NPC Focus - Stéphane Barrere

Lord Stéphane Barrere

    Lord Stéphane Barrere is the primary personal assistant of Mayor Fournier, and is the one that keeps her schedule tight and the riff-raff at bay. He is also the city's tax assessor, and as such knows the ins and outs of the political system in Ville des Marai better than the backs of his hands. Officious, distant, quite guarded and fairly callous, Lord Barrere cares little for the common man's needs. Whereas the mayor's bodyguard Timothée keeps the rabble away physically, Lord Barrere keeps them away socially. If you aren't of the noble class, or at the very least a well known and prosperous merchant, you are below notice and unworthy of an appointment with the mayor.

    Lord Barrere absolutely despises the mayor's loving habit of visiting with the lower class, and finds the children that the mayor adores to be utterly revolting. While he won't act in the mayor's presence, he has been known to raise or impose taxes on those that even slightly annoy him purely out of spite. It's also well known that he happily accepts bribes, and is well within the pockets of several noble families. The Mayor is quite displeased with this, but Lord Barrere's skill is unquestionable and so she rarely admonishes him. He demands that things go the way he wants them to, and is extremely resistant to new ideas. He hates Papillion Linville, and does all he can to make sure that his voice is heard over the cleric's. 

    Anyone that needs to see the mayor in her office needs to get past Lord Barrere, and that is no small task. He seems to be highly resistant to intimidation, and is exceptionally quick to summon the royal guards if anyone tries to threaten him. If things get rough he's quite capable of defending himself with his rapier, but it rarely gets to this point. It's unusual that things don't get to the point of violence more often, as Lord Barrere is quite the braggart when everything is in his corner and things are going his way. He thinks of himself first and foremost, and will make sure his contempt of others is obvious but covered with a polite veneer.

Money helps Lord Barrere to notice you