Topic: The Devious Genius of Baron DeMuer

Caroline Granger

Date: 2011-05-25 18:20 EST
Not many brewpubs placed so much emphasis on outdoor space, but then, Le Proven"al was a unique bar. Alain sat alone at a table, quite a few small glasses before him; sample-sized, all of them had featured at some point in a rather spirited argument he was still having with the master brewer, Gaston. Like most beer arguments, though, neither man was truly angry, and both were learning. Gaston gave a parting piece of advice, and Alain threw his hands up, laughing in exasperation. The master brewer retreated with a very Gallic shrug to order the fellow brewer a strong example of the smoked ale he had mentioned.

It was a pleasant late afternoon in RhyDin, and Alain reclined in his chair, pushing his sleeves back up to his elbows again, enjoying a cigarillo while he waited for his beer to arrive. For a short while that day, life had been very good, and he savored the peace while it lasted.

Le Proven"al was not on the list of places Caroline was known to frequent. In this case, however, that was a very good thing. After discreetly making enquiries, she had discovered that this was where the Baron DeMuer would be, at this time on this day, and had set time aside to make herself known to him. As always, she only just looked the part of a businesswoman as she came into view, having discarded her suit jacket in the back of the car and let her hair free of its restraints the moment she was free of the overbearing eyes of her grandfather.

Brown eyes swept the outdoor tables, relief clear for a moment in her expression as she noted the comfortable lounge of the man she had come in search of. Still, she took her time, stepping inside to order a glass of white wine before returning to the lingering warmth of the afternoon, approaching the Baron's table with an odd mix of hesitance and confidence.

"Excuse me," she apologised for interrupting what looked to be a lovely calm moment. "Is this seat taken?"

The Baron looked up from his thoughts to give Caroline a warm little smile as if surprised to see her (though neither one was surprised to see the other), giving a very relaxed 'what?s mine is yours' gesture to the seat next to him. He hated sitting at one-on-one meetings in this arrangement, seats close together, sharing a small sliver of the table instead of dividing the thing in half, but he knew that it would help the ambient noise of the Marketplace to further mask what they hoped to discuss this evening.

"Thank you. I hate to sit alone," she offered by way of an excuse for any curious ears turned their way, quietly lowering herself into the chair he indicated. "For some reason, unwelcome gentlemen seem to enjoy making a nuisance of themselves." She smiled as warmly as she could manage, years of practise helping to mask the nervous tension in her frame.

The ale and wine were delivered, but Gaston did not say a word as he set the glasses down, giving every indication he was indifferent to the business his patrons conducted; there was a reason Le Proven"al was favored for precisely this kind of meeting.

"To your health, madamoiselle," Alain said, raising his glass while a few people passed within earshot, adding with a faint hint of a grin once they were gone, "I'm pleased to finally meet you, Miss Granger."

She toasted him in return with her wine glass, glancing up at the passersby with feigned indifference even as she, too, lowered her voice just enough. "And I, you, Baron DeMuer. Please, though, call me Caroline. There are too many Miss Grangers in this city."

He chuckled. "Caroline. Alain's fine, or Al. You're very discreet. You must be a terror in the boardroom." It was likely meant as a compliment, if the man was half as abrasive a businessman as the press seemed to believe.

She laughed a little at that, his humor putting her more at her ease than she had expected to be. "I get my own way most of the time," she conceded with amusement. The smile did not last, however, fading as she drew in a slow breath. "This is a difficult situation, Alain. There are hundreds of people and their families depending on me, and right now I can't even protect my own family without supporting ....him." It would be a long time before Caroline would say the name Anubis Karos aloud outside the support of her family, the lingering effects of her incarceration still evident in the way she stiffened at even this reference.

"But you can protect them, all without paying his racket." He crossed his legs slowly, the nature of his expression changing in half a dozen subtle ways as the subject changed. His gaze was usually calculating, but that fact was all the more emphasized in moments like this. It was not unkind, however. "You must know the monster can be fought, or you wouldn't be here today." He took another slow sip of his ale.

"It's vital to the Agreement, something you've signed ....not to its terms, granted, but to the spirit of the Agreement. No good can be done by taking this stand, if our billions are going into hands like his, to fund his ..." He cut himself off, eyes studying her face for a moment, deciding it unwise to continue in any further detail. "You get the idea."

She did, in rather more detail than he might have used in his description. "My grandfather made the arrangement with him, directly because of what was done to me," she explained quietly. "Had I known, I would not have allowed him to give in without a fight. At present, nothing has been transferred, and I would rather not see anything go to that monster. I am not here to make excuses; I know I should not have signed the Agreement while still obliged to pay him, but it is something I believe in strongly."

She sighed softly, lowering her eyes to the glass before her, watching her fingertips smooth patterns into the condensation on the bowl. "I need help, Alain. I don't know what to do. All I know is that I want him out of our lives, for good."

Caroline Granger

Date: 2011-05-25 18:23 EST
Alain raised his right hand halfway off the table and shook his head when she mentioned signing the Agreement, indicating he was not berating her for that. The gesture showed the heavy burn scars lining that palm, before it flattened to the edge of the table again. "Well....I can help you. And if we're going to be talking about the spirit of the Agreement, I'd be happy to provide my services to your family, free of charge. You do the movement a great service on your own, just by committing GrangerGuild to its terms."

