The Assayer is a compact, long-limbed goblin with the poised stillness of someone accustomed to listening through stone. Their movements are economical but never timid, each step placed as if the floor might reveal a hidden seam. A dark iron half-mask covers the left side of their face, its surface beaten into overlapping scales and polished until it drinks lamplight. The uncovered half is expressive, with a broad cheek, a small scar through the eyebrow, and a smile that arrives several seconds after the joke. Their hands are stained with blue-black assay ink, yet their fingernails are meticulously clean. The contradiction unsettles people: they look like a fugitive miner, but carry themselves like a patient court official.