Captain Raoul Dumont

Overview

Raoul Dumont is a character and major antagonist from the Ravenloft product line novel Dance of the Dead. In that book he was the former captain of La Demoiselle du Musarde (also known as the River Dancer). Prior to the events of the book, he murdered his debtor Aubrey Helson and took his daughter Larissa Snowmane as payment. He raised her as his own ward and raised her to be a dancer and actor on his ship. Beyond the secret murder of Larissa's father, Captain Dumont was also a slaver; he magically bound several enchanted creatures to power his boat. Dumont also conspired with Alondrin to murder the crew of the River Dancer and reanimate them as zombies.

Larissa eventually discovered Dumont's misdeeds and fled into the swamps of Souragne with the help of Willen. She would later returned empowered with magics given to her by both the Maiden of the Swamp and the Lord of the Dead. Along with Alondrin and his zombies, Dumont met his end at the hands of Larissa and her Dance of the Dead.

Biography

Originally from Richemulot, Captain Raoul Dumont was the original proprietor of La Demoiselle du Musarde, a ship he promoted as a floating , gambling hall, and theater. As a wizard of considerable skill, he enchanted the boat with various magic effects, including various protections and wards. Part of the boat's magic depended upon magic phrases and songs being repeated over and over in the form of the musical play known as the Pirate's Pleasure, also written by Dumont. Ostensibly a simple performance by its cast, the music of the Pirate's Pleasure played a key role in keep together the magic that powered Le Demoiselle. It is for this reason that the only music allowed on board was the music of the Pirate's Pleasure and only then sung by the player's cast.

Dumont employed a number of other secret methods to keep his business a success. This other methods were much more despicable, as Dumont was secretly a slaver. He kept a collection of kidnapped magical beings hidden inside the livestock cart of his ship, forcing them to use their various to help Dumont with his business. Dumont was an adept gambler and was a cheater to gain what he wanted. When desperate debtor Aubrey Helson came to Le Demoiselle to win some cash for his debts, Dumont used illusionary playing cards to milk Helson for all he was worth. When Helson defaulted and asked for a day to collect some collateral, Dumont acquiesced but secretly sent his man Dragoneyes to murder Helson. Then, Dumont claimed Helson's daughter Larissa Snowmane as his payment and told her that her father had abandoned her. Thereafter, Dumont raised her as his own daughter but exploited her as a dancer and actor in his traveling show. She was to play "the Lady of the Sea" in the Pirate's Pleasure. This happened eight years prior to the events of Dance of the Dead (Novel)

Dumont spent two decades gathering what he needed and building a reputation to make his enterprise aboard Le Demoiselle truly successful. Although publicly a man of integrity, Dumont counted nobody among his true friends save for his first mate, Dragoneyes. Dumont also held some love for his "niece" Larissa, but she kept her in the dark, as he did almost everyone, to his ultimately selfish nature.

A year prior to the events of Dance of the Dead (Novel), Dumont engineered the disappearance of Gelaar Redtree's daughter Ariadna Redtree, by placing her within a magical prison. Gelaar was an illusionist by trade and became a valuable contributor to the Pirate Pleasure's success through the creative use of his illusions.

Murder in Nevuchar Springs

In the then-sleepy town of Nevuchar Springs, Dumont presented the Pirate's Pleasure and the treats of Le Demoiselle to great aplomb among the elves that dominate the town. Baron Tahyln Redtree, the brother of Gelaar, heaped great praise upon the production and personally became quite enamored by its female lead, Liza Penelope. The baron ultimately proposed to her, a gesture which set about the series of events that led to Dumont's fleeing of Darkon into the Mists.

Emboldened by her baronial lover's expression of love, Penelope confronted Dumont not only to tell him she intended to quit working for him but also to gloat about her intentions to reveal Dumont's activities as a slaver. In response, Dumont strangled her to death and left her cadaver in her quarters, hoping to pass the blame for her murder to the baron. However, Baron Redtree's investigators and the possible involvement of the Kargat pushed Dumont to direct his ship into the Mists. He told his employees only that the murder was Baron Redtree's doing and that he was trying to pass the blame onto them.