The church was both alien and familiar, filled with pillars and sculptures of intricately-carved, dark wood. The altar--and even the walls themselves--were also adorned with the wood and gold "leaf." Though beautiful, the effect was also overwhelming, and all who entered the chapel felt as though the walls were closing in around them.
In the basement, which consisted of more traditional architecture, the choir was nearly ready to leave and sing the introit. Moptop ran into the room, out-of-breath and about an hour late.
"I'm so sorry! I forgot it was Christmas."
The other singers looked at him with disappointment. Moptop pulled on his robe, fumbled with his music folder, and joined in the march. Arriving and filing into the loft, the choir collectively pulled out their music and began singing, "Jesus, help us out. . . ."
At the end of the service, as the choir dissipated into the narthex, Moptop followed silently behind a bespectacled monk, who produced a key and entered a small door, which blended in perfectly with the wood and gold relief.
The inside of the room was much, much larger than Moptop had anticipated, and it was high in the air, overlooking the entire nave. The floor was steeply slanted, so Moptop had to brace himself to avoid tumbling over the edge, and the walls and floor were completely covered in ornate, earth-colored paintings. Even more surprisingly, this space was completely silent.
"What is this place?" Moptop asked the monk telepathically.
"You should not be here," replied the monk in kind. "This is the secret room. The room of good and evil."
