Star Traks: Melting Pot is based on Alan Decker's Star Traks, 
which in turn is based on Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, may 
he rest in peace.

Copyright 2004.

Star Traks: Melting Pot

The Quests for the Six Spheres of Power - Part 7

"Elemental Temple of the Elder God"

by Paul Cloutier

The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.

- Albert Einstein


Introduction 

This episode draws heavily from the "Earth Temple of the Elder Elemental God"
a publicly available module written for TSR's AD&D gaming system by Paul M.  Rokuskie

Throughout their Quests to retrieve the Spheres of Power, the crew of the USS
Menagerie have been thrust into situations that have tested their compassion,
reasoning ability, ability to adapt to unique situations and willingness to
sacrifice their needs and wants for the greater good.  The Spheres have set up
these situations in order to determine if the residents of the Milky Way galaxy
were mentally, physically and spiritually ready to welcome the Foreenans back
into the brotherhood of corporeals as equals and not as rulers.  There are two 
possible explanations as to how the Spheres actually were able to set up 
effective tests.

The first possibility is that each Sphere is highly telepathic and linked to the
OverMind.  The OverMind was able to scan the minds and computers of the Menagerie
during their first encounter.  Drawing on that knowledge, each of the Spheres has
created the perfect test environment it their own "pocket dimensions."

The other possibility is that each other the "pocket dimensions" allows some amount
of observation into the "real" galaxy.  After observing the activities of the "real"
galaxy for 20,000 years, the Spheres have been able to create very realistic 
simulations of reality for effective testing.

Either of these explanations are completely possible and it is left to the reader to
determine which one works better for them.

Regardless of which one you like, the Foreenans made a small mistake.  As has 
previously been mentioned, the Spheres are, to a certain extent, sentient.  What
may not have been obvious was that the higher the number of the Sphere, the greater 
its intelligence.  The lower order Spheres, with their lower order intelligence 
were content to wait in their little "pocket dimensions" and plan their tests.

Sphere Five presented a very mean test, presenting each member of the crew with
truly godlike powers and then forcing them to voluntarily forsake those powers.
Sphere Five was a bit petulant after being alone for 200 centuries and wanted to 
hurt those who came to retrieve it.

The Sphere that the crew is Questing after now, Sphere Six, isn't petulant.  It
isn't annoyed.  It isn't even happy to finally be retrieved.  No, Sphere Six doesn't
feel any particular emotion at the prospect of being rescued.  You see, Sphere Six
is completely and totally insane!  Sphere Six is the absolute master of his domain
(as the other Spheres were, but they didn't dwell on it).  Sphere Six has determined
that his "pocket dimension" is actually a Role Playing Game and that he is the 
GameMaster (Dungeon Master).  Sphere Six has developed elaborate rules and battle 
systems for use in its games.  Sphere Six is has been waiting for some Players for
a very, very long time.  Sphere Six has finally gotten some Players.  Now it has a 
chance to try out all those fiendish monsters and traps and scenarios that it has
been formulating over the long, long centuries.  Sphere Six is completely insane,
but it will follow the rules that it has established for itself to try and pass
the time.  If the Players survive the Game, the Sphere will willingly return to
Foreenan Four.  If the first batch of Players is killed, it will simply grab another
batch.  After all, it has the entire crew complement of a starship to play with.

Now, let the Games begin...

	For just a brief, tantalizing moment, the Menagerie reappeared in orbit
around the six planetoids that made up Foreena Four.  Then, before anyone could make
any move, or even cry out, the Captain saw his bridge dissolving before his eyes 
and then...

