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The Mountain's Men
"Those are Gregor's men at Harrenhal. The Mountain liked them cruel and stupid."
— Jaime Lannister
The Mountain's men are men-at-arms of the westerlands in service to Ser Gregor Clegane, the Mountain That Rides. And like their leader, they are a bunch of sadistic psychos. Other members are Joss Stilwood, Eggon, Tobbot and Dunsen
- A Lighter Shade of Black: Despite their brutality, the Mountain's Men are at least loyal to the Lannisters, unlike the Bloody Mummers who are perfectly willing to switch sides if that allows them to continue their “foraging”.
- Better Living Through Evil: Averted; due to the deaths of Ser Gregor and Lord Tywin they never get the gold they've been promised for their service, as the Crown is deeply in debt and everyone is eager to wash their hands of them now that the war is apparently over.
- The Brute: An extremely sadistic group of soldiers.
- Disproportionate Retribution: A minor member named Dunsen is on the receiving end. Arya has many reasons to want other members dead; by comparison, she adds Dunsen to her list of names to kill because he took Gendry's helm.
- An unnamed member is mentioned by Sandor as having been killed by Gregor simply for snoring too loudly.
- Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: They know to keep clear of the Mountain when he's brooding (an innkeeper who failed to do so saw his son stabbed and daughter raped). When the Sarsfield boy starts taunting Sandor Clegane about his desertion during the Battle of Blackwater, they quickly shut him up, too. Nothing but Bad Things.
- Elite Mooks: They're highly effective soldiers, accompanying Gregor on some of his most dangerous missions (such as in the vanguard at Green Fork).
- Evil Versus Evil: A sick lot they may be, but you can't help but cheer when they take on the Bloody Mummers.
- Horrifying the Horror: For all that most of them are, underneath it all, on the clock and under one of the worst bosses in the whole of Westeros, they present a genuine horror as a group to pretty much anybody. But, none of the more experienced of them would voluntarily take on Sandor for anything. Firstly, Gregor would probably take it personally if they did (a Very Bad Thing). Secondly, they're all well aware they'd have incredibly low, individual odds of walking away upright from that fight, whatever they tried and whatever the ultimate outcome.
- Noodle Incident: Randyll Tarly makes offhand mention of killing and gelding a bunch of them almost as soon as they turned up in Maidenpool and continued... well, acting like they always did.
- Obliviously Evil: When Jaime orders one of them executed for rape, the man is genuinely confused about it.
- Only One Name: Several of them, on account of being smallfolk.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Their attacks on the Riverlands are the first large-scale actions in what eventually turns into the War of the Five Kings; Eddard Stark sends out Beric Dondarrion to bring them to justice, and the rest of Westeros follows into the fray.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Their standard operating procedure, although they're far more disciplined about it than, say, the Brave Companions. They can't stop doing it, on the other hand, so Randyll Tarly has to execute a lot of them.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Those that are left are about to be sent to Braavos as an escort for Harys Swyft, largely because no one in King's Landing wants them around. They were about to be sent to an almost literal Antarctica, as Lord Tarly and Tyrell wanted to send them to the Wall, but Kevan Lannister decided to make a bit more use of them.Randyll Tarly: If it were up to me, I'd send the lot of them to the Wall...The Night's Watch is where such scum belong.
- Reassignment Backfire: Rafford gets killed by Arya while on Braavos as a bodyguard to Harys Swyft. The others might not be that lucky either.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Most of them, anyway.
- The Squire: Joss Stilwood, who is Gregor's squire. There is also an unnamed squire from House Sarsfield among them, who gets killed by Arya at an inn.
- Undying Loyalty: Their loyal service to the Lannister is pretty much their only saving grace. When the Small Council discusses what to do with them, they are only saved from being sent to the Wall because the Realm needs all the loyal swords it can get.
- Would Hurt a Child: One of their larger-profile victims was Lord Lyman Darry, the last of his line. He was eight.
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Polliver
Polliver
A man-at-arms of House Clegane. Dies fighting Sandor Clegane.
- Bald of Evil: Has lost almost all the hair on the top of his head.
- Beard of Evil: He has one.
- BFS: Though described as a "longsword" by Arya, his weapon from the description appears to be a Zweihänder.
