Doss

An old master smith of Holmford, a quiet widower and Bren's mentor — stern, sparing with words, an ordinary craftsman who only rarely lets himself one wise remark about the trade or about life. He is ailing now and too weak to forge: he hands the forge over to Bren, lies down in its corner and "sets things right," and the journeyman's mark he forges for his apprentice is the last work to come from under his hammer.

His worth in Maris's rescue lies not in strength but in memory. Doss knows the wildwood and the old paths — in his youth he himself turned back from the causeway and carries that shame — and it's he who knows of the ruin of the old steading north of the Spread, and of a room that still has a roof. That one piece of knowledge points to where to look for the girl. In the end he lives, weakens, and stays in the forge under Bren's care.