Gerald & Company

**Gerald & Company** — appears in **"Buying Trouble"**.

## About

**Gerald & Company** is an auction house in Brooklyn, New York that deals in magical artifacts. Claire works for the company under the table as a Null to calm the magical artifacts so they won't go off. Her bosses are Old Man Gerald and his son Matt. Old Man Gerald is off on a buying trip leaving Matt in charge of the auction.

### Description

**Gerald & Company** is a seedy auction house that caters to the supernatural crowd and deals in magical artifacts. There is a raised platform that serves as a stage. On the stage are a series of marble plinths set in a semicircle that display the artifacts up for auction. At the back of the stage is a staircase. The auction podium rises up from the floor and is built from a real stuffed dragon's head that Gerald claims he have lopped off in battle.

### Security

Security consists of two Trolls planted by the stage, another troll by the entrances serving as a greeter, Banshees that sure as an alarm system, and a group of Vampires on loan from the Vampire mob boss, Tony, who seemed to resent having to be there. Plus, the strongest security measure is Claire, herself—a mage who is a projective Null.

Gerald's uses booby traps in daytime.

### Other Details

* **Owner**: Old Man Gerald—off on a buying trip
* Empoyees requires to wear formal dress for auctions
* Supposed to be neutral territory—no weapons allowed, it's warded against weapons. (Heidar was able to slip a small knife past the wards).
* The merchandise was always sold in lots of thirteen—a witch had told superstitious old Gerald that selling them in lots of thirteen would be an added safety precaution since some of it was real.
* One auction item is small, quivering box that contains a Djinn—a very old, very pissed off one. The mage who trapped it died and the spell he put on the container is deteriorating now that he's dead, and if it goes altogether before they can unload it, he's likely to take out half the block. It's one of the items that Claire's null ability settles down.
* Heidar and the Blarestri suspected Gerald of stretching a point on any number of sales through the years, never caught him doing anything illegal. Heidar was there to investigate the Rune up for auction.

## Items up for Auction

* 1. **Djinn** —  to a tiny old but likely a powerful witch swathed in black silk and pearls the size of cherries.
* 2. **Nail from the True Cross** — said to give the possessor a leg up in battle, brought back from the Holy Land by a knight of the Second Crusade. Bidding was sluggish, the crowd was dubious.
* 3. **Parchment fragment** — contained part of one of Merlin's lost spells
* 4. **Genuine Grimoire from Ancient Egypt** — papyrus scroll had been part of the library of Alexandria, rescued by a daring priest before the Romans burnt it to the ground.
* 5. *Not mentioned*
* 6. **Gamelan** in a small birdcage — a small bird that tells all the awful truths about a person's character and life.
* 7–12 — **Runes of Langgarn** are one of these items, the rest are *Not mentioned*. An old mage was obsessed with the Runes and was tackled by the Tall Fey, which sent the Rune flying, landing in front of Claire. The Rune was a Portal that sent Claire and Heidar into Faerie.
* 13. **Claire** — a magical Null — commotion hit when Weres attacked the Trolls and the Gamelan was freed by the Tall Fey and she escaped before being auctioned off.

## Associated Characters, Species Places, etc.

* Claire
* Matt Gerald
* Heidar
* Gerald
* Trolls
* Banshees
* Gamelan
* Djinn
* Tony's Vampires
* Null
* Mages
* Fey
* Runes of Langgarn

## Events

In "Buying Trouble", Matt tried to sell Claire, who escaped during a commotion. Just as she was going to get clear, a Rune of Langgarn is set off by a mage. While Heidar, a Light Fey, was trying to stop him, the Rune landed by Claire and Heidar tried to reach it but instead, they both were sent to Faerie by the Rune, landing in Svarestri territory. After returning to the human world, Claire, Heidar and Tanet return to Gerald's to find the Rune and walk into a trap set by Seb and some Svarestri Light Fey.

## Book References

1. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"* in *On the Prowl*, ch. 1
2. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"* in *On the Prowl*, ch. 7, p. 269
3. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"*, in *On the Prowl* ch. 3, p. 219
4. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"*, in *On the Prowl* ch. 1, p. 204
5. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"*, in *On the Prowl* ch. 3, p. 219
6. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"* in *On the Prowl*, ch. 1-2
7. ↑ *"Buying Trouble"* in *On the Prowl*, ch. , p.