Deus Ex Machina Temple of the Moon

Monster the Vamelfaer

Sells all the Shubi
Temple of the Moon
Located directly below the Sun Temple this ornate structure is easily the most beautiful building in the Moon Level. It is a grey stone building with ornate silver inlaid carvings on the front that glint in the blue light of the four electric lamps stationed on each corner. There are two large wooden doors set in a large archway that is guarded by a carving of Luna at the top.
As you enter the temple, you will find yourself in a circular room. There are statues and murals lining the walls, and trickling, white marble fountain at the center. This room is brightly lit by gas lamps placed on the walls all along the circumference of the room. If you look above you will see a circular mural on the ceiling depicting Luna standing behind the full moon.
To your left, is a large doorway that leads to the main sanctuary where worship services are held. It is a medium sized room, with wooden pews and an ornate pulpit at the front that has a large stained glass window behind it.
To your right, is a doorway that leads to the clergy's office. There you can go to seek advice, or comfort. It’s a quaint little room with a mahogany desk and a large, high back leather chair. Bookshelves line the wall behind the desk; filled with various theological and philosophical volumes.
Straight ahead, beyond the fountain is a black curtain. No one knows what lies behind that curtain, except a few of the higher ups in the clergy. It remains as mysterious as the dark side of the moon. Though there have been rumors…

*credits to Raging Glowworm
 
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Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
Lucian and Aaron arrived at the temple in short order, taking the many shortcuts from there to the Sun Level. Lucian paused outside the door of the temple for a moment, slipping his mask off his face before he pulled the heavy door open. It was eerily quiet inside the temple, and for a moment he wondered if the priests had even heard about what had happened to the sun. Within a few minutes, an elderly woman peered out from behind the curtain at the end of the room. "Lucian! Aaron! Come, come, we have heard news from the gods." She pulled the curtain aside and beckoned them over.

Lucian nodded curtly and walked past the elderly woman into the room beyond the curtain.

@Raging Glowworm
 
Aaron Wilson - Temple of the Moon
Aaron followed Lucian into the room. "What happened?" he said as he removed his mask and wiped the perspiration off of his forehead. He stood next to Lucian; waiting intently to see what her answer would be.

Luna - Temple of the Moon

A white cat sat in an old wooden chair, watching the two men come in. It leaped of the seat and strode to the middle of the room. It's grey eyes blinked.

Suddenly the cat was gone and in it's place stood a tall, regal woman with long silvery hair done in a simple braid. She had a curved sword strapped to her waist.

"Sol has been murdered, and I stand falsely accused," she said drawing closer to the three. "Many of the gods will come in search of vengeance. I will need to hide among you until the real murderer is caught."
 
Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
Lucian's eyes widened when the cat suddenly transformed before them. "Lady Luna!" he murmered, astonished. Not knowing what else to do, he bowed down on one knee, keeping his head lowered. He was silent for a moment, searching for the right words until they came to him. "We are your servants. No harm will come to you while under our protection; human or otherwise," he said solemnly.

Even though Lucian was a Demi, he had never actually met one of the gods before. At least, not that he knew of. To see one of them in front of him, much less Luna herself, left him well and truly starstruck.
 
Aaron - Temple the Moon
Aaron was in such awe and shock he almost didn't kneel, but he managed to shake himself out of it. He knelt next to Lucian, at a loss for for words.

Luna - Temple of the Moon
"Rise, both of you," Luna said, her tone brisk. "From here on out you will no longer address me by my given name and you will treat me as an equal. You may call Rosanna." As she spoke her features slowly began to change. Her long grey hair turned dark brown and her face bacame more youthful. When her transformation was complete she looked like a short young woman in her mid twenties. Only her eyes remained the same.
 
Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
At Luna's command, Lucian rose to his feet again, but immediately averted his eyes when her form started to change. For some reason it felt rude to watch, though he knew it was no different from when she shifted from her animal form. When she was done, his face paled slightly. What did you do when the Goddess of the Moon just became really attractive? Chastise yourself and remind yourself that she's about as old as the universe. And a goddess, Lucian. Can't forget that. In fact, you're probably related in some way. Now that was hard to wrap one's head around.

Without even thinking, Lucian tilted his head in something of a half bow. "As you please, Lady- Er... Rosanna."

Well. This was going to be harder than he thought.
 
Luna- The Moon Temple
Luna noted Lucian's expression when she had transformed. "If this is distracting for you I can change." Her eyes glinted merrily.
"I can't remain here, this will be one of the first places they'll look." Luna said, turning her attention to the group. Her pious tone was replaced with a more casule one.

Aaron - The Moon Temple

Aaron watched in amazement as the goddess transformed and in amusment as he saw Lucian's expression change. He seemed to be a sucker for brunettes

"I would suggest somewhere outside the city." Aaron said. Where he didn't know. How, he didn't know. It would be easy enough smuggling her past mortals. But there would be gods everywhere in the city. They would be able to see past any of Luna's disguises.
 
Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
"If this is distracting for you, I can change," she had said.

Lucian looked away. "Not at all," he muttered under his breath. Apparently his expression earlier had been more obvious than he'd thought. Wonderful. Now everyone's going to think you have a thing for Luna. Well done, lover boy.