	Seetamyn found himself in a mist-swathed somewhere.  He could not make out
any limits to the area that he was in, but whether that was because he was in a vast,
open area or because the mist was simply obscuring the walls of a room, he could not
be sure.  What he was sure of was that his Starfleet uniform had been replaced by
an rather uncomfortable, armor-like suit of what appeared to be leather.  At his
hip was hung an evil-looking mace.  Flexing his shoulders, he discovered the presence 
of a backpack.  Swinging the pack off, he found several books containing pages of 
parchment and many small, stoppered vials.  He next discovered, on his fingers, 
several unusual rings.  Of course, any jewelry was unusual for the Vulcan, but these, 
he sensed, were somehow more than just pieces of metal.  Repacking his backpack, and 
returning it to his back, he straightened up and noticed forms moving towards him 
in the mist.  For some reason his hand dropped to the hilt of his mace as if to 
draw the weapon.  As the forms came closer, the mists parted to reveal Thog, Banjo, 
Ustrano, Mantron, M'Dral, Sperr and Pish.  Each was similarly outfitted with ancient 
weaponry and equipment.
	Thog seemed to be pleased with her sword which she held unsheathed in her
hands, swishing it back and forth.  Seetamyn had meant to speak to her about her
behavior during the Quest for the Fifth Sphere, but the unplanned immediacy of their
trip directly on the Quest for the Sixth Sphere had derailed that plan.  No matter,
the time would come.  Seetamyn was aware that the stress of being out of contact
with Starfleet had weighed heavily on several members of the crew and he was certain
that, once this whole mess with the Foreenans had been worked out, everything would 
resolve itself.  Crises had a way of working themselves out if you just stepped back 
and let things sort themselves out, he had found.  Of course, if that were the case,
what was the point of Starfleet? he briefly wondered.
	His introspection was interrupted by the appearance, in the air above the group
of a brightly glowing orb.
	"So!  Finally come those who would brave the challenges of my dungeon!  
Verily and forsooth, the successful conclusion of thy Quest lays at the end of this
challenge!  Merely defeat my monsters, traps and puzzles and I shall be yours.  Fail
and death herself is your reward.  Now!  Onward, adventurers!"
	"Excuse me," broke in Banjo, "but this sword is unsuitable.  I'd like my scythe
if you don't mind?"
	"What's this?"  thundered the Sphere.  "You want some futuristic weapon with 
which to unbalance my creations!  Man of deceit and trickery you"ll..."
	"Actually, interjected Banjo, mildly, "it's just another hand weapon."
	"I see.  Very well, picture this weapon in your mind and if it is suitable I 
will allow it!"  the Sphere answered imperiously.
	Banjo did as he had been asked and in seconds his beloved scythe appeared
on the ground in front of him.  He scooped it up almost tenderly and tossed the sword
he had been wearing over to Ustrano who, with only a halberd, was looking decidedly
under-armed.
	"Are we all happy, now?" the Sphere asked, nastily and as the crew replied, 
with uneasy affirmations, the mists parted, revealing a mountain path winding ahead of 
them.  Behind them was only the nebulous mists, so the direction that they were to take
seemed obvious.  With little choice, the party started up the path.  Seetamyn realized
that he suddenly knew the purpose of the vials and other items in his backpack.  
Seetamyn, the captain of a Starfleet starship and former head of the Vulcan Institute 
of Meditative Studies was a wizard!  Looking around, he noticed looks of sudden 
comprehension flash onto the faces of his companions.  So, the Sphere was playing 
this fair - taking away their advanced weaponry but giving them the knowledge to use
what it had given them in return.  That meant that they had a fighting chance.  
Either that or the Sphere thought it was more fun to give them the illusion of a chance.
Pushing that thought from his consciouness, Seetamyn continued up the path.  Illusion
or no, they really had very little choice.  
	After traveling up the path for about an hour, the terrain started to change.
The walls on either side of the path took on a hewn-out look and started to curve,
overhead.  The upward-sloping path became much smoother, too.  It was obvious that 
someone had used tools to achieve these effects.  Seetamyn called a halt.  Mantron 
and Ustrano, who had been quietly arguing about how many weapons the Velvattian 
could effectively wield, stopped their discussion to hear what the Captain had to say.
	"It looks like we're coming to some sort of habitation," he opined.  "The
walls around us have been worked as has the ground.  We should scout, ahead, to
see what might be waiting for us."
	"No problem," replied Banjo, oozing out of his armor and flowing up the path.
As he moved he took on a texture more and more like the stone around him until he
was indistinguishable from the mountainside.  The rest the group waited anxiously
for his return.
	After several tense minutes, the Changeling Security Chief re-appeared, seeming 
to ooze out of the ground in front of them.  As everyone's pulse returned to normal and
Banjo strapped his armor back on, he related what he had seen;
	"Up ahead the trail opens up into a wide cave.  Around the cave, there are
approximately 30 humanoid creatures, about a third of which are at least ten feet tall.
They have piles of boulders close at hand which can rolled down the trail at any
intruders.  This trail has been set up as a kill zone." 
	"OK that's not a problem," assured Seetamyn, much to the surprise of the
rest of the group.  "I seem to have the ability to cast magic spells, one of which
seems to be a spell of "Mass Invisibility"," he explained.
	"That suggests a possible course of action," the massive Velvattian rumbled, 
	"I, too, seem to have some magical knowledge." 
	"So do I," added Mantron.
	"I do too," said Pish, "but my knowledge seems to more in the way of defensive and 
healing arts."
	"Hmmm, these abilities seem to be, more or less, tied in with our training 
and previous experiences.  Both Engineering and Astronavigation rely heavily on 
mathematical formulae.  That must translate, in this reality, to thaumaturgical 
ability.  My meditative studies and previous Science Officer experience must work 
the same.  Jantoo's medical background, translates to healing powers here.  Does 
anyone else seem to have any new abilities?"
	"Well, Banjo said, starting forward, "I seem to have some weird knowledge
of locks and traps and of ways of concealing things."
	"Excellent," opined the Captain, 'these are abilities which will surely come 
in handy, ahead."
	"Very well," Ustrano acknowledged the other spell-casters with a flick of 
its tentacles.  Here's what we"ll do..."
	The guards around the perimeter of the cave entrance stood chatting in small 
groups.  They had been guarding this cave for weeks and nothing had ever intruded into 
their domain to break the monotony of this guard duty.  Suddenly, their boredom was 
interrupted by the appearance in their midst of several unusual looking people.  The 
leader appeared to be the tallest elf that any of them had ever seen.  He was 
accompanied by three others.  Two of these appeared to be nondescript humans.  The 
third was a different story.  It must have been some sort of demon, they decided 
because none of them had ever seen such a creature.  Their chagrin was short lived, 
however as the elf, the demon and one of the humans made weird gestures with their 
hands (or tentacles) and bits of light seemed to fly at the guards.  The bits of 
light cut deep into bodies of the guards, ending the speculation of most of them.  
The bigger guards were all wounded as well but they recovered quickly.  Their quarry 
was too far up the slope for the rolling boulders to harm them, so the giant guards 
simply seized boulders in their hands and hurled them at the intruders.  The female 
intruder darted forward, her fingers drawing intricate patterns in the air, and the 
boulders suddenly reversed their flight, zooming back towards the guards.  Two were 
unfortunate enough to be smashed by their own missiles, the others managed to dodge 
out of the way and retreat back to their cave.  There, they found an unwelcome 
surprise - four more invaders were waiting for them.  Three of the newcomers waded 
into battle immediately, two with swords and a third with a strange, bladed weapon.  
The fourth invader stood back and fired arrows into the melee, finding unprotected 
spots in the guards' armor to perforate.  In minutes the battle was over, all of the 
guards had been killed and the invaders were virtually untouched.  Thog had received 
a nasty cut on one finger that was nearly two millimeters long and M'Dral had snapped 
her fingers with her bowstring.
	Seetamyn brought his group into the cave and stood watching his crew congratulate 
each other for several minutes.  Finally, he spoke up, 
	"We won this battle because we had the benefit of surprise.  We will likely 
not be so fortunate as we continue.  Let's determine a marching order that can make 
the best use of our abilities."
	Chastened by these sober words, the others ceased their celebration to work 
out what the Captain had called their "marching order."  It was finally decided that 
Ustrano and Banjo would take point while Thog and Sperr would be next, on the flanks.  
Seetamyn and Mantron would come next, and, finally, M'Dral and Pish would be in the 
rear.  This would allow everyone decent freedom of movement while maximizing their 
effectiveness.  Or so it was hoped, anyway.
	In the back of the cave a passageway headed deeper into the mountain, finally 
opening into a large room that appeared to be approximately 40 feet by 40 feet.  A 
strange, dim light permeated the room and broken furniture covered the floor.  The 
passageway opened into the East side of the room and giant tapestries covered the 
other three walls.  The tapestries were twenty feet tall, which was the height of the 
room, and each held an image of a terrible, two-headed giant holding a club in each 
hand.  As Ustrano, who was in the lead, entered the room, a horrible voice boomed 
from out of nowhere,  

	"Let it be known that any foolish enough to enter the stronghold of Theleb 
	will suffer forevermore."
	
