by Gene Roddenberry, may he rest in peace.Copyright 2004.Star Traks: Melting PotThe Quests for the Six Spheres of Power - Part 7"Elemental Temple of the Elder God"by Paul CloutierThe gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.- Albert EinsteinIntroduction This episode draws heavily from the "Earth Temple of the Elder Elemental God"a publically available module written for TSR's ADM. RokuskieThroughout their Quests to retrieve the Spheres of Power, the crew of the USSMenagerie have been thrust into situations that have tested their compassion,reasoning ability, ability to adapt to unique situations and willingness tosacrifice their needs and wants for the greater good. The Spheres have set upthese situations in order to determine if the residents of the Milky Way galaxywere mentally, physically and spiritually ready to welcome the Foreenans backinto 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 theOverMind. The OverMind was able to scan the minds and computers of the Menagerieduring their first encounter. Drawing on that knowledge, each of the Spheres hascreated the perfect test environment it their own 'pocket dimensions.'The other possibility is that each other the 'pocket dimensions' allows some amountof 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 completly possible and it is left to the reader todetermine which 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. Whatmay 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 withtruly 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. Itisn't annoyed. It isn't even happy to finally be retrieved. No, Sphere Six doesn'tfeel any particular emotion at the prospect of being rescued. You see, Sphere Sixis 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 determinedthat 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 fora 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 hasbeen 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 passthe time. If the Players survive the Game, the Sphere will willingly return toForeenan Four. If the first batch of Players is killed, it will simply grab anotherbatch. After all, it has the entire crew complement of a starship to Play with.Now, let the Games begin...Seetamyn Wizard - 12/Fighter 7 (Mace)Thog Fighter - 12 (Two-handed Sword)Banjo Thief - 11/Fighter 8 (Scythe)Ustrano Wizard - 10/Fighter 10 (Halberd))Mantron Cleric - 11 (Offense) (Staff) (Monk?)M'Dral Fighter - 9 (Bow)Sperr Fighter - 10 (Long Sword)Pish Cleric - 11 (Healing/Protection) For just a brief, tantalizing moment, the Menagerie reappeared in orbitaround the six planetoids that made up Foreena Four. Then, before anyone could makeany move, or even cry out, a new portal openned immediately before the ship, and theywere dragged through. Seetamyn saw his bridge dissolving before his eyes and then... Seetamyn found himself in a mist-swathed somewhere. He could not make outany 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 notbe sure. What he was sure of was that his Starfleet uniform had been replaced byan rather uncomfortable, armor-like suite of what appeared to be leather. At hiship was hung an evil-looking mace. Over the leather, he was wearing a vest that, uponcloser examination, was found to contain numerous pockets. Each of these pocketsseemed to contain small pinches of materials both obscure and mundane. Flexing hisshoulders, he discovered the presence of a backpack. Swinging the pack off, he foundseveral books containing pages of parchment and many small, stoppered vials. He nextdiscovered, on his fingers, several unusual rings. Of course, any jewelry was unusualfor 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 noticedforms moving towards him in the mist. For some reason his hand dropped to the hilt ofhis mace as if to draw the weapon. As the forms came closer, the mists parted toreveal Thog, Banjo, Ustrano, Mantron, M'Dral, Sperr and Pish. Each was similarlyoutfitted with ancient weaponry and equipment. Thog seemed to be pleased with her sword which she held unsheathed in herhands, swishing it back and forth. Seetamyn had meant to speak to her about herbehaviour during the Quest for the Fifth Sphere, but the unplanned immediacy of theirtrip 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 contactwith Starfleet had weighed heavily on several members of the crew and he was certainthat, 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 groupof 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 thischallenge! Merely defeat my monsters, traps and puzzles and I shall be yours. Failand death herself is your reward. Now! Onward, adventureres!" "Excuse me," broke in Banjo, "but this sword is unsuitable. I'd like my scytheif 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 appearedon the ground in front of him. He scooped it up almost tenderly and tossed the swordhe had been wearing over to Ustrano who, with only a halberd, was looking decidedlyunder-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 takeseemed obvious. With little choice, the party started up the path. Seetamyn realizedthat he suddenly knew what each of the little pockets contained and what the contents could be used for. Likewise, he knew the purpose of the vials and other items in hisbackpack. 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 ofsudden comprehension flash onto the faces of his companions. So, the Sphere was playingthis fair - taking away their advanced weaponry but giving them the knowlegde to usewhat it had given them in return. That meant that they had a fighting chance. 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 acheive 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 opened. "Thewalls around us have been worked as has the ground. We should scout, ahead tosee what might be waiting for us." "No problem," replied Banjo, oosing 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 hewas indistinquishable from the mountainside. The rest the group waited anxiouslyfor his return. After severaltens minutes, the Changeling Secuity Chief re-appeared, seming toooze out of the ground in front of them. As everyone's pulse returned to normal andBanjo 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 areaproxiately 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 anyintruders. This trail has been set up as a kill zone." "O.K. that's not a problem," assured Seetamyn, much to the surprise of therest of the group. "I seem to have the ability to cast magic spells, one of whichseems to be a spell of "Mass Invibilty"," 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."