- The Dragon: To The Mountain. He is left in command of Harrenhall when Ser Gregor is summoned to King's Landing.
- Large and in Charge: He's only a couple of inches shorter than Sandor (who is 6'6 per
Word of God), making him absolutely massive by medieval standards. He stands a head taller than most of his men. - Lean and Mean: Is noted to be almost the same height as Sandor Clegane, but not as broad. Is not really a very nice guy.
- Mook Lieutenant: Although he'd always been around, he generally fades into the background when compared to such characters as Gregor, Sandor, Raff and even Shitmouth. Until he doesn't.
- Off with His Head!: Well, half his head at least.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Arya doesn't believe him to be as violent as his comrades. He also acts downright brotherly with the Sarsfield squire he brings to the inn when he runs into Sandor.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Has only a couple speaking scenes, but in one of those he tells Sandor and Arya about all that's happened since they've been wandering the Riverlands (directly dictating the direction of Arya's story) and actually almost kills Sandor Clegane, a major character in his own right.
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Fridge Brilliance: He probably only takes his chances in that fight because he gets time to work out that Sandor really isn't at his best thanks to his threadbare physical and emotional state due to being hungover and suffering from weeks of being an outlaw on the road. He knows the guy well enough to be able to judge how much more of a chance he had right then than he would usually get, even if the squire doesn't.
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Rafford
Rafford
Raff the Sweetling
A man-at-arms of House Clegane, better known as Raff the Sweetling.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Freely admits to Jaime that they're horrible people.
- Character Death: Killed by Arya in revenge for Lommy.
- Faux Affably Evil: As noted in Foil, he seems pleasant on the surface, but he's a ruthless psychopath worthy of being in The Mountain's retinue. If
- Foil: To Shitmouth, a contrast noted by Arya. Raff comes across as well-spoken and pleasant, but is an inveterate dog-kicker without empathy. Conversely, Shitmouth has thuggish mannerisms and (as his nickname suggests) is Sir Swears-a-Lot, but is no more evil than his job demands and shows kindness to prisoners.
- Global Ignorance: In-universe in The Winds of Winter. While in cold, damp Braavos, he complains that he heard about there being orange trees, lemons, limes, peppers and bare-bellied girls, to which one of his fellow soldiers points out that those are more likely to be found in the southern Free Cities like Lys, Myr and Volantis.Older guard: Braavos is north of King's Landing, fool. Can't you read a bloody map?
- Ironic Nickname: He is not sweet at all, although the name is suitable to the extent that he is well-spoken and deceptively pleasant.
- Karmic Death: He killed Lommy Greenhands because he was too lazy to carry the boy. Arya cuts his thigh, forcing him to beg her to carry him to a healer. Arya kills him instead.
- Kick the Dog: Shoving a spear through a crippled Lommy Greenhands' throat as he begs for help.
- Pædo Hunt: Is all too eager to accept when propositioned by a clearly prepubescent girl in Braavos. This gets him killed (see Character Death).
- Pragmatic Villainy: Even though he serves the Mountain, he knows better than to go toe-to-toe with his brother.Raff: We're bad, m’lord, but you’d have to be mad to face the Hound.
- Sadist: He randomly goes around kicking dogs because it pleases him.
- Villains Out Shopping: In A Feast For Crows, Jamie sees him splashing around in a stream with a girl on his shoulders facing a similar pair, just having fun trying to knock each other down.
- Would Hurt a Child: His murder of Lommy Greenhands.
Shitmouth
Shitmouth
A man-at-arms of House Clegane.
- Ass Shove: Fond of referencing these as a figure of speech; though is freaked out when Jaime threatens to oblige him. (See Oh, Crap! below)
- Beard of Evil: Has a thick, grey beard and works for the Mountain.
- Bystander Syndrome: He doesn't seem to revel in cruelty, but he's at least complicit to his fellow soldiers' actions.
- Foil: As noted above, he's one to Raff. Shitmouth's mannerisms cause the uninformed to assume he's one of the worst of the lot, whereas Raff's mannerisms make him appear like a decent guy (this is the interpretation Jaime forms when meeting the two). However, the reality is that Raff is a vicious thug (at least on the job) and Shitmouth is a (comparably) good guy whose bark is worse than his bite.
