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[Jon Potter]

Maleko raised his wand and spoke the command word sending four Magic Missiles arcing unerringly into the cloaked figure's chest. The man yelped and tumbled out of the doorway. Cerrakean slipped passed Jinissi and headed into the spider ship after him.

The interior of the deathspider was lit only dimly by light from the doorway and from an interior chamber to the center right. The bulk of the chamber was taken up by strapped down cargo, so much of it that Cerrakean did not have an unobstructed view of the far side of the room despite the fact that it was only about forty feet across. The cloaked man was not ten feet from the door, clutching at his chest where Maleko's magic had struck him.

"You want to dance, pasty?" she asked, taking a step toward him. Then she noticed the second figure - the twin of the first in every way - moving amidst the boxes of cargo.

He stood and, waving a feather, said, "An orc walks into a bar with a parrot on his shoulder and the bartender says: 'Wow, that's really neat. Where'd you get it?'...'In Mordor,' the parrot replies. 'They're all over the place down there!"

Cerrakean felt the magic take hold of her mind, despite the lingering echo of Del's instructions to not fall prey to such attacks. Lips twitching she dropped to her knees and from there to her side where she lay, clutching her stomach and twisting with laughter that sounded more like shrieks of pain than mirth.

Lying on the floor, she saw a third figure step out of the inner room. She was short with dark hair and had her face painted to resemble a skull. Four fist-sized spheres of light floated around the woman's head, and Cerrakean saw gems of various colors glittering in her hair.

"We've got more trouble," the woman said over her shoulder. Then she drew a scimitar and started forward.

All Cerrakean could do was watch her come.

Then she was suddenly lying outside on the balcony and Del was standing where she'd been. The skull-faced woman looked surprised as the half-elf appeared and swept his longsword around in an arc that connected with her midsection, drawing a bloody line across her belly. She tried to invoke some kind of magical protection but nothing happened and she shrieked in pain instead.

"You'll pay for that, pirate!" she snarled, green eyes flashing in the glow from her floating lights. Del saw them flick toward something behind him and then he heard Jinissi hiss to his left. She threw a dagger at one of the two men and it nicked his arm before sailing off into the darkness beyond.

Outside on the balcony, Maleko knelt beside Cerrakean and quickly checked her over. There was nothing he could do for her, unfortunately.

"It's Tasha's Hideous Laughter," he told the hobgoblin. "Try to remain as calm as you can. It shouldn't last long." Then he stood and hurried toward the open doorway Peering around the corner, he saw the lizard woman scuttling into the shadows behind some crates to his left while ahead and to the right Del squared off against a woman wearing a cloak trimmed in cloth-of-gold and cut in style that had been popular half a decade ago. On his far right, he saw the man he'd earlier injured casting a spell and looking at Del.

Before Maleko could issue a warning, a translucent bone-white fiddle bow appeared behind Del and sank into his flesh. It tried to saw back and forth, as if attempting to play him like a fiddle, but the half-elf was made of sterner stuff than expected and the spell dissipated without effect.

"You'll have to do better than that, neogi scum!" Del shouted at the spellcaster, while never taking his eyes off the woman before him. Or rather he didn't until the angel stepped out of the inner room. Then his eyes did stray.

The angel was dressed in armor the metallic green of a fly's belly with a glowing brand in one hand and a shield that reflected that light like a mirror in the other. Wings of platinum-gilt feathers arched from his shoulders seeming to glow in their own right. His eyes were like two tiny green lanterns set in an inhumanly perfect face as he regarded the scene with a grim scowl.

"What new treachery is this?" he growled. "Speak quickly, raiders, or be judged solely on your actions!"

Del felt the immediate, icy fingers of doubt tighten in his gut. He lowered his sword slowly, confusion playing across his face. How could a celestial be in league with the neogi slave traders?

The angel squared his shoulders and stood tall, striding forward into the fray as if he had no doubt that he would be respected. He was actually a little shorter than Del, but his presence was immense; he seemed to fill the room.

"Jinissi, are these Neogi?" Maleko hissed from the doorway. But he could no longer see the lizard woman. She had vanished amidst the shadows and if she replied or even heard him he did not know.

“Yield now! I am an Officer of Umba and you will face my justice,” he said, raising the burning brand, which Del now saw was actually a glowing morningstar. The half-elf's eyes swept the room, searching out the woman with the skull painted face he had just slashed. She was breathing heavily a pace or two behind the celestial, clutching her abdomen and glowering hatefully at Del.

“Choose now, for my judgment will be swift if your intentions are not made clear,” the angel warned, his eyes burning into Del like emerald fire.
Confused, Del noted and reviewed the reactions of those they had just encountered.

It was possible...

Maleko was quicker with his response.

"We thought you to be hostile towards the ship we were on and went to explore to protect our interests," the elf said, stepping into the ship slowly, his hands at his side. "Neogi are feared tryants and you are using their ship. Any creature who rides in this type of ship will draw the wrath of many races based on their reputation. We are men of peace on a quest to find some of our men from the prime material plane."

“Fool… drop your weapon and silence yourself," the celestial commanded. "Do you honestly think an Officer of Umba would