	Ustrano immediately cast a "Cancel Invisibility" spell, but nothing was 
revealed.  
	"It was just a trick," the Engineer rumbled.
	Relieved, the rest of the party entered the room.  Finding nothing of interest 
in the rubble covering the floor, they turned their attention to the tapestries.  As 
they looked closely at the tapestries there was a sudden flash of light and the three 
monsters depicted in the tapestries were suddenly in the room with them!  Seetamyn 
and Mantron immediately cast "Fireball" spells at the monster closest to them, turning 
it into a crispy critter.  Thog charged the one closest to her, swinging her massive 
sword wildly.  Sperr, Banjo and M'Dral assisted her and soon the beast had been 
sliced and diced into bite-sized pieces.  Ustrano focused on the last monster.  He 
had picked up a couple of giant-sized spears from the guards they had defeated, 
earlier, and impaled the last creature with them before using his halberd and sword 
to finish it off.  Again the crew had worked as a team to defeat the challenge presented 
by the Sixth Sphere.  
	Mantron and Ustrano moved around the room and tore down the now empty tapestries,
revealing two doors in the western wall of the room.
	"Well, which one looks good?" asked Mantron.  
	No visible paths led to or from either door.  Finally Thog said, "let's try 
the one on the left." 
	Since nobody had any particular reason to chose either one, that was the door 
they smashed open.  
	Behind the door was a ten foot wide corridor.  After about 35 feet the corridor 
turned sharply to the left and narrowed to 5 feet wide.  Seetamyn decided that they 
should change their marching order since they could only proceed single file.  Ustrano, 
Banjo, Thog, Sperr, Mantron, Pish, M'Dral and Seetamyn, himself, took up the rear.  
There was a faint glow around the Vulcan and it was obvious that he had cast some 
sort of spell on himself.  After about 20 feet, the corridor opened into a very 
large room.  The room was oriented East-West and was about 65 feet wide and 50 feet 
deep.  The corridor entered the room near the middle of the northern wall.  The room 
was completely crammed with broken furniture, the debris of years accumulated here.  
The party moved through the mess as quietly as they could, but the cluttered floor 
made silence impossible.  As Seetamyn moved towards the center of the room, a shadow 
seemed to detach itself from the ceiling and fell on the unsuspecting Vulcan.  The 
shadow revealed itself to be a manta ray-like creature which wrapped its 'wings' 
around Seetamyn.  Suddenly, a flash lit up the room and the creature flapped away 
with an ear-splitting screech.  The rest of the crew attacked the monster and soon 
it was dead.  Seetamyn was on the floor amidst the litter of the room, a gash across 
his head had been apparently caused by the creature's thrashing as it tried to escape 
from whatever Seetamyn had done to it.  Pish ran over and mumbling quietly to herself, 
as she moved her hands over the Captain's injury.  A bluish glow soon appeared under 
the Vulcan's skin and the gash knit itself back together.  Seetamyn rose to his feet, 
	"Thank you, Doctor," was all he said, however.
	"What did you do to that thing," asked Mantron, curious.
	"I had electrified my armor," explained the Captain.
	"I'll have to keep that in mind," answered the Helmsman.
	As Jantoo had been administering to Seetamyn, Thog and Sperr had found the 
room's exit.  In the Southwest corner of the room a door opened into a westbound 
corridor which was ten feet wide.  Resuming their original marching order, the party 
proceeded down the 35 foot long corridor, finding that it ended in a solid door.  
Loud voices could be heard from behind the door, so it was quickly decided that 
they would try another invisible attack.  After the spell was cast, Ustrano eased 
open the door.  Inside they could see fifteen heavy-set, slightly scaly five-foot tall 
humanoids, eating at a long table.  Seetamyn, Mantron and Ustrano, who were the only 
ones who had entered the room, immediately sent off "Fireball" spells at the diners, 
taking out eight of them.  Six of the ones left jumped up and charged the door.  The 
seventh drew a horn from his pocket and blew a piercing note, the effects of which 
were not immediately apparent.  After tooting his horn, the seventh remaining diner 
also headed for the intruders.  Mantron and Seetamyn stepped to either side of the 
doorway and Ustrano stepped forward as the other members of the party came through 
the door.  Having not made any aggressive moves, they were still invisible and they 
surprised the diners and quickly dispatched them.  They quickly determined that there 
was another door, diagonally across the 75 by 35 foot room.  They arrayed themselves 
to repel an assault by reinforcements from the other door.  Their preparations were 
not for naught as four large, exceedingly ugly humanoids soon rushed through the door.  
M'Dral loosed a specially magic'd arrow at the first intruder who found himself 
frozen in place, blocking the doorway so that his companions could not get through.  
Mantron send a green cloud sailing trough the door, and its caustic contents soon 
dissolved their opponents to a smelly puddle.
	Behind the door another narrow corridor was revealed.  Resuming their 
single-file marching order, the party proceeded along the 60 foot long passageway.  
The corridor ended at an open door, through which Ustrano could see several more of 
the tall, ugly humanoids.  Rushing forward with a loud yell, it crashed into the 
midst of the humanoids before they could react and dealt out serious damage with 
its collection of weapons.  Thog soon joined in with Sperr.  Mantron and Seetamyn, 
prevented from using spells by the close proximity of the combatants, waded in with 
their quarterstaff and mace, respectively.  The combined might of the Menagerie 
crewmembers soon overwhelmed their opponents.  
	With the enemy vanquished, the crew had a chance to examine the room.  They 
had entered from the Southwest corner and the room stretched about 45 feet to the 
North.  The room's width was about two thirds of its depth.  Near the center of the 
East wall was a door.  Mantron and Ustrano made to open the door when Seetamyn stopped 
them with his hand held up, 
	"Why were they all arranged to protect the Northwest corner of the room if 
the exit is to the East?"
	Banjo moved into the Northwest corner and began searching.  After several 
minutes he let out an "Ah ha!" and, with an audible click, a section of the wall slid 
back to reveal a stairway leading down.  Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a ball of 
fire came shooting out of the stairway, headed for the center of the room.  Darting 
forward, Pish Jantoo snapped out a spell which surrounded the fireball just as it 
exploded.  Its destructive force was directed upward, away from the crew.  
	"That was close," hissed Mantron, letting out the breath the he hadn't even 
known that he had been holding.
	"Yes," agreed the usually verbose Vulcan with uncharacteristic brevity.
"Back to single file, people.  Let's keep our eyes open."
	Ustrano oozed onto the stairs and the voice that they had heard upon initially 
entering the dungeon boomed out again,

	"Only those fools ready to meet their doom would dare to enter the inner 
	sanctum of Theleb!"
	