- Lower-Class Lout: Most likely one of the smallfolk, and speaks in unfiltered profanity even in front of nobles and higher-ups.
- Oh, Crap!: Has one when he meets Jamie Lannister and exclaims "Well bugger me with a bloody spear!" and Jaime immediately requests someone hand Ser Ilyn a spear so he can shove it up Shitmouth's ass.Shitmouth: (eyeing the spear) Get away from me with that thing!Jaime: Well, make up your mind.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Called "Shitmouth" because he swears a lot.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He's really only as evil as he "needs" to be.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: How he got his nickname.
- Token Good Teammate: In comparison to the rest of the Mountain's men. He gives extra food to the prisoners they take if they ask nicely and doesn't mistreat them. Arya doesn't add him to her list and his name never comes up as one of the men who rape or torture civilians.
The Tickler
The Tickler
"Is there gold hidden in the village? Is there silver? Gems? Is there food? Where is Lord Beric? Where did he go? How many men were with him? How many knights? How many bowman? How many, how many, how many, how many, how many? Is there any gold in the village?"
A man-at-arms of House Clegane who serves The Mountain as a torturer.
- Asshole Victim: A thoroughly repellent character who finds himself at the wrong end of Arya's knife... multiple times.
- Deadly Euphemism: His nickname comes from this and his habit of "tickling" people.
- Dual Wielding: Uses a short sword and knife when fighting.
- In the Back: How he dies: he's so focused on Sandor in front of him, it's easy for Arya to drive a knife into his unsuspecting back.
- Ironic Echo: Arya murders him while repeating the exact same lines he used when interrogating and torturing his victims.
- Karmic Death: Stabbed to death by Arya at the Inn at the Crossroads, and she yells at him the same questions he asked his victims.
- The Nondescript: Arya thinks he could disappear in a crowd of three.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Only called "The Tickler".
- Sadist: It's more than apparent that he doesn't expect answers to the questions he's asking all the people he works on (he doesn't give them time to answer, for one thing, by too quickly moving from one to another). It Amused Me is definitely in play. Particularly for those who are obviously too young or too clueless to know anything.
- Silence, You Fool!: A non-verbal example; after the Sarsfield squire doesn't get the message from Polliver to stop goading Sandor, the Tickler twists the boy's ear so he takes the hint.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Part of what makes him so unsettling for Arya is how he looks like a perfectly ordinary man you'd see anywhere, even as he's "tickling" people to death, and once he blends back into the crowd he's just another face you would never look twice at, and would never suspect of torturing and killing people for a living.
- Torture Technician: He is Gregor Clegane's designated torturer, using a variety of horrible methods to inflict pain while asking the same litany of questions over and over until the prisoner dies. When he is not torturing, he is a perfectly mundane soldier.
- Would Hurt a Child: Tortures the child of his previous victim to death. What makes it even more brutal is that the woman volunteered to be tortured solely on the condition that her daughter be spared.
Chiswyck
Chiswyck
"Baker boy, here’s your choice. Come join the ghosts, or be one."
An older man-at-arms serving under the Mountain.
- Asshole Victim: No one is sad when Jaqen takes him out.
- Black Comedy Rape: Well, for him it is — Chiswyck tells a story to amuse his fellow soldiers of a night where he, Gregor, Raff and some of their accomplices stopped via an inn and passed the innkeeper's daughter around like a toy. Unfortunately for him, he does it within earshot of Arya.
- Disney Villain Death: Is discovered having fallen off a walkway and broken his neck. Many think he got drunk and fell, but others know better.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: He thinks the funniest part of his story about the gang-rape of the innkeeper's daughter is Gregor demanding some of his change back from her father because "she wasn't worth a silver."
- Evil Old Folks: Quite old.
- Faux Affably Evil: Is jolly and upbeat; Arya comments how this contrasts his brutality.
- Neck Snap: How Jaqen kills him.
- Old Soldier: Although not so old that he can't fight or rape.
- Sadist: As many of the Mountain's men.
- The Storyteller: A horrifying example as his stories involve gang-rape and murder, both of which he finds hilarious.
