"Mr. Slate what an unexpected surprise! I trust your doing well this evening? After the introductions Arch whisper's to Janos. "That's one of the head members for Aeon, maybe he can help you with your question you asked me earlier?"

Daphne stared at Slate and bared her teeth in an expression that couldn't be remotely interpreted as a smile. She didn't like this man, with too many teeth showing. So she showed him that she was no prey, and waited for him to acknowledge her superiority and go away, or prove that he was higher than her.

Marion smoothly steps forward and offers her hand as Daphne did everything but growl at Slate, and she wasn't sure that wasn't coming next.

"Not interrupting anything at all, Mr. Slate," she says graciously, while sneaking a hand around to place on the back of Daphne's shoulder. "I'm glad you could make it. Ben will be especially pleased to see you. I think he's out on the balcony, in fact."

Slate greets Janos with a smile and a string handshake, "A pleasure I am sure." At Daphne's outburts he appears taken aback by the young woman's odd behavior but quickly recovers as Marion steps up. "Ah well I shall not disturb him until he returns, no doubt chatting up one of the debutants."

Slate turns back to Archibald, "Mr. Bannister, have you and Ben made any progress on that mysterious parcel? I should like to sate my curiousity if at all possible."

Janos is about to say something but he is cut off by Mr. Slate's question to Bannister. For now, he hovers around and tries not to drink too much. Besides, what mysterious parcel is this that they could be talking about? If it is important to the Aeon Society then perhaps helping them with it could be helpful to him and his search. Janos keeps an eye on Daphne and Marion to see if they need anything.

Arch is a bit embarressed by Mr Slate question. "Ah, umm I left the box in the care of Ben, and I must confess that it's still remained a mystery as to how it opens."

"Maybe he has come up with something, in between our studies. Let's go and ask him shall we?"

Slate looks a tad disappointed but brightens as Arch mentions that Ben may have made progress on his own. He looks out through the windows and sees that Ben and Catori are having what appears to be a private conversation. "I think perhaps we should wait and allow the good fellow some alone time with his apparent paramour."

He turns to Janos, "My good man, you look like you want to say something. Tell me how does a Hungarian nobel end up in Boston celebrating Christmas?"

Janos brightens a bit.
"A family matter brings me to your fine city and one I hope you can help you with. I'm looking for my sister, the Lady Ammura Rakozi. She came to Boston about a year and a half ago and had been missing for the past eight months."

"She was an academic, researching the occult and ancient things. I have few details, as she mentioned few things in her correspondences."

"My sister was tall and elegant, with long black hair and eyes much like my own. Did perhaps she seek out anyone in your Aeon Society for assistance ... anyone I could talk to?"

Richard taps his forefinger against his chin thinking, "I cannot say that your sister is familiar to me but I can ask the other members it is possible that they may have come across her path. I do hope that you find her, it is terrible to lose a relative." He falls silent, still tapping his chin, apparently lost in thought.

"Well, how about that, the last of the true gentlemen. Hello to you too, Mister Slate."

Ben smiled at the comment. "I don't know, 29 years of consecutive life is quite an achievement in some cultures I've seen, but yes, you're quite right, it is rather a celebration for the hell of it. Of course, we celebrate our mothers as well, that one's usually in May, if I recall. And then there's her birthday celebrations!"



Ben looked almost intrigued at Catori's comment. "I must admit, that's not something that's often said of me. Not that I'm sheltered, mind - I've been around a lot of the earth, and the world is not a safe place at all, especially when you're digging into the secrets of the past. No, the role of a warrior, or hunter, is not one I claim, not at all." Ben could almost feel the conversation moving out of his control - all of a sudden, it was Catori who was the one learning about him. But of course, knowledge is a two-way street - it was a poor scholar who revealed nothing.

Catori nodded again briefly and smiled at Ben. Her eyes wandered again over the dreamy snowy landscape.

"How comes that the white man wants to conquer everything? You like to tread on places that the Great Spirit hasn't created for you. Places like that Portal... and the holy land of my people."

"You say you are a seeker of knowledge, but you are also a destroyer. You like to write books about your wisdom and you will need them because soon there will be nothing left of it. From what I have learned your books describe things that are past or dead. Everything dies that you write down.", Catori said as a matter of fact. It was as if she had already found her peace with the truth.

Ben couldn't help being a little defensive, and unfortunately he tended to get a little wordy when he did. "We write things down because the world does not stand still. Even the greatest empires die sooner or later, because the world does not tolerate stasis. We write our wisdom down because we cannot predict what the future will bring. Even the most stable of cultures change all the time. We seek to record the now before the future erases it, because if we don't noone in the future will have a chance to know it. Cultures, languages, even if they aren't destroyed, in 100 years they will be nothing alike."