	"Anyone who would be a serious danger would not waste energy with these 
silly threats," observed Seetamyn, although whether this was meant to reassure his 
crew or himself was uncertain.
	The party entered into a room whose dimensions almost exactly matched those 
of the room, above.  This room was strewn with rocks and what appeared to be 
petrified bones, as opposed to the broken furniture which had been so prevalent on 
the level, above.  At the foot of the stairs, the party paused to re-establish 
their normal marching order.  They then proceeded to move into the room.  Suddenly, 
several of what had appeared to be mere piles of rocks assembled themselves into 
rock-like monsters.  Thog jumped forward to attack one of the creatures, but her 
wildly-swung sword merely bounced off the monster's rocky hide, harmlessly.  Sharing 
a glance, Seetamyn, Mantron and Ustrano quickly loosened up their fingers and cast 
spells at the monsters.  As the spells hit, the creatures' rocky exteriors seemed 
to melt away, being replaced by normal flesh.  Thog swung again and this time her 
sword cleaved her opponent in two!  Banjo and Sperr moved forward to deal with the 
remaining two creatures, who were soon dispatched.
	The group paused for a breather and to re-assess their capabilities.  Minor 
scrapes and cuts were the only injuries at present.  Seetamyn's earlier injury had 
healed without any trace.  Confident in their ability to continue, they made their 
way to a readily visible door in the southern end of the room.  They were forced 
to resume their single file order as they made their way down the five-foot wide 
corridor.  After about 30 feet, they came to a new door.  Ustrano listened at the 
door for several minutes and then opened it quietly.  Beyond the door the party 
found an "L" shaped room.  The remains of what appeared to be a barracks were 
scattered throughout the room and bones were scattered around, too.  Ustrano picked 
up one of the bones and examined it, closely.  
	"Its been gnawed," the Velvattian decided.  
	The party proceeded cautiously through the room, but nothing else was in 
it.  A door was discovered in the Southwest corner and Ustrano led the group through 
it.  They found themselves in another room.  The weird, thoroughly disagreeable 
smell which pervaded it indicated that this must be some sort of kennel.  The entire 
party was in the room before the occupants of the room revealed themselves.  Ten 
dog-like creatures came slinking out of the shadows.  They each stood about five 
feet at their shoulders and were covered in coarse, spiky clumps of hair.  Their 
feral eyes gleamed with evil intelligence and their teeth and claws were abnormally 
sharp.  As the group of adventurers tried to decide on the best course of action to 
deal with these monsters, the monsters decided their course for them by leaping in 
attack.  Ustrano snatched two of the creatures in mid-air and re-directed them 
against the opposite wall.  They hit with a sickening "thud" and lay still.  Mantron 
used his staff to keep another creature at bay.  He wasn't able to do the animal any 
real damage, but neither could the creature reach him.  He, at least, managed to 
keep the creature occupied.  Seetamyn had re-electrified his armor after Ustrano's 
announcement about the condition of the bone.  He simply allowed one of the beasts 
to jump on him.  There was a blue flash and a loud "zap" and the charred beast was 
hurled away from the Captain, twitching in death.  Banjo had leapt at the monsters 
even as they had been leaping at the rest of the party.  His scythe flashed twice 
and two heads and two bodies were hurled in four different directions.  Thog swung 
her massive sword at the attackers, but her awkward style finally cost her.  She 
missed with her wide swing and two of the monsters fell upon her.  Sperr stuck his 
longsword completely through one of the beasts while M'Dral managed to wound the 
final beast with an arrow.  Sperr quickly spun to Thog's aid and dispatched the two 
beasts that were mauling his lover.  Dropping his sword to the ground, he fell to his
knees and cradled the Klingon's head in his lap.  Ustrano flicked a tentacle forward 
at the beast that Mantron was playing with.  It just happened that the tentacle held 
the Velvattian's halberd and the beast was quickly dispatched.  Seetamyn wandered 
over to the howling beast that M'Dral had wounded.  Without malice, or, for that matter, 
mercy, he quieted the monster with a stroke of his mace.  Pish hurried over to the 
wounded Klingon and quickly started casting her curative spells.  Almost immediately 
Thog's bleeding slowed and, then, stopped.  Mantron hurried over and wove a complex 
path through the air with his fingers.  With a gentle "puff" a jug of water appeared 
in his hands.  Pish took the container and began bathing the warrior woman's wounds.  
A gasp escaped her lips when she saw the extent of the damage that had been inflicted
on the Klingon.  Seetamyn hurried over, slinging off his backpack.  
	"Here," he said, handing over one of the vials from its depths.  Pish seemed 
to recognize the potion and eagerly unstoppered the vial.  Dipping her finger into 
the brew, she forced her finger between Thog's lips and then poured the rest of the 
potion on her wounds.  Moments later Thog began to groan softly and her eyes opened.  
Sperr sobbed with relief.  Pish and Mantron moved away so the couple could have some 
privacy.  They were joined by Seetamyn and Ustrano.
	"Will she be able to continue?" asked the Vulcan, quietly.
	"Normally, I'd want to have her in Sickbay for several days while those 
wounds mended.  With the potions that we have available to us here, in this dungeon, 
we should be able to get her back on her feet after an hour or so of rest."
	"The rest will do us all some good," agreed the Captain.
	The mini-meeting broke up, but Ustrano and Mantron continued to discuss the 
situation.
	"That sword is too big for her,"opined Mantron.
	"True," agreed his friend, "but what can we do about it?"
	"Give her the sword you got from Banjo," decided Mantron.  "We"ll tell her 
that Jantoo was afraid that she would aggravate her injuries with her original sword.  
Besides, you know you want that big sword for yourself, anyway"
	Ustrano playfully slapped the Betazoid on the back, nearly propelling him 
across the room.  The two friends laughed and moved over to join the rest of the 
party in their one-hour rest.
	The hour passed quickly and without incident and the group re-assumed their 
single-file marching order to exit out of the kennel via a door in the Northeast 
corner of the room.  The narrow corridor traveled North for 20 feet and then turned 
to the East.  After another 25 feet, the corridor ended in another door.  Ustrano 
paused, listening, but he obviously detected nothing, for he was soon hurling the 
door open.
	The party stepped into a huge room.  The massive hall measured 100 feet on 
each side.  In the northern end of the room an ornate throne sat upon a raised dias.  
On the throne sat a man wearing elaborate black robes over shiny armor.  Flanking the 
throne, three to a side, were six heavily armed and armored fighters.  Behind the 
throne a massive symbol decorated the wall - a huge, black, equilateral triangle, 
trisected by an inverted "Y", making three interior triangles inside the large one.  
The adventurers from the Menagerie entered the room, one by one and made their way 
towards the throne.  When the group was about 20 feet from the throne, one of the men 
to the right of the throne stepped forward.  He fixed a steely glare at the group 
and proclaimed in a loud voice, 
	"You have trespassed in the realm of the great and powerful Theleb.  Your 
trespass has caused the all-powerful lord much annoyance.  You have killed the 
all-powerful lord's prize Worgs.  However, the all-powerful lord is merciful.  If 
