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 special abilities 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 Aradnia 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 Tahlyn 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.

Arrival in Souragne

The Demoiselle's departure from Nevuchar Springs ultimately brought it to Souragne, possibly the first demonstrated (if accidental) use of the Wake of the Loa mistway. A home of Larissa's youth, it filled her with dread. Dumont saw opportunity as the ship approached the docks of Port d'Elhour. Mayor Bernard Foquelaine let the crew and cast come ashore and perform their play, much to the enjoyment and applause of the entertainment-starved Souragnien public. Meanwhile, Dumont set off his game of intrigue, sending Brynn and several other crewmen into the swamp to find and procure several unique specimens for his collection of enslaved creatures. The mission was a success, as the kidnappers captured a number of feu follet, will o'wisp like entities that instilled positive feelings in people nearby. However, this success came at a high cost. Of the kidnappers, only Brynn returned alive and only then driven mad.

Dumont's other goals including impressing his perverse romantic affections upon Larissa and silencing Handsome Jack. Jack had long been a drunkard and was becoming too much of a liability to keep around, lest his lessened inhibitions let slip the existence of Dumont's slaves. Thus, Dumont hatched a scheme that would take care of both his goals with one fell swoop. A deformed crewman long wanting to be one of the actors, Handsome Jack was all too happy to play the role of a masked ruffian to spook Larissa and get into a fake fight with Dulmont, ostensibly to teach her a lesson about being careful. In reality, Dulmont's really planned the death of Jack and to enrapture Larissa. Although Dumont killed Jack without legal repercussion, Larissa caught onto the sinister nature of Dumont's true intentions and fled a Dumont angered and humiliated by her revelations. She ultimately escaped him with the aid of Willen's misdirection.

Alliance with Lond and Hiring of Willen

After returning from a chase going the wrong direction, Dumont found that Brynn had committed suicide and that a prospective business partner had an offer for Dumont. Alondrin ("Lond" as he preferred to be called), a necromancer of considerable skill, offered both knowledge of Souragne and to transform Dumont's crew into obedient zombies that nonetheless still retained their skills. In return, Lond wished passage out of the domain. Handsome Jack and Brynn were the first two such zombies he created.

After the cast held another performance, Dumont approached a reconciliation with Larissa. Unaware of Willen's connection with Larissa and influenced by the magnetism radiated by Willen as a feu follet turned human, Dumont hired on Willen as one of the crewmen for La Demoiselle after Willen feigned approval for Dumont's secret cache of enslaves creatures. In reality, Willen could not be further appalled by Dummont keeping slaves.

Larissa's Permanent Defection

Soon after discovering Dumont's treachery, Willen notified Larissa of her adoptive father's activities as a slaver. The gesture made Larissa notice ho Dumont had exploited her as all but a slave in name only. Eventually, Willen's eavesdropping revealed to him that Dumont was planning a conspiracy with Lond to force Larissa to love him. Willen tooks these dread revelations with Larissa and sent her out into the swamp, to seek shelter and teaching from the Maiden of the Swamp.

Eventually it came time for Larissa to escape Dumont, this time for good. As she fled, Dumont and his crew gave chase. When Lond attempted to make her a zombie with his zombie powder, Dumont objected and brushed it away. The dust fell upon and killed Goldeneyes, the only person Dumont had for a friend. Meanwhile, Larissa escaped into the swamps and marshes of Souragne, leaving Dumont to being despairing.

Larissa's Return

As repeated search parties failed to locate Larissa, Dumont drank to alleviate his pain. He lamented coming to Souragne, Dragoneyes becoming a dispassionate undead, losing Larissa, and even the loss of his crew's identities as Lond transformed them into obedient but cold-hearted thralls. At Lond's insistence, Dumont sent Yelusa to spy on Willen during his solo search mission for Larissa in the swampp When Willen returned, the undead sailors captured him and brought him in front of Lond and Dumont. Tortured by Lond, Willen gave up no details of Larissa's activities with the Maiden of the Swamp.

After training from both the Maiden of the Swamp and the Lord of the Dead in turn, Larissa led a massive attack of swamp creatures upon Le Demoiselle and its zombie crew.Over the course of the attack, Dumot saw one of his arms taken off and Lond saw many of his zombies destroyed. A powerful wizard with mastery over the dead, Alondrin replaced Dumont's arm by grafting an undead one. Furthermore, Alondrin's power enabled him to turn many of his former attackers into new replacement zombie minions.

Eventually, Larissa's luck began to run out. Her energy waning and her forces whittled down, she faced the imminent wrath of Lond. Although evil, Dumont intercepted Alondrin's attacks and attacked his former ally. However, Alondrin called upon the arm he grafted upon Dumont to pluck out the heart of its living host. With Dumont deceased, Larissa faced Alondrin alone. Her back against the wall, Larissa called upon the Dance of the Dead. Alondrin was powerful enough to somehow survive its attack and gloat about it, yet he met an ironic end in the deluge of zombies called in the aftermath of the dance.