I Ran (So Far Away) Prologue

===> COH <===> 11/12/2019, 11:58:46 PM <===
Ensenada - Puerto de Ensenada

	This huge deepwater port is the main reason why Ensenada was one of the first founded settlements in the Californias. It is Mexico's second busiest port, with the unloading docks of its freight and cruise terminals accommodating millions of tons of cargo each year. It is the major economic engine of the city, given its importance as a commercial, fishing and tourist port. The civilian marina plays host to thousands of sport fishing and pleasure craft. It is also home to several specialized shipyards and a large naval base.
	A major tourist destination owing to its beautiful view in the middle of the bay - it only requires a brief trip down 'La Calle Primera', known for its many famous 'Curios' shops selling trinkets and souveniors along with some of the best restaurants, hotels, bars and the most popular clubs in Ensenada. It's a very busy street even at night, teeming with locals and tourists.
	From here, one can easily walk to 'Ventana al Mar', known as the 'Window to the Sea', which is a boardwalk/seawall.

Contents:
Alzbeta
One Card Too Lucky
Navigation:
  Zona Centro <NE>

	It's after midnight. The Puerto de Ensenada is fairly quiet. The commercial business hasn't started yet. The party boats have all come in. Or have they? A lone figure stalks the port in the space where commercial meets tourist. MoGui might as well be a dockworker or some other service worker. Except he's got some sort of night goggles up over his head. And a ... blowtorch?

	Alzbeta sees .... Dark stormclouds rolling towards the the port. In ... the Shadowlands? Or is this a vision? Howling, screaming faces push out at the edge of the stormclouds as they gather and press forwards. Either way - something wicked this way comes!

Alzbeta seems out of place, but then that might always be the case. She is like a spirit haunting the docks or a woman possessed stealing glances at the moon. The painting of 'The Hanged Man' on a nearby boat seems to grab her attention for a moment, but nothing grabs it for too long. A smile creeps across her face as she notices the dark clouds. A continuing gift from Father.

	MoGui doesn't notice the oncoming stormclouds, or chooses to ignore them. Either way, he has other matters on his mind. His path leads him in the direction of the One Card Too Lucky. With the blowtorch in hand, is he up to sabotage, or? It's still too early to tell for sure. off in the bay, a sound, faint but growing louder. The engine of a boat? Not a grand ship like the One Card Too Lucky, no. Something smaller.

Alzbeta takes in the ship, takes in the man, takes in the storm cloud, and takes in things that only exist in her mind. She is off to the side, acting like a closed circuit camera, watching the scene, memorizing it, encoding it, sigilfying it, placing it in the vast library that is her mind. Yet another tome filed away, perhaps with some special purpose, perhaps to be ignored, but never forgotten.

	The dark of the night ad the quiet of the bay will be broken by the staccato sounds of fireworks? Gunfire? Flashes of light can be seen out in the bay even as the first sound of an engine is joined by a second one. In the Shadowlands - those storm clouds are indeed on the move, the faces leering and smiling. Spectres. And none too happy, but are the spectres EVER happy? No. No, they are not. More muzzle flashes our in the bay. A firefight between the two small speedboats. Getting closer. A bullet zips onto the docks, and would have struck MoGui dead in the chest. Instead? It hits the blowtorch!

Alzbeta backs up cautiously to find somewhere to hide behind in the docks, a doorway, some cargo, enough for cover, but not enough to obstruct her view. No, not now, this is far too interesting. When Father brings storm clouds, it's always best to pay attention to both the action and the danger. Curiosity killed the cat, be curious, but be smarter than the cat.

	Its not /quite/ like in the movies. The blowtorch in MoGui's hands that intercepted the bullet so fortuitously doesn't explode. Not yet at least. Mo curses in what sounds like the sharp inflected tones of Mandarin, dropping the blowtorch even as he dives for what little cover exists. The speedboats get closer to the docks. More gunfire is exchanged. Just another night in Ensenada! The sound of gas hissing escapes from the damaged blowtorch. The first speedboat reaches the docks, careenings recklessly. A figure leaps out of the boat and onto the docks as the pursuing speedboat and the stormclouds of spectres roll forward.

Alzbeta likes to watch, likes to record. She isn't afraid of dark storm clouds, spectres, various visions and horrors both real and imagined, but she knows what real danger is. Where there's gas, there's soon to be fire. That will burn down the library she's been building in her mind. Her movements are slow, and she continues to watch, but she's gone from hiding behind cover, to using cover to begin an exit or at least develop an exit plan.

	The figure that jumped out of the first speedboat is revealed to be female. Red haired, beautiful to behold. Mid to late 20s. She looks back over a shoulder, but not towards the other incoming speedboat. No, her gaze lifts up, towards the spectral storm. She mutters in what sounds like Italian and then turns, eyes frantically searching the docks. SPying MoGui, she runs over towards him, arms outstretched. The second speedboat reaches the docks, and more gunfire erupts from a semi-automatic pistol, the bullets strafing the docks. Blood can be seen staining the woman's white blouse, but she manages to thrust something into MoGui's hand before she staggers back.

Each face becomes a photograph, then a diagram, then arranged in arcane shapes inscrutable to all, but Alzbeta. Another tome filed away in some obscure, but methodical system. She glances towards the hands as she continues her slow retreat ...

	<<The Della Passaglia will doom us all,>> she mutters in Italian before her eyes once again lift towards the spectral storm that bears down on the docks and on her. narrowing like the small end of a tornado funnel. This is going to be bad. A hand disappears into her cloak and she pulls out a lighter, then turns to MoGui and the item she thrust into his confused hands. <<RUN!!!,>> and despite the imperative spoken in Italian, the meaning is All. Too. Clear. More gunfire from the other speedboat before it turns to head back into the darkness of the bay. The lighter sparks to life and drops from her hand as the spectral swarm crosses over and begins to devour her! The lighter ignites the leaking gas from the blowtorch. Now, now the explosion comes! But not before Alzbeta glimpses what was thrust into MoGui's hand - a compass? Some sort of navigational tool? Its enough cover for MoGui to turn and break into a sprint. Screams fill the air, spectral horde and devoured ghoul, until there's nothing more to be heard. The second speedboat is gone. The woman and the spectral horde are gone. MoGui is gone.

Gas? Lighter? Alzbeta also beats a hasty retreat.
===> Log ended by user <===> 11/13/2019, 12:40:04 AM <===