you will pay 10,000 gold pieces for each of yourselves for your trespass and an 
additional 5000 gold pieces for each of the slain worgs, the all-powerful lord will 
allow you to leave with your lives!"
	Seetamyn stepped forward and addressed the man who had spoken, 
	"We have been sent here to retrieve an object of value to us.  It is a 
glowing orb.  We must continue our Quest until we have retrieved this orb.  We do 
not wish to harm anyone who would not try to harm us, but we will continue until our 
Quest is completed."
	"You have thrown the generosity of the all-powerful lord back in his teeth!" 
roared the spokesman.  "You die!"
	The six men flanking the throne drew their weapons and charged the party.  
Just before they reached striking distance, there was a flash of light and the men 
were replaced by four giants!
	Seetamyn immediately ordered, "Get to the West wall.  Don't let them surround 
us." 
	The crewmembers pivoted so that their backs were to the West wall and began 
to slowly back towards the wall.  The giants advanced towards the party.  Seetamyn, 
thinking that it would be a good idea to make sure that there were no further surprises 
in store for his crew, cast a "Reveal" spell.  Immediately, three more giants appeared, 
two near the door in the Southwest corner of the room, where the party had entered the 
great hall, and one in the Southeast corner.  The one in the Southeast corner was 
different from the others, and it was apparent that he was a magic user.  Recognizing 
the threat, Mantron let loose with a "Fireball" spell which he launched at the giant.  
His opponent was ready for such an attack, however and, with an abrupt gesture, he 
deflected the "Fireball" into the floor where it dissipated, harmlessly.  Mantron had 
time for no more spells as the six advancing giants had reached striking range and the 
melee was joined! 
	Pish and M'Dral had been moved to the relatively safer area in the back center 
of the group and M'Dral launched her arrows at the giants from the concealment offered 
by the Velvattian.  The giants were all using ten-foot long weapons - swords, axes and 
polearms, putting them outside the reach of everyone but Ustrano.  Seeing that they 
could do little where they were, Seetamyn and Mantron ducked behind Ustrano where the 
Captain cast one of his "Invisibility" spells and he and his Helmsman snuck out of 
the melee and took up positions behind the attacking giants.  Keeping a silent count 
going so that they could act together, the Vulcan and the Betazoid reached their 
agreed upon countdown and both unleashed their spells upon the six giants facing 
their friends.  White, sticky strands shot out of their fingers and covered the 
giants.  The two men stood revealed as the "Invisibility" spell was annulled by 
their offensive actions and the two looked like eerie spiders wrapping up supper.  
The giants were soon engulfed in the webbing, unable to move and the party focused 
its attention on the last, most dangerous giant remaining - the magic user in the 
room's Southeast corner.  M'Dral loosed arrow after arrow at the giant, who deflected 
them with negligent flicks of his hands.
	"Let's see if he can dismiss this so easily," roared Ustrano as he hurled a 
spear at their opponent.  
	M'Dral loosed another arrow and the two missiles approached their target, 
simultaneously.  The giant swept his hands at the speeding spear and it shot away, 
into the wall where it stood out, vibrating.  M'Dral's arrow, however sped truly, 
hitting the giant in an eye.  With a roar of pain and anguish, the giant clutched 
his head, his attention distracted at just the wrong moment as Ustrano's next spear 
went straight through his chest.  Breathing a sigh of relief, the crew turned back 
to the entangled giants.  Seetamyn cast a new spell and then shook is head, slightly.  
	"These giants have all been enchanted," he said with perhaps the slightest 
trace of sorrow in his voice.  "They will fight to the death.  We must kill them."
	"Very well," agreed Mantron, distaste obvious in his voice as he cast his 
"Death Cloud" spell again.  He and the rest turned away as the deadly spell did its 
work.  There were no other visible doors so Banjo started going over the walls, 
inch by inch.  Finally, along the South wall he found a concealed passageway.  
Resuming their single file stance, the crew headed South, into the corridor.  After 
about 30 feet, the corridor turned to the East and continued for nearly 50 feet.  
It opened into a smallish, 40-foot by 25-foot room.  It was immediately apparent 
that this room had been used as a smithy for the inhabitants of this dungeon.  It 
was also apparent that it was currently unoccupied.  Ustrano squealed like a child 
on Christmas morning when it saw all of the weapons adorning the walls of the smithy.  
It loaded itself up with two dozen halberds, swords, poleaxes, and spears.  Its toothy 
maw split into a broad grin as it now considered itself properly equipped.  
	Finding nothing else of interest in the abandoned smithy, the group proceeded 
through a readily visible archway in the room's Southeast corner.  The hallway they 
found themselves in traveled for nearly 70 feet before ending in a door.  Ustrano 
listened, as was now becoming customary for him, and then threw open the door.  The 
door opened into the center of the South wall of a room that stretched 60 feet North 
and 15 feet to either side of the door.  In the center of the room was a large 
treasure chest.  The party entered the room and clustered around the South wall, 
waiting to see what Seetamyn would do about the chest.
	The Vulcan seemed to be surprised by the question.  "Ignore it," he ordered.  
"A lone chest, alone in an unguarded room?  It is a trap."
	The party slinked along the walls, staying as far away from the chest as they 
could while they made their way towards the exit door in the wall opposite the one 
they had entered by.  They reached the door without incident.  It opened into another 
narrow corridor.  The corridor wound its way for over 100 feet before taking a turn 
due East and ending in another door.  After checking at the door, Ustrano pushed it 
open.  The passageway opened into a tiny, 10 foot by 20 foot room.  Four massive 
stone statues stood against the wall opposite the door.  They were of eight-foot 
tall humanoids and were all holding large swords.  No other exit was visible.  There 
was barely room for the party to fit in the room.  Ustrano's bulk filled most of the 
available space.  Banjo moved forward to look for a secret passageway, since no other 
doors were visible.  As he approached the opposite wall, the statues came to life! 
The two statues nearest to the Changeling each swung their swords at him, cutting him 
into three pieces!  Over the horrified gasps of Doctor Pish Banjo, flowed out of his 
ruined armor and his three pieces merged back together.  His scythe swung at one of 
his opponents, but the only result was a small chip taken out of the statue.  Banjo 
kept on swinging his scythe with no better results but Ustrano had been surging 
forward.  His 24 weapons all seemed to move at once and 24 tiny chips bounced across 
the floor.  Realizing that he was only in the way, Banjo flowed back to the rest of 
the group, where Pish worriedly checked him over.  His quiet words of assurance 
were drowned out by the stone mason sounds from the other side of the room where, 
chip by chip, Ustrano was reducing their opponents to rubble.  Finally, the deed was 
done and the Velvattian slid victoriously over the pile of stone chips which was 
all that remained of the statues.  Banjo again began his search and soon discovered 
another secret panel.  Opening the panel, a new descending stairway was revealed.  
	Ustrano slid forward and started down.  As the massive Engineer passed the 
first step, the imperious voice sounded once again, 
	