"Sylvia might know of some place," Lucian spoke up, shoving his embarrassment aside to worry about at a later date. "The Sun Level will probably be safer than down here anyway. Though with the sun gone, I expect all the rats will start to crawl out of their holes soon..." They needed to get back to Sylvia soon anyway. He'd promised her they'd be back before that candle burned out, and no doubt it was starting to burn low by now. Which reminded him of something...

"I don't know if you know our names already, but I'm Lucian Summers, and this," he nudged his friend forward abruptly, "is Alfredo Quigley." He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, not even pausing for a second as he introduced Aaron. That's for laughing at my face, Quigley, he thought. With that, he moved past the other two and started rummaging in the back before finally producing a few small gas lanterns. Lucian tossed one to Aaron before handing another one off to Luna; he kept the last two for himself.
 
Aaron - Temple of the Moon
Aaron's face turned to horror as Lucian introduced him by his real name. He glared at Lucian. I'll get you for that. "I usually go by Aaron," he muttered. He pulled on his mask and snatched his staff from the weapons rack. He accepted the lantern from Lucian and lit it. "We'll need to avoid the streets as much as possible. It'll be chaos up there."

Luna - The Temple of the Moon
"I know who my blades are. I'm not completely ignorant as to what goes down here." Luna said cooly as she accepted the lantern and looked away for a few moments. When she looked back the merriment in her eyes was gone; now they where just blank.
"Lead the way," she said, her voice slightly constricted.


 
Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
Lucian felt a spark of pride in his chest when Luna said she knew who they were. There was something very satisfying about having the goddess you had served all your life actually knowing you by name. Especially when that goddess was as notoriously aloof as Luna.

Lucian slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder and slipped his mask on again. Much as he loved his rifle, he couldn't travel with it too often. It was far too conspicuous. But hopefully the darkness would now help conceal the weapon from prying eyes. As he loaded a couple of smoke grenades onto his belt, he fell into his typical "planning mode."

"Stick to the rooftops," he instructed Aaron. "There's a winding staircase not far from here that'll put us out right at the Apartments, though if it's already in use we might need to take a different route."

Lucian shot a glance at Luna. "I'm sure we don't have to worry about you being afraid of heights." Still, traveling with the goddess would no doubt slow them down. Observing the streets from the heavens would be very different from actually navigating them herself.
 
Aaron - Temple of the Moon
"Sounds good." Aaron replied. He strapped on two pistols. "I'll check to see if it's clear." He made his way through the curtain and opened the temple door a crack. The streets where slightly more crowded than usual. He could barely make out the sounds of chaos from above. Getting through the city would not be a problem. It was getting up there that he was worried about.

Luna - Temple of the Moon

"No, I am not afraid of hights. Luna said absently. She didn't look at Lucian. She seemed to be looking at something else, far away. Suddenly, her attention snapped back to Lucian. "Gods can be anything, anyone. Trust no one. Do you understand?" Her eyes drifted again. "Let's go," she said in a soft tone.
 
Lucian Summers - Temple of the Moon
Lucian paused at Luna's words and looked at her. "Well you can trust us," he said earnestly.

At that, he moved to the back of the room and shoved some boxes out of the way, revealing a ladder that led up to the roof. He quickly climbed the ladder and shoved the trap door open, raining dust down on his head. They hadn't had to use this exit in years, but if the streets were busy, it would make things a lot easier on them. Not waiting to see if the others were following, he climbed up onto the roof and stood up tall, peering down at the illuminated street below. In his dark clothes, he would be practically invisible to anyone beneath them. Lucian glanced around, mentally planning out the route they would take. If Luna couldn't jump as far as them, she might need to take a different form. That much, at least, was pretty dang convenient.

Trusting that Aaron and Luna hadn't wasted any time following him, he took a running start and leapt to the next roof, landing on it with a brief roll and popping back up to his feet.
 
Luna - The Sun Temple
Luna climb up the ladder and raced after Lucian. She moved swiftly and gracefully across the rooftops. She landed on her feet next to Lucian. "That was good, but you need to work on your form." and she took off ahead of him.

Aaron - Temple of the Moon

Aaron sped along the street parrelell with Lucian. He kept looking up to make sure they where the same. Aaron's go was to be faster than Lucian, but he could never quite manage to get there. Suddenly a blur of grey and brown passed Lucian on the rooftops. It was Luna. Aaron spotted a fire escape on the building ahead of him. He quickly scaled it and caught up to Lucian. "She's fast," he said between breaths.
 
Mors - Temple of the Moon
Mors hadn't thought it was possible, but with the sun gone even the Moon Level somehow managed to look darker. If he hadn't been such a frequent visitor to this area, he might have even thought it felt ominous. Of course that didn't stop the god, who knocked loudly on the door to the temple before simply opening it without waiting for a reply and strode inside.

The place was oddly quiet for a temple, which in itself was suspicious in Mors' mind, save for one elderly woman who stood by the fountain and watched the door open with wide eyes. Mors glanced around the room for a second. While Luna could disguise herself as pretty much anything, he could tell that this old woman was no goddess. "Where's Luna?" He asked the question as if it was the most natural thing in the world for a random person off the street to ask.

