily, to spare him the embarrassment. When the dance was done she excused herself, and went back to her place to have a drink of wine.

Thoughts/Ideas/Theories

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

• Shadrich was supposedly "financially ruined" on the Blackwater, yet when Brienne encounters him he has a shield with his personal sigil on it, etc. and while its possible that Hibald paid for it, or that Shadrich ransomed his arms back when he ransomed himself.
• Ser Shadrich and his companions somehow made it to the Gates of the Moon without dying and while they could have taken a ship, they definitely didn't take the High Road:

His dream of selling Arya to Lady Arryn died there in the hills, though. "There's frost above us and snow in the high passes," the village elder said. "If you don't freeze or starve, the shadowcats will get you, or the cave bears. There's the clans as well. The Burned Men are fearless since Timett One-Eye came back from the war. And half a year ago, Gunthor son of Gurn led the Stone Crows down on a village not eight miles from here. They took every woman and every scrap of grain, and killed half the men. They have steel now, good swords and mail hauberks, and they watch the high road—the Stone Crows, the Milk Snakes, the Sons of the Mist, all of them. Might be you'd take a few with you, but in the end they'd kill you and make off with your daughter." -ASOS, Arya XII

• It could easily be nothing, but Shadrich responds in the exact same way as Osmund Kettleblack

"That I couldn't say, my lord." He had a great wide smile on his face, did Ser Osmund, as if he and Jaime were old comrades in arms playing some jolly little game. "I'm a soldier, though, not no tourney knight." -ASOS, Jaime VIII

Theories

I've read numerous theories on the Mad Mouse and his supposed identity ranging from someone like Howland Reed to a missing maester, etc.

They've been discussed a ton so I will skip it in this post other than the briefest mention here just for discussion's sake:

Howland Reed seems to hinge mainly on Shadrich's size, that said please note the description of the mouse on his shield:

He turned his shield to show her his sigil, a large white mouse with fierce red eyes, on bendy brown and blue. "The brown is for the lands I've roamed, the blue for the rivers that I've crossed. The mouse is me."

Ser Shadrich is a large white mouse with fierce red eyes.

Another one is the Faceless Men and that seems to hinge on him being a "mad mouse" and then this quote regarding poison:

This paste is spiced with basilisk blood. It will give cooked flesh a savory smell, but if eaten it produces violent madness, in beasts as well as men. A mouse will attack a lion after a taste of basilisk blood." --AFFC, Cat of the Canals

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Throwback to The Mystery Knight?

One thing that I think is interesting to note is the number of parallels between Brienne's meeting with Ser Shadrich and the other hedge knights and what happens between Dunk and the hedge knights in The Mystery Knight.

Brienne is not only (one of many) a descendant of Dunk, but we also have other parallels with the shield, possible hidden characters, etc.

I love the shade that Shadrich throws at Ser Creighton here:

"It was not a wolf," Brienne heard herself say. "Ser Jaime lost his hand to a Qohorik sellsword."

"It is no easy thing to fight with your off hand," observed the Mad Mouse.

"Bah," said Ser Creighton Longbough. "As it happens, I fight as well with either hand."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that." Ser Shadrich lifted his tankard in salute.

Brienne remembered her fight with Jaime Lannister in the woods. It had been all that she could do to keep his blade at bay. He was weak from his imprisonment, and chained at the wrists. No knight in the Seven Kingdoms could have stood against him at his full strength, with no chains to hamper him. Jaime had done many wicked things, but the man could fight! His maiming had been monstrously cruel. It was one thing to slay a lion, another to hack his paw off and leave him broken and bewildered.

Agenda

I think that while he is in Littlefinger's hire along with two other knights (I looked into them a bit, and really didn't find much outside of Byron is young and attractive and Morgarth is older and ugly), it should be noted that he probably isn't working for Littlefinger. It should also be noted that Varys is no longer in "power" in King's Landing.

Shadrich's agenda seems to hinge on what exactly he is up to in the Vale:

• Working for himself (he wants the dragons from Varys after previously being "never ever to financially recover" after the Blackwater. The most straightforward answer.)
• Working for Varys (even if Varys isn't in power anymore, Varys still obviously would want Sansa as a pawn).
• Working for another (there are numerous other factions that would still love to have Sansa such as the Tyrells, Cersei, etc.)

It seems possible, maybe even likely he will try to kidnap Sansa during the upcoming Tourney of the Brotherhood of the Winged Knights. After that it is hard to speculate.

A solo hedge knight attempting to kidnap "Alayne" in front of all the Lords Declarant , etc. doesn't make sense unless he has a plan/helpers (possibly his two other hedge knights). How do would they get away? Boat definitely makes more sense than the high road. It should also be noted that the knights of the Vale will come into play in the story at some point. If Sansa were to taken by Shadrich how would that happen? Way too many unknowns to theorize about accurately imo.

It should also be noted that in addition to Ser Shadrich numerous other characters probably know Alayne's identity as well and it will be really interesting to see what happens as some of these Mummer's Farces unravel in The Winds of Winter.

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TLDR: Everything we know about Ser Shadrich and his past as well as some thoughts on how he will affect Sansa's storyline going forward.