"Very well," Ustrano acknowledged the two other spell-casters with a lick of his tentacles. Here's what we'll do..."
The guards around the entrance 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 leaer appeared to be the tallest elf that any f them had ever seen. He was accompanied by three others. Two of these were nondescript humans. The third was a different story. It must have been some sort of demon, they decided becuase none of them had ever seen such a creature. Their chagrin was short llived, however as the elf , the demon and one of the humans made wierd 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 siezed boulders in thier hands and huled tham at the intruders. The female intruder darted forward, her fingers drawing intricate patterns in the air, and the boulders suddenly reversed thier flight, zooming back towards the guards. Two were unfortunate enough to be smashed by their 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 four them. Three waded into battle immediately, two with swords and a third wih an strange bladed weapon. The fourth invader stood back an 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 ben killed and the invaders were virtually untouched. Thog had recieved 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 congradulate each other for several minutes. Finally, he spoke up, "We won this battle becuase 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 best use of our abilities."
Chastened by these sober words, the others ceased their celebration to work out what the Capatain had called thier 'marching order.' It was finally decided that Ustrano and Bajo would take point while Thog and Sperr would be next, on the flanks. Seetamyn and Mantron would come next with M'Dral and Pish would be in the rear. This should allow everyone decnt freedom of movement while maximizing their effectiveness.
In the back of the cave a passageway headed deeper into the mountain, finally opening into a large room that appeared to be approximately forty feet by forty 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 tapestres were twenety 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 sudden flash of light and the three monsters were suddenly in the room with them! Seetamyn and Mantron immediately cast "Fireball" spells at the moster closest to them, turning it into a crispy critter. Thog charged the one closest to her, swinging her massive sword wildedly. Sperr, Banjo and M'Dral assisted her and soon the beast had been sliced and diced into bte-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 wit thm 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. They revealed two doors in the western wall of the room.
'Well, which one looks good?" asked Mantron. 
No visible paths let 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 cold 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 twenty feet the corridor opened into a very large room The room was oriented east-west and was about 65 feet wide and 59 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 unsusecting 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-slipting screech. The rest of the crew attacked the monster and soon it was dead. Seetamyn was on the floor admist the ltter of the room, a gash across his head had been apparently cuased 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, 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 t his feet, "Thank you, Doctor"
"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 Jntoo had been adminstering to Seetamyn, Thog and Sperr had found the room's exit. In th southwest corner of the room a door opened into a west bound corridor which was ten feet wide.
Resuming their original marching order, the party proceeded down the 35 foot long corridor, findng 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 dr ew a horn from his pocket and blew a piercing note, the effects of which were not immediately apparent. After tooting his horn, the seventh diner also headed for the door. Mantron and Seetamyn stepped to either side of the doorway and strano 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 qickly determined that there was another door, diagonally across the 75 by 35 foot room. They arrayed themselves to repel an assault by reinforcments from the oter door. Their preperations 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 fund himself frozen in place, blocking the doorway so that his companions could not get through. Mantron send a green cloud sailing trough the door, its caustic contents soon dissoving 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 sixty foot long passageway. The coridor ended at an open door, through which Ustrano could see several more of the tall, ugly humanoids. Rushing forward with a loud yell, he crashed into the midst of the humanoids before they could react and dealt out serious damage with his collection of weapons. Thog soon joined in with Sperr. Mantron and Seetamyn, prevented rom 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 th southwest corner and the room strethed 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 Ustarno made to ove to the door when Seetamyn stopp
ed 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 starway leading down. Suddenly, there was aloud boom and a ball of fire came shooting out of the stairway, headed for th 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 uncharateristic 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 initailly enering the dungeon boomed out again,"Only those foools ready to meet their doom would dare to enter the inner sanctun of Theleb!"
"anyone who would be a serious danger would waste energy with these silly threats," observed seetamyn, although whether this was meant to assure his crew or himself was uncertain.