He continued impassionately, "I don't defend what my people have done to yours - not in any way. But I cannot change what has happenned - I can only help influence the future. I do not condone my people's desire to conquer all, I argue against it vigorously. I've written many a book on the subject, actually. We have destroyed so many unique and beautiful cultures, around the world. I wish to help those cultures thrive against time, not destroy them. To record their languages and their culture is to help that culture understand itself from another perspective, and that is never a bad thing. To be honest, I question your assumption that we are all alike. From what I have heard of Profesor Walton, he and I share only the color of our skin and the language we speak. Other than that, we are nothing alike!"

Ben's little agitation brought Catori out of her reserve. She furrowed her brows and looked at him... almost stared at him. Her eyes pierced him with unspoken accusation but she kept her thoughts to herself. After an awkward moment of silence she relaxed. Ben was a white man but he wasn't one of those who attacked her people and destroyed what they valued most. She knew he was unlike them but he hasn't witnessed the atrocities her people had to suffer.

Catori sighed and her accusating look softened and changed as she smiled faintly. "I know." was all she said but her eyes spoke of the darker side of his people and she had witnessed it.

Janos bows slightly in the direction of Mr. Slate.
"I thank you for any assistance you might be able to offer."

Turning and seeing Ms. Foster for the first time,
"Good Evening. I am Count Janos Rakozi,<clicks heels> Graf von Kadar," he offers her his spare glass of Champagne that almost went to Daphne, "Fraulein ...?"

Janos wonders what secret society this one is a part of, as there seems to be no shortage of exceptional women in this American Republic.

"This Fraulein is Mia Foster. Pleased to meet you, Count." Mia takes the second glass, and takes a small sip.

Catori's single word caught Ben by surprise - he was expecting more heated argument. Catori sure knew how to keep a man off balance!

"<I have enjoyed our conversation together,>" Ben uttered in what was not particularly good Apache, but certainly a better effort than most people who'd only heard 2 Apache warriors in one encounter, "<I look forward to meeting with you further.>" At this point he switched back to English. "But if you'll excuse me, I should probably check back with the guests at the party. Feel free to stay out here if you wish - I'll cover for you inside. I can even offer you a quiet room inside if you prefer." Ben looked expectantly for a reply.

Catori smiled at Ben, "<May the star of our first encounter be a sign of good fortune>".

Without saying a word she followed him inside. Just before they rejoined the party she turned around to take a deep breath and have a last look at the snowy landscape.

Once inside she looked out for Daphne and Marion avoiding any conversation which was either rude or lack of understanding etiquette.

As Catori joines the group Mr. Slates beams, "Goodevening, Richard Slate, at your service." He waits for Catori's reaction unsure if the woman will react according to her own custom or those of her host. Meanwhile Ben trails into the group behind Catori and sees his sister and Daphne have been talking with Slate, Janos, Arch, and Mia. It would appear that aside from Slate and Catori all introductions have been previously carried out.

Catori appeared to be in thoughts but smiled nonetheless at Mr. Slate. Her bodylanguage was very reserved and she seemed to care more for the wellbeing of Daphne and Marion than for any of the other guests.

After making that breach of etiquette she answered but only after lining up with Marion and Daphne, "Good evening, I am Catori. That means 'Spirit' in my language."

Marion stays where she is through all this, smiling serenely while her arm starts to go sore, then get numb, from staying tense on Daphne's shoulder. The -last- thing they needed was for her to forget herself and attack Slate! It wasn't that she didn't trust Daphne...the girl had proven surprisingly sociable considering where she'd been, and for so long. It was just...she did sometimes tend to act on instinct, and human instinct had evolved very little over ten thousand years.

Even so, despite her distraction, the look she gives Catori is one of genuine welcome and some relief. Just knowing the Native American woman had been there too made her feel some kinship. Catori, she thought, understood where others might not. She'd seen the portal, saw the girl enter and return. She understood why Marion had to try to heal the damage she'd inadvertently caused.

Slate's smile falters a bit at Catori's odd manner but he quickly recovers as he sees Ben. "Benjamin lad! Fantastic party, say do you suppose we could chat a bit? I was wondering if you had made any progress on that parcel we spoke about last time."

Ben broke out of his reverie as Slate spoke. "Certainly, dear Slate!" Ben enthused. "Unfortunately, the package has shown itself to be quite... Stubborn. I'm still not sure exactly what was delivered to us. It's resisted all efforts to discern it's contents! Highly frustrating, I can assure you!"

Marion perks up at the mention of the box.

"Not...ALL efforts," she says, a bit coyly. "We haven't opened it, but we can draw some conclusions about it."