Again, he waved this away. He was meandering. Down to business. "There are a number of options. The swiftest and easiest is increasing security funding and increasing the number of security details ....but I know your family's very large, and I know from experience that bodyguards are easily misplaced in this city, often on purpose. There's the idea of tracking chips, beacons, even spells, but again, all it takes is one wayward, rebellious cousin to refuse the safety measure, or ditch it, to fall through the cracks into that man's web."

The flicker of her eyes noted the burn on his palm, though her expression gave away nothing of her curiosity as to how it had come about. "I would not dream of asking you to commit services free of charge," she shook her head, her face almost stern as she spoke. It was the sort of expression a mother would use to make a point to her child - this was how Caroline had such control over at least the younger members of her own family, and her own board of directors. They hated to disappoint her. "I agree, it would only take one, and unfortunately I can name at least five who wouldn't willingly agree to such measures." She frowned slightly, biting her lip as she considered what could come next.

He seemed to hesitate about his next move for a long moment; then he removed a signet ring, murmuring: "I'm doing this in good faith, I expect my secrets to be kept..." He passed it over to her. It appeared to be an ordinary silver signet ring, marked with the seal of his House. "Can you tell me what this is?"

Forestalled by his words and actions from attempting to suggest anything herself, she took the signet ring, turning it over curiously in her fingers. "It appears to be a ring stamped with the crest of your family," she said quietly. "I would assume it is something more?"

"All I have to do is give it the correct series of taps, and I'll be teleported directly to a safehouse maintained by my people. Capable of jumping two realms with a perfect rate of success, and three with a high rate of success." He slipped it back onto his finger as she handed the ring back to him. "The spells take a decent amount of energy and preparation, they're not cheap and the ring will disintegrate after no more than two uses.

"I have two rings on my fingers, a wristwatch, this necklace," briefly, he slipped a worn copper cross necklace from within his shirt, showing it to her before dropping it back out of sight, "this tattoo on my hand ....Potentially any of these could have a use, a spell or device of some kind stored within, and teleportation is not the only safeguard I can fall back on. For all you know, the shabby old pendant on my necklace" Could very easily be a telepathic communicator.

"Turn to mages, be inventive, and equip your family with devices that'll get them out of trouble, or at least in touch. Doubling up, one for teleportation and another for communication, is the best bet. The most common one-way teleport I've seen are slightly brittle coins, which unleash the spell as soon as you break them." His hands unfolded to gesture to her as he added, "You see what I'm saying?" He collected his ale again.

She nodded as he spoke. It was such a simple solution to the problem, and though it would no doubt put a big dent in the Guild's profits, that would be nothing compared to the accumulation of gold they would have to pay the slaver for the same guarantee of protection. A faint smile touched her lips; she couldn't see even Correy objecting to it, either.

"You are a devious genius, Baron," she complimented him, feeling the weight of her concerns lessen now she had a concrete lead to follow. "I do see, and it is very do-able. I don't know how to thank you." Lifting her glass, she toasted him, her smile now wide and genuine, showing off the charm that seemed to run like a silver thread through everyone of Granger blood, even the deliberately unpleasant ones.

"I've been stalked, chased, cornered, ambushed, wounded and tortured enough times to learn some valuable tricks - tricks S.P.I. will be more than willing to help your family implement." Alain returned her smile with a warm one of his own, raising his glass to clink against hers, adding with subtle emphasis, "if you agree only to meet the costs. I'll charge you for the goods and services, but subtract my usual profit. Acceptable?" It was kind of strange, negotiating money away from himself, but there's a first time for everything.

"No," she shook her head with another little smile, amused by his offer not to profit from what would be a very fiscally-provident contract. "You are very kind to offer, but I will not take profit away from you. I assure you, we are quite capable of matching the price, and I am sure you will agree that it is better our gold goes to you than to certain others. I won't take no for an answer, Alain."

A CEO who wasn't looking for a way to fleece her business partners" Caroline was certainly breaking the GrangerGuild mold.

Beaten by her persistence, he grinned, offering his hand to her for a shake. "Terror of the boardroom. All right, you've got yourself a deal....and may it be the first of many."

Her triumph was shown in a genuinely delighted smile as her hand slipped into his, squeezing firmly as she shook on the deal. "I certainly hope so," she agreed, looking as though something very heavy had just released its grasp on her shoulders. "I look forward to doing business with you again, Alain. You seem very susceptible to my powers of persuasion." This, of course, was added to tease, a sure sign that whether he wanted it or not, Alain DeMuer was now firmly on Caroline's Friends List.

She'd made an impression, and Alain found himself liking her already - in spite of his generally guarded and deceptive nature, the tells had manifested in a few ways already. He lifted his glass for another sip, making a gentle noise as he set it down. "Now, since we're here, let's talk textiles. I've got a stake in a distributor that might know about a silk market your Guild doesn't already have its fingers in ..."

((Edited from live play with Alain DeMuer, who is exactly as the title said, a genius!))