"L-Luna?" The old woman looked startled at the question. "I don't know what you mean," she said, smoothing her skirt awkwardly.

Mors raised an eyebrow. "You don't know your own goddess? I'll give you a hint: she's the one you wasted all this money on," he gestured around the room. Honestly, how much silver did she need? "She's also the one who murdered her husband and made the sun vanish. Ring a bell?"

The old woman paled as she only just now realized who she was talking to. "She's not here," she said quickly.

Mors shrugged. "Oh, well, if the lady says she isn't here..." He looked back at the rest of the group as if to say 'can you believe this woman?'
 
Ophelia Kournova - Temple of the Moon

The Demi moved in front of Mors, placing a calming hand in front of him. "Forgive me my lord. I think this may require a more empathetic approach." She took the woman's hands gently in her own. Mentally chastising this god for his careless nature. "I know this must be frightening for you. Your goddess has been accused of murder, how could it not? But I assure you that despite the god of death's crass demeanor, we mean Luna no harm. We merely wish to bring her back to the gods and state her case. I know she'll be given a fair trial, my father, Logos will help preside over it and he can pierce through the thickest of lies. So please, if you know of your goddesses' whereabouts, you must tell us. It will be less painful for everyone if you do so."
 
Mors - Temple of the Moon
Mors crossed his arms when the Demi moved in front of him, but didn't bother to interrupt her. Crass? That's a new one.

The older woman glanced nervously at the God of Death before replying. "They left earlier. I don't know where."

"They?" Mors' eyes lit up with a spark of interest. He paused for a moment before giving a short laugh. "Of course she went to them. This complicates things." Mors looked at Leonard thoughtfully. "We may be in need of your expertise after all," he muttered.
 
Ophelia Kournova - Temple of the Moon

Ophelia gave the woman a smile. "Thank you. I give you my word that she wont be harmed." Sending the woman on her way back to work, she returned to her group in time to hear Mors' musings. "If I may ask, who are the 'they' that you both were referring to?" As the god mentioned the eldest brother's expertise, she couldn't help but send a glare his way. She had no respect for the ruffian who gambled with his brother's life as if it were merely a worthless coin.
 
Mors - Temple of the Moon
"Luna's Blades," Mors explained lightly. "They're something like her personal... Bodyguards. Needless to say, they've done enough work in the past to attract my attention." Mors narrowed his eyes at the thought, but didn't care to explain beyond that. Like anyone who habitually left a trail of bodies in their wake, he was more than familiar with Luna's Blades. Though he was probably one of the few gods who actually knew about them; it didn't seem like the kind of thing Luna would have made public. Mors passively wondered if Sol had known about what Luna was doing in the Moon Level all these years.
 
Leonard grunted, crossing his arms as he stood behind the duo. He had followed, along with most of the others, into the temple expecting a fight. Instead all that was in it was an old hag and a few statues. Having scoped the place out before, the architecture wasn't a surprise. The single old woman however... He didn't think he had ever seen the temple this empty. Looking around as he listened to the annoying god and the Demi bitch try and wheedle information out of the hag, he couldn't help but feel his interest pique at the mention of the blades. Looking back towards the duo, he sees the woman glaring at him.

Noting the bitch's glare towards him he felt his anger flare. Who did she think she was, to look down on him? By the looks of her, she hadn't had a single bad day in her fucking life! Sending a powerful glare of hatred and disgust back at the woman, he steps forward. "I've had a few run ins with the blades before. I'm not sure what sort of training they've had, but they're deadly as all hell. There aren't many, in fact I've only ever seen two, but even one was difficult to try and deal with. We need to be careful if we're gonna go after them." He left out that he had fled under the cover of a collapsing building the moment he saw another one pop up. Even he didn't like his chances against the duo. Plenty a plan had been ruined by those glorified lapdogs and Leonard was all too happy to be told that they were also going after them.
 
Michael Masagrove - Temple of the Moon
It was rather a surprise to see the Luna's temple so empty at this time of day. Of course, Sol had died and people were panicking, but you'd think that the people would come here to pray for some kind of light or anything really. Perhaps Luna became stronger after the death of Sol? Theories and crazy conspiracies ran through Michael's mind as he trailed along quietly with the rest of the group.

It's a shame the pretty girl from before had to leave, it would've been nice to have someone his age to talk to. Now he's stuck with a grumpy god, some chick with a pistol, the woman with the nicest assets he'd ever seen and his idiot brother. Great. Walking towards his brother and poking his metallic left arm, he grimaced at the thought of having to deal with the blades again. They had appeared out of nowhere one time and he had almost gotten killed by them. If it weren't for his brother, he would've definitely died then and there. Eyes narrowed, he looked towards the group with an evident frown on his face.

"If we really have to go after them, we'll at least need some kind of confirmation that we've got enough fighting prowess to take on at least three or something. I don't want anyone dying now..."

He then looked towards the older woman and smiled softly, his hands placed against his chest as he bowed down.

"Thank you for the information, we're really grateful that you've shared that with us."
 
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