	"Your destiny is close at hand, but the end is unseen."

	The party reached the end of the stairs in a small room.  One wall of the 
20 by 20-foot room depicted a great battle between Earth Elemental forces and humans.  
The jewel-encrusted mosaic dominated the room.  The litter that had been common on 
the upper levels was absent here.  Instead, the walls were decorated and carved 
columns and arches were prevalent.  It was clear that this level was more active than 
the others had been.  A corridor exited the small room to the South.  After about 
30 feet, the corridor swung to the West.  25 feet after the turn, a door became 
visible on the South wall of the corridor.  The corridor, itself, continued to the West.  
	"Do we go through the door, or continue down the corridor?" Ustrano asked.
	"Continue down the corridor," Seetamyn replied, after a moment's consideration.  
"If that path proves fruitless, we can always return."
	The corridor continued, twisting and turning, for 150 feet and finally ended 
in a ornately carved door.  Ustrano proceeded through the door, after his customary 
pause, and an obvious laboratory was revealed.  Scarred tables under racks of chemicals 
and notebooks nearly filled the 40-foot by 50-foot room.  On a podium sat an obviously 
important book and Seetamyn gravitated over to this artifact.  A large bookshelf on 
one wall was filled with books, and Ustrano and Mantron wandered over to explore it.  
As they neared the bookcase, there was a sudden roar and a vaguely humanoid pile of 
what appeared to mud, burst through the bookcase and attacked the two.  Before 
anyone could react, Ustrano had been turned to stone!  Mantron fell back and Seetamyn 
launched his 'Stone to Flesh" spell at the monster.  This time, instead of removing 
their foe's rocky exterior, the spell was reflected back at the Vulcan.  The resultant 
feedback hurled the hapless Captain back against the wall where he lay in a crumpled 
ball.  M'Dral launched an arrow at the monster, which struck the center of its chest 
and disappeared into the creature's bulk without inflicting any obvious damage.
Mantron regained his composure.  With two of the party's three offensive spellcasters 
out of action, Mantron knew he had to make his own spells count.  Thinking quickly 
he began to cast.  When the spell was readied, he loosed it - right at Ustrano!  The 
spell took effect and the massive Velvattian's stony exterior chipped away, revealing a 
very angry Ustrano.  The Velvattian launched himself at the mud-thing, all weapons 
flailing wildly.  Within minutes, the entire room was splattered with mud, the 
creature reduced to slimy stains.  Determinedly wiping off his dripping weapons, 
Ustrano surveyed his handiwork with satisfaction.  Satisfaction which quickly turned 
to chagrin as the splatters of mud began to flow back together.  Sharing a glance 
with Mantron, the two nodded in understanding and unleashed "Fireballs" at the 
re-forming monster.  There was a great flash and the mud was immediately evaporated 
into dust.  They turned back to the rest of the party and found Pish huddled 
worriedly over the Captain.  
	"He's badly injured," she said.  "I"ve managed to stabilize him, but nearly all of 
the vials in his backpack were shattered when he hit the wall.  Do either of you 
have any Healing Potions?"
	"I'll check," assured Mantron, slinging off his pack and rummaging through it.  
Ustrano just shrugged its tentacles - it didn't have a pack.  
	Mantron suddenly exclaimed, "Ah ha!" and pulled out a red vial.  Pish's eyes 
lit up as she recognized the potion and she hurried to pour some down the Captain's 
throat.  As the healing process began and Seetamyn struggled to regain consciousness, 
mumbled phrases escaped his lips.  Pish couldn't help but wonder what the fragment 
of Carl Jaroch's consciousness that had become stuck in the Captain's mind thought 
of all this.  She didn't have long to wonder as Seetamyn finally opened his eyes 
and the Captain's intellect was obviously fully in control.  
	"What is our status, Doctor," were the first words past his lips as he 
struggled to sit up.
	"You were seriously injured in the fight, sir, but Mantron and Ustrano 
managed to defeat the monster."
	"Excellent," came his response, as though his injury were no more than a 
minor inconvenience.  "Have we found the door out of this room, yet?"
	"Yes, sir, it was behind the bookcase, where that mud-thing came from."
	"Then lets get moving," Seetamyn said, struggling to his feet.
	"Sir, you need more rest.  There isn't any hurry," said Pish.
	"You are wrong, Jantoo," replied the Vulcan, using her first name, so she 
knew it was serious.  "That book over there, that I was reading, before that creature 
appeared, was the personal diary of this "Theleb" that we have been chasing since 
this Quest began.  He is some sort of insane Wizard who has lost his soul and his 
sanity to some sort of Elder God.  This dungeon is an ancient Temple dedicated to 
that God.  Theleb has begun a process that can open a portal to the extradimensional 
prison where this God is imprisoned.  If the portal is opened, the God will be able 
to manifest a certain amount of his power here.  We won't stand a chance against 
that kind of power.  We must interrupt the ceremony before it can be completed or 
all is lost!"
	Mantron came over to the still shaky Vulcan and traded his staff with the 
Captain's mace, giving Seetamyn something to lean on.  Seetamyn acknowledged the 
exchange with a simple, 
	"Thank you, Lieutenant." and, with a nod to Ustrano, Seetamyn indicated 
that they were moving out.  
	Pushing open the door, Ustrano was struck momentarily immobile by the scene 
in front of him.  The door had opened near the center of the southern wall of a 70 
by 30 foot room.  The western wall was completely dominated by some kind of altar.  
