Tobho Mott

Tobho Mott is a master armorer in King's Landing, renowned for his ability to work with Valyrian steel and for the exquisite, often colorful armor he crafts for the high lords of the realm. His shop on the Street of Steel becomes a crucial site of investigation for Eddard Stark, who discovers that Jon Arryn and Stannis Baratheon visited Mott not to commission armor but to see a boy—a discovery that points directly to the secret of Cersei Lannister's incest and the true parentage of the royal children.

Craftsmanship and Reputation

Mott's establishment sits at the top of the Street of Steel, a huge house of timber and plaster whose upper stories loom over the narrow street. The double doors show a hunting scene carved in ebony and weirwood, and a pair of stone knights stand sentry at the entrance, armored in fanciful suits of polished red steel that transform them into a griffin and a unicorn. Mott himself wears a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on the sleeves in silver thread, and around his neck hangs a heavy silver chain and a sapphire as large as a pigeon's egg. He boasts that the Knight of Flowers buys all his armor here, along with many high lords and even Lord Renly Baratheon, the king's own brother. He claims to know the secret of putting color in the steel itself, rejecting paint and enamel as the crutches of a journeyman. Most significantly, he learned to work Valyrian steel at the forges of Qohor as a boy, a rare skill that allows him to take old weapons and forge them anew, a craft that requires knowledge of spells.

The Visit of Jon Arryn and Stannis Baratheon

When Eddard Stark visits Mott to investigate the death of Jon Arryn, the armorer initially presents himself as a willing informant, offering wine and boasting of his skills. However, when Stark asks directly if he made a falcon helm for Lord Arryn, Mott pauses and admits that the Hand did call upon him, with Lord Stannis, the king's brother, but that they did not honor him with their patronage. Pressed by Stark's silence, Mott reveals that they asked to see the boy, so he took them back to the forge. This boy is Gendry, a strong apprentice with thick black hair and a stubborn nature. Mott explains that a lord paid for Gendry's apprenticeship—a stout man with a brown beard touched with red, wearing a rich purple velvet cloak, who paid twice the customary sum and demanded silence. Stark recognizes the Baratheon look in Gendry's face and understands that Jon Arryn had been investigating the king's bastards, a line of inquiry that led to his murder.

Relationship with Eddard Stark

Stark decides he likes Tobho Mott, despite the armorer's initial evasiveness. When Stark offers to buy the bull's-head helmet Gendry made for himself, the boy snatches it back, insisting it is not for sale. Mott is horrified and offers to make Stark a helm like none he has ever seen, but Stark is more interested in the boy. Before leaving, Stark tells Mott that if the day ever comes when Gendry would rather wield a sword than forge one, he should send him to Winterfell. Mott promises to do so, and Stark departs, having found a crucial piece of the puzzle that Jon Arryn died for.