Titus walked over and listened as he continued:
"No other armorer in all of King's Landing can produce a red this deep and natural."
Tobho looked proud.
"Because they never apprenticed in Qohor, much less learned the secret of infusing color into fine steel! Those childish tricks of painting or glazing finished armor should have been discarded long ago..."
Having witnessed the renowned capital craftsman's superior workmanship, Old Rolly was thoroughly convinced. He leaned close to Titus's ear and said something else.
Unable to hear clearly, Tobho was left itching with curiosity.
He really had studied in Qohor, one of the nine Free Cities of Essos, an inland city on the edge of the Qohor Forest.
The city worshipped the Black Goat and produced exquisitely woven tapestries, fine timber and woodcarvings from the forest, and raw materials such as furs, silver, tin, and amber.
There was also a unique animal not found in Westeros, a kind of nimble lemur called "Little Valyrians," with silver fur and purple eyes, clever and adorable in appearance.
Qohor's craftsmen were even more renowned throughout the world. It was said that their smiths had not only mastered the technique Tobho had just described, infusing color into metal, but that some even claimed to possess the long-lost technique for reforging Valyrian steel.
Tobho led them to the entrance of a narrow courtyard beyond the hall's back door.
Across the courtyard stood a small stone building.
Just standing at the entrance, Titus could feel a wave of heat wash over his face. The stone building was like a fire dragon's maw; there was no need to approach it to break into a hot sweat. Fortunately, his ability to adapt seemed quite good, and before long he no longer felt hot.
Titus guessed that it was the foundry housing a large forge. Seeing Wenda's pretty face turn red beside him, sweat trickling from her temples, he motioned for Tobho to take them back.
Tobho led them back into the shop's main hall.
His mouth never stopped as he continued boasting:
"When I was young, I learned the art of forging... oh, I mean reforging Valyrian steel from the masters of Qohor! Honored guest, you must understand that only those who know the correct spells can reshape those mysterious weapons..."
In the many years since he had prospered, Tobho had rarely done any smithing himself, only occasionally showing off before his apprentices for the pleasure of it. He clearly had a sales pitch for dealing with new customers.
From the moment they entered, every move he made looked far too practiced to Titus. He had probably developed a fixed routine.
After admiring the several suits of armor Tobho had displayed in his shop, Titus had to admit that they made use of many bold color combinations, their dazzling hues setting them apart from the ordinary goods in other shops.
The sight left him itching for a set. He had also come to have some spectacular equipment custom-made for the tourney at Harrenhal.
But Titus was in no hurry about commissioning armor. First, he asked a tentative question:
"Master Tobho, does your shop accept investment?"
Investment?
Tobho Mott had never expected the young customer to make such a request.
"How exactly would you like to invest, sir?"
His smithy was already close to the top of the trade in King's Landing, with customers, sales channels, and a supply chain all in place.
He lacked neither fame nor profit and had absolutely no interest in outside funding.
It was just that Titus was clearly a nobleman, and as a merchant, he could hardly refuse him bluntly.
"There's no rush. Business is business. We can start by trying a transaction."
Titus seemed to notice that he was not speaking his mind and turned instead to discussing the goods he wanted to buy.
He wanted to outfit his guards with protective gear and replace their equipment.
First, he bought more than forty sets of standard mail with iron helmets in one go. Then he produced a sketch he had drawn himself and asked Tobho to make a complete suit of armor according to the shape and specifications depicted.
Delighted by the large order, Tobho immediately brightened.
Those forty-odd sets of mail alone would bring him over a hundred gold dragons.
His goods were expensive. Elsewhere, a suit of armor might sell for only six hundred silver stags, or roughly three gold dragons. Here, it cost at least four gold dragons, though you got what you paid for.
Titus also asked Wenda whether she wanted a set, since they were already here.
Wenda replied that a half suit of women's armor fitted to her curves, together with flexible leather armor inset with iron plates, was enough for her. She had no intention of joining in the shopping.
Titus thought that made sense. She was an "Agility Hero," after all; heavy iron armor would only get in her way.
Meanwhile, Tobho took the drawing, intending merely to glance at it, only to find himself transfixed by its contents for a while. Suddenly, he looked up and asked with a slight stammer:
"Er, Master..."
"Titus. Titus Peake."
Since entering the shop, Titus had even startled the man by proposing an investment, yet this was the first time he had given his name.
"Standing before you is the lord of Star..." Bowen behaved exactly like the bald captain, darting a step forward.
Titus gave a helpless twitch of his lips and raised a hand to stop his painfully awkward introduction.
But that was enough.
Bowen's behavior alone told him a great deal. Having spent years in the capital and gained ample experience in all sorts of matters, Tobho more or less understood: Titus Peake was clearly a respected "lord."
His manner grew still more deferential as he asked, "Lord Titus, the thing is, there are parts of your design I don't quite understand..."
"Oh? I consulted Rolly. The process might be a little complicated, but there shouldn't be anything difficult about it, should there?"
The drawing Titus gave Tobho used the appearance of the "Berserker Armor" as its reference, with only a slight reduction in the helmet's exaggerated features.
But to practicing smiths such as Old Rolly and Tobho, this was already a radical, groundbreaking design.
Unlike ordinary armor made of large plates, the Berserker Armor in the drawing was ferocious in the extreme, with many strange details, some twisted and others sharp, requiring numerous small plates to be fitted together. It made Tobho's eyes light up, for he too favored bold designs.
This was a major breakthrough in the world of armor!
He also muttered inwardly, No wonder he wanted to invest in me. This lord has quite a few ideas.
Titus called Rolly over and went through some specific requirements with Tobho, along with details that were not entirely clear from the drawing alone.
Forging a custom suit of armor would take a considerable amount of time.
They would be leaving in a few days, so there certainly would not be enough time. Titus therefore arranged with Tobho Mott, who clearly felt more confident after their discussion, to have someone "express-deliver" the finished goods to Harrenhal.
Once there, they need only give Starpike's name, and someone would receive the shipment.
As for the mail, Master Tobho had seen plenty of the world, having built such a large business in King's Landing.
Titus's purchase was not especially large, but he wanted everything from existing stock and handed over on the spot, so Tobho still had to give it some thought and take stock in the warehouse.
By the time he returned from the warehouse, Titus had also added spare heavy bows, powerful arrows, shields, assorted lance heads, weapon-maintenance tools, and various other odds and ends at Bowen and Wenda's suggestion.
Tobho was very pleased to have closed the deal and seen such a forward-looking armor design.
He ordered several apprentices to carry armor and weapons out of the warehouse and help the Peake Soldiers Titus had called into the shop transport everything to the wagons outside.
Meanwhile, to take good care of his young customer, Tobho made a point of keeping Titus company while he waited for the goods to be moved, eagerly boasting about his time studying across the Narrow Sea, his extraordinary talent, and how quickly he had learned the mysterious spells for reworking Valyrian steel, and so on...
The master smith had already noticed that this young lord very much enjoyed hearing him talk about such things.
Berserker Armor:
Before you continue