Above the altar was the triangle symbol that the crew had seen in the throne room on 
the level, above.  On the altar lay the remains of a chained human skeleton.  A suit 
of armor with a shield and two-handed sword were hung on a specially constructed 
stand in the Southwest corner of the room, near the altar.  To either side of the 
altar were huge stone braziers which illuminated the room in an eerie crimson glow.  
Pools of colored light danced in erratic, patternless waltzes around the room.  
These pools eventually made their way toward the altar, growing brighter the closer 
they got.  As they reached a certain proximity, it was as though the altar sucked 
them in.  As each pool was absorbed, the altar momentarily glowed that color, and 
then streams of acid were shot from the altar at the symbol.  As the symbol drank 
the acid it, too, glowed brighter.  On either end of the altar, misty humanoid 
forms could be seen, hovering as if watching over the ceremony.  Two crystalline 
shapes seemed to be on patrol in the room.  These had the forms of giant scorpions 
made out of crystal.  The sense of Evil in the room nearly overwhelmed the Velvattian, 
but he managed to rouse himself and move aside so that the rest of the party could 
enter the room.  M'Dral moved in towards the center a bit more than anyone else and 
one of the pools of light danced over the floor, beneath her.  She collapsed to the 
floor, screaming in agony.  The others rushed to her aid as the pool, oblivious to 
its affect on the Benzite, continued its dance, towards the altar.  Mantron and 
Sperr helped the Ops Officer to her shaky feet.
	"I'm OK," she managed to say, "but watch out for those spots of light!"
	"What now?" asked Mantron, awed by the spectacle before them.
	Before anyone could answer, the party's presence seemed to have been 
detected by the room's other occupants.  The two crystal scorpions scurried towards
them and the misty forms drifted away from the altar - towards the party.  The most
surprising thing was that the skeleton which had been lying on the altar, suddenly 
sprang to its feet and, as it spread its arms wide, the armor, shield and sword from
the armor stand teleported onto its body.
	"That's the key," Seetamyn said, pointing at the skeleton.  "He's been focusing
the energies in this room into the portal.  If we can kill him, the ceremony will be 
ruined and the Elder God will remained imprisoned."
	Banjo gripped his scythe tightly, "I'll take care of him.  The rest of you see 
if you can keep his friends off of me," and he walked forward to meet his foe.
	Seetamyn, M'Dral and Pish moved to the rear as Thog, Ustrano, Mantron and 
Sperr moved forward to confront the other four creatures.  Ustrano and Mantron quickly
launched "Webbing" spells at their enemies.  The webs passed through the misty monsters
with no effect, but they did cover the crystal scorpions.  Before the two crewmates
could congratulate each other, however, the scorpions glowed briefly and then seemed 
to phase right into the rock.  Sharing a glance, the two spellcasters braced themselves
for the mist creatures' attacks.  They need not have bothered.  A misty, hand-like 
appendage seemed to emerge from each of the two monsters which flashed down at Ustrano
and Mantron.  Their hastily raised weapons were as effective as their armor in warding 
off the blows - which was to say, not at all.  The mist 'arms' passed right through 
their bodies without hinderance, leaving the two heroes writhing on the floor in
unimaginable pain.  Sperr and Thog stepped slightly closer together to face this 
intangible foe but the mist monsters simply stood there.  Sperr and Thog advanced to 
close with their opponents and were taken by surprise as the two crystal scorpions
emerged from the floor, behind them, and sent their stingers whipping forward.  Sperr
managed to twist away from serious injury, right into one of the mist monsters, and
he, too, collapsed in agony.  Thog never had a chance, the crystal scorpion attacking 
her sent its razor-sharp stinger completely through the Klingon.  Impaled on the
monster's stinger, Thog managed to crash her sword down on the back of the creature,
snapping off the stinger and sending the beast skittering away.  The second one, 
recovered from its failed assault on Sperr, turned to threaten Thog with its pincher-
claws.  Thog desperately tried to raise herself off of her knees, using her sword
for leverage, but there seemed to be no strength left in her body.  Sperr, seeing his
lover threatened, even through his pain, managed to throw his sword at the monster,
snapping off one of its pincher-claws.  The beast turned towards the now defenseless
Shuttlebay Chief.  
	Seetamyn had managed to regain some of his strength and stepped forward, casting
a spell.  A wall of stone appeared between Sperr and the advancing crystal scorpion.
However, this wall would not stand, long.  Seetamyn had manifested the wall at a 45 
degree angle and, even as it was materializing, it was falling on the scorpion.
It landed on it with a resounding 'crash', shards of crystal scattering everywhere.
	Mantron and Ustrano had, by this time, managed to shake off the effects of
the mist monsters' attacks.  Ustrano flipped one of his halberds at the wounded 
scorpion, pinning it to the floor.  It began to phase into the stone and away from
the weapon, but Mantron let loose a "Stone to Flesh" spell at it.  It appeared that 
it must have been particularly vulnerable during its phasing, because it seemed to
melt into a jelly-like ooze.  Mantron and Ustrano then rolled apart, towards the walls
of the room, the mist monsters left between them.  They each loosed a "Fireball" spell
which impacted on the creatures.  When the smoke cleared, the mist monsters were left 
in the center of the room, seemingly unharmed.  Sperr had moved Thog back to the East 
wall where Pish was tending to her with another of the wondrous healing potions.  