The party enetered into a room wose dimensions almost exactly matched those of te room, above. This room was strewn with rocks and what appeared to be pertrified bones, as opposed to the boken furniture which had been so prevelant on the level, above. At the foot of the stairs, the party pause to re-establish their normal marching order. They then proceeded to move into the room. Suddenly, several of wat had appeare to be merel 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 opponnt 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 inuries at present, Seetamyn's early 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 few several minutes and then opened it quietly. Beyond the door the party found an "L" shaped room. The remains of what appeared to be barracks were scattered throughout the room and bones were scattered around, too. Ustran 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 the room. 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 ocupants 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 ith 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 ay real damag, but niether could the creature reach him. He, at least, managed to keep the creature occupied. Setamyn 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 teh 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 th beasts while M'Dral managed to wound the final beast with an arrow. Sperr qickly spun to Thog's aid and quickly dispatched the two beasts that were mauling his lover. Dropping his sword to the ground, he fell to 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 the M'Dral had woundd. 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 Thogs bleeding slowed and, then stopped. Mantron hurried over and wove a complex path through the air wit 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 wonds mened. 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,"opinioned 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 tw 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 te northeast corner of the room. The narrow corridor travelled north for twenty feet and then turned to the east. After another twenty-five feet the corridor ended in another door. Ustrano paused, listening, but he obviously detected noting, 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. In 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, eqilatoral triangle, trisected by an inverted "Y", making three interior triangle 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 is merciful, if you will pay 10,000 gold pieces for each ofyourselfs 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 generousity of the all-powerful lord back in his teeth!' roared the spokesman. "You die!"
The six men flanking the thone drew their weapons and charged the party. Just before they reached striking distance, there was a flash of light and the seven men were replaced by four giants!
Seetamyn immediately ordered, "Get to the west wall. Don't let them surround us." 
The crewmembers pivotted so that their backs were to the west wall and began to slowly back to 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 souteast corner was different from the others, and it was apparent that he was a magic user. Recoginizing 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 spels as the six advancing giants had reached striking range. 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 positins 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 revealled as he "Invisibility" spell was anulled by their offensive actions and the two looked like eerie spiders wrapping up supper. The giants were soon englfed 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 negigent 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 th 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 abandonned smithy, the group proceeded through a readily visible archway in the room's southeast corner. The hallway they found themselves in travelled 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 whiile they made thier way towards the exit door in the wall opposite the one they had entered by. Thy reached the door without incident. It opened into anoter 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 th eparty to fit in the room. Ustrano's bulk filled most of the available space. Banjo moved forward to look for a secret passageway, but 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 Bahjo flowed out of his ruined armor and the 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. Realzing 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 ofassurance 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 rubbe. Finally, the deed was done and the Velavattian slid victoriously over the pile of stone chips which was all that remained of the statues. Banjo again began his search and soon discovred 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 mosiac dominated the room. The litter that had been common on the upper levels was absent here. Instead, the walls were decored and carved columns and arches were prevelant. It was clear that this level was more active that 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 coridor?" 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, twisty 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 is 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 vguely humanoid pile of what appeared to mud burst through the bookcase and attacke dthe two. Before anyone cold react, Ustrano had been turned to stone! Mantron fell back and Seetamyn lauched his "Stone to Flesh" spell. 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 disppeare into the creature's bulk without inflicting any obvous damage.
Mantron regained his composure. With two of the party's three 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 Velattian's stony exterior chipped away, revealing a very angry Ustrano. The Velvattian launched himself at the mud-thing, all weapons flailing wildly. Within minuets, the entire room was splattered with mud, the creature reduced to slimey stains. Wiping off his dripping weapons with satisfaction, Ustrano surveyed his handiwork with satisfaction. Satisfaction which quickly turned to chagrin as he splatters of mudbegan 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 hurt bad,' she said. "I've managed to stabilize him, but nearly all of the vials in his backpack were shattered whe 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 heaing process began and Seetamyn strggled to regain onsciousness, mumbled phrases escaped his lips. Pish couldn't help but wonder what the fragment of Carl Jaroh's consciousness that had become stuck in the Capatin's mind thought of all this. she didn't have long to wonder as Seetamyn finally opened his eyes and the Captan's intellect was fully in control. "What is our status, Doctor," were the first words out of 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 tthere, 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 extradimensonal prison where this God is imprisoned. If th 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 interupt 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, ith a nod to Ustrano, Seetamyn indicated that they were moving out.