Arch stands by listening to Ben and Marion, as they give some small details to Mr. Slate. Quitely speaking up "Well it's gonna take someone with a lot of skill to get that there box opened. I've done all I can, and it's just stayed locked up. Perhaps one of Marion's associate's could give us some futher insights into it's mysteries?"

Marion gives Archie an annoyed look.

"Or perhaps Marion could. If only she were standing somewhere nearby, maybe we could ask her."

"Indeed," Ben noted, quite deliberately focusing his attention on Marion. "In fact, Marion, I believe you managed to figure out what the writing on the package was all about. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, myself..."

"Oh, that."

Marion nodded at Ben. "That's because it's not really writing. They're mystic diagrams. Warding spells. A -lot- of power went into them. No safecracker or burglar will ever open this. An ordinary rite of opening won't even do it. The amount of power is just too great."

She eyes Slate speculatively. "Where did you get this thing?"

Ben interrupted quickly, "Well, he got it from me, and I got it from a certain Russian who is now, unfortunately, not with us." Ben's became a little crestfallen at that comment. "Dreadful business, had the devil's time making sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, we have no idea where he got it from - he hadn't managed to tell us anything before, well..."

"Box? Delivered with death? Good omen," Daphne said to no one, nodding and smiling. "Though should get shade to talk, tell what need to know. Then open box, find Dead Man's gift." Her voice filled the respectful silence that had fallen after Ben's statement. "Or break open box. That get it."

Arch brushes Marion's sarcastic remark aside. He is more intriged by Daphne rather cryptic remarks. That's a rather odd remark, wonder where she got that from. "Well folks, I think that should probably take this conversation somewhere more private perhaps. This is after all a birthday party, so let us enjoy the evening!"

Slate nods in agreement, "Perhaps after the clebration then we can meet privately, just the ... ahe ... eight of us." He looks at Janos, Marion, Catori, and Daphne wondering how much they know and assuming that if Ben and Archibald were willing to speak on the subject in front of them that all was ok.

*****

Presently a bell is rung and the guests are moved into the formal dining room for dinner. An exquisite offering of roasted duck confit and broiled Atlantic salmon are the main courses accompanied by all manner of side dishes. The dinner goes by without incident and afterwards all adjorn once more to the ballroom. For after dinner drinks, dancing, and the like.

*****

Some hours later as the Grandfather clock strikes 1 a.m. the guests begin to trickle out. Slate and Ben gather everybody back together within the comfortable confines of the study to continue the discussion from before...

Seeing that they were settling in for a more quiet evening, Daphne glanced up at Marion and Catori. "Get Spot? He been good," she whispered softly. Her eyes traveled around the room again, returning to the two people who counseled her. "People here seem ok with not-here-normal."

That was another thing that had taken a while to sink into her; the concept that what she'd known was alien and often Completely Inappropriate. So there was Not-Here-Normal and Here-Normal. It'd been a fight for the young woman to understand, complicated by her upbringing.

"And he probably need to go out," she added softly with a concerned expression. Housebreaking the hellhound had been hard enough; they didn't want to stress him any further.

Marion pokes her tongue at the inside of her cheek thoughtfully, then glances at Ben.

"Just a little longer," she tells Daphne. "People will start going home soon, and then you can go let him out and play with him all you want."

She leans over a little and says more quietly, though not at all in a whisper, "What did you mean before about the Dead Man's Gift, and talking to his shade?"

"Dead Man... his gift given with his death. Very big, big sacrifice," Daphne said, showing only a moment of disappointment regarding Spot. "If he dead, only way to find out talking to his shade. Dig the hole, make the offering." She considered for a moment. "Human work best. Know his full name?"

Catori nodded briefly in agreement to Daphne's suggestion. "She is right. Asking his ghost may be the only way to reveal the truth or unlock its secret. It is a dangerous journey for those unprepared."

Catori looked at Marion and Daphne, "Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"Well we're not going to sacrifice a human," Marion says huffily. "What about a seance?"

Mr. Slate looks agahst, "You ladies cannot be serious, there are no such things as spirits and ghosts. One cannot talk to the dead. Honestly, I'm not even sure I believe that those symbols channel magic into the bog to keep it closed." As he says magic he makes little quote marks in the air and rolls his eyes. Apparently the disbeliver he looks to Ben and Archibald for a more rational take.

Catori just stares at the man intensively her eyes almost piercing him as if she was reaching for his soul. Without saying a word she made clear that Mr. Slate was absolutely wrong with his limited view of the world.

"I'm not any kind of expert in the manner's of the occult by any means, but I can tell that there is something that is keeping the box closed and it definetly isn't normal" Arch says to Mr. Slate and the room.

He turns to Ben "What do you think? Can your sister really conjure up a dead spirit?"