M'Dral stood guard over them although she doubted if her puny arrows would do much 
damage to any of these opponents.  Sperr, after making sure there was nothing further 
he could do for Thog, retrieved his longsword and moved forward to join Seetamyn, 
Ustrano, and Mantron who were regrouping.
	"Any thoughts?" asked Mantron.
	"Too bad we can't just blow them away," growled Sperr.
	Mantron, Ustrano and Seetamyn looked at each other - it couldn't be that easy, 
could it?  Figuring 'what the heck' the three each cast a "Hurricane" spell at the 
mist monsters.  The three spells combined in unpredictable ways, creating winds of
over 300 kilometers per hour with shears and opposing currents.  The mist monsters
were, literally, blown to shreds.  When the spells' duration had expired, there was
nothing left of their opponents.
	Meanwhile, Banjo was having the time of his life.  He had closed with the 
skeletal warrior, his scythe at the ready.  The man of bone had stood there, unmoving
until suddenly bringing his shield forward.  A bright light shot forth from the shield,
striking Banjo's eyes and blinding him!  <<Gee,>> he thought, <<its a good thing 
that I can make more of those,>> as he simply absorbed the ruined orbs and extruded
a new set.  <<Now to get down to business!>>  Banjo leapt and brought his scythe
around in a wicked curve.  The skeletal warrior caught the blow on his shield and 
brought his own weapon down in a deadly overhead blow.  Banjo flowed away from the
sword and extruded a pseudopod out of his body to punch the warrior in the skull.
The yellow glow coming from the warrior's empty eye sockets flared red, momentarily,
as anger flickered at his consciousness.  Banjo and the warrior danced across the
room, trading blow after blow.  Banjo, as often as not, would finish up a combination
by punching, slapping or otherwise annoying the warrior.  Finally the yellow glow
was completely replaced by red and, discarding his shield, the skeletal warrior went 
into a berserk fury.  He rained down blows faster than the eye could follow, but his 
every attack was met and returned in kind by the Changeling.  After one particularly 
violent exchange, two of the monster's ribs were sent flying as Banjo performed a
back flip over a wild sword-swing and brought his scythe around too quickly for the
warrior to parry.  From then on, it was all but over.  With every exchange, Banjo 
cut off a bone here, or a bone there.  The skeletal warrior, now completely off-balance
and desperate, launched himself at Banjo, discarding his sword, which he now lacked
sufficient bones to grasp, and biting at the Security Chief.  Smiling, Banjo allowed 
the creature to get a good mouthful of his 'flesh.'  With barely a thought, he then 
expanded that 'flesh' inside the warrior's mouth, exploding his skull and finishing 
the battle.
	With the destruction of its guardian, the altar seemed to know it was finished.
The colored pools of light, which had disappeared when the skeletal warrior had jumped
off the altar, suddenly reappeared.  This time they didn't dance around, however.
The pools all came together in a massive, prismatic display, merging into a pure white
beam that impacted the symbol on the wall.  Suddenly, everything was bright white.
The intensity of the glare was almost more than the victorious crewmembers could stand.
	And then it began to dim.  Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the glare lessened.
It became apparent that the light had a source.  That source was a pinpoint of pure,
white energy in the middle of the room.  As the intensity continued to subside,
the energy source took on the appearance of a small ball, floating in mid air.  
The Sixth and final Sphere of Power was theirs.  Seetamyn stepped forward and claimed 
their prize and, as he touched it, the eight weary warriors found themselves back
on board the Menagerie.  
	B1 and B2, who had assumed command when the rest of the senior staff had 
vanished, turned from their Science Console as Mantron, M'Dral, Banjo and Seetamyn
materialized on the Bridge.  Apparently Sphere Six had a sense of humor, as they were
as still outfitted in their medieval garb.  Seetamyn checked in with Sickbay, Main
Engineering and Shuttlebay One to verify that everyone, had in fact returned.  
Doctor Pish informed him that Commander Thog had materialized with her, in Sickbay,
and that she would be keeping the Klingon down there for observation.  Pish also
requested that the Captain come down for a checkup at his earliest convenience, since
he, too, had sustained serious injuries while on this Quest.  Seetamyn assured her that
he would drop by as soon as he was able.  Taking his seat, he turned to Mantron and
ordered, "Take us home, for good,Lieutenant."
	"There is no need, Sir," Mantron replied, surprised.  "We are already back
in the Omega Configuration!"
	"We never left it," chimed in the Bynars.
	"What do you mean?" asked the Vulcan.
	"After the Fifth Quest, we came through the return portal just fine.  As soon
as we fully emerged, however, the eight of you just vanished.  We put the ship into
a standard orbit, as you had always done, before, and awaited your return.  The Fifth 
Sphere made its way down to where it was that they go and we have been waiting here 
for five days."
	Suddenly, the bridge was bathed in the light of ultimate joy and a voice
like a thousand celestial choirs sounded,

	At last!  My/Our wait of 200 centuries is over!  My/Our friends!  You have
	exceeded my/our most optimistic expectations!  To be able to breathe the 
	sweet air of Foreena, again!  To see the sun rise and set!  Joy - thy name
	is OverMind!
	
	"Sir," piped up Mantron from his Helm station, "I believe the OverMind is
aware of our return."
	"That will be all, Lieutenant," reprimanded Seetamyn, lightly.
	
	Captain, my/our gratitude is boundless!  Now, when may we begin?
	
TO BE CONTINUED...