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Nan reaches out, but Lorenzo and the courtyard are already gone. In the darkness, Nan can only see Satiago, who looms over her, holding the dimmed lantern. He says Nan is on her own now, and he's going to take the lantern. He'd love to stay and have more fun with her, but it's not a good...

He comments that it doesn't appear the Padre is going to be coming to them, so Lorenzo dons his black hood and stands, offering Nan his hand. But... everything is going dark. The warm sunlight is receding.

Nan asks if she can come along to see the Padre. Lorenzo says she certainly can. In fact, here he is now.

Nan asks the man in the black hood his name, and offers her own. He introduces himself politely as Lorenzo. Nan asks who he's here to see, and he says before he passes through on his way North, he'd like to speak with the Padre and get his blessing.

Though she tries not to react strongly, the man in the black hood notices her reaction and points to his scar, explaining that it's not important. It's from a long time ago. Nan asks for the date -- including the year. The man smiles, looking up at the warm sky and the sun-baked adobe and tile...

The man rests on the stone bench and pulls back his black cloth hood before smiling at Nan and nodding quietly. Of course, he says, what can this humble traveler do to help?

No, it doesn't seem like heaven -- but it is quite peaceful. Beneath the warm summer sun, the TERRA COTTA COURTYARD is full of figures moving about, all connecting into other parts of what appears to be a SPANISH MISSION. It seems quite well maintained, with no signs of age. Nan approaches...

There are some Hotel California references here. There were some earlier too from Nan's first conversation with Santiago, but I forgot to point those out.

When the glare fades, Nan finds herself someplace new. A few men in strange uniform move purposefully about the TERRA COTTA COURTYARD. The warm scent of flowers rises in the summer heat. The sun is out. Nan had forgotten how comforting its light was.

Everything goes white.

Nan snatches the lantern off the wall, dialing it up quickly. As the light flares up, Santiago suddenly screeches to a halt and turns around, shouting. Nan, no!

Santiago rushes to the door and slams it open. The faintest light from the hall helps Nan follow after, hurrying through the darkness. Vague shapes move around her, and she can hear that same ragged, heavy breathing. Nan emerges in the hall, and notices the light is coming from an...

The music suddenly stops. Shhh, he says. Do you feel that? They're here. We'd better move, if we want to stay alive, he says.

Nan asks Santiago for advice on how to move safely in the darkness. He laughs hysterically and says there is no way to move safely here, especially not in the darkness. As if on cue, the lights go out. Only the dimmest light from the courtyard filters into the room, and Santiago's eerie song...

Santiago asks what Nan would like. He chooses to do something nice for her. Because it would make him happy to do so. So what would she like?

Nan says she gave him her hand as a sign of trust, and now it's his choice to do with that trust as he will. He has no obligation -- and neither does she. In the end, it was because she wanted to. Santiago nearly screams. YES! Yes, that's it, he says, teeth bared in a hysterical grin. He...

Nan gives Santiago her hand and he finally stops playing. The room is uncomfortably silent. After a moment, he glances up at her, gripping her hand. He asks why she gave her hand to him. She is free. She could have done anything. And he is free too. He could do anything with her hand, and...

At Nan's asking, Santiago explains he came here in December of 1986. When she asks about the skeletal figure, he grins. That bag of bones, he says, is what Anderson and the others call the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim's smart. Looks out for himself, he says. He only does what he wants. Just like...

Board theory is that Santiago is playing this song: http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questarch/src/08_Cohens_Masterpiece.mp3 The song is rather fitting.

Nan asks if there have been others. Oh yes, Santiago says. And they all screamed quite beautifully. Nan asks if Santiago's plans for her song involve her dying. Santiago grins. He says everyone has to die, sooner or later. Nan is unnerved and just comes right out with it: She ask how she...