Mairi Cered is a short, broad elderly dwarf woman with a balding crown and a carefully maintained grey beard that falls in two square braids beneath her chin. Her scalp is freckled with old burn scars, and her beard smells faintly of lamp oil, juniper smoke, and hot iron. She walks with a carved ash staff, but never leans on it unless someone is watching. Her hands are knotted and scarred, with blackened half-moons beneath the nails. One ear is slightly pointed from an old mining accident, while the other is pierced with seven tiny copper rings. Her movements are slow in public and startlingly quick when she thinks nobody is looking. Despite her intimidating age and severe face, she has an unexpectedly delicate smile that appears whenever she sees a well-made button, hinge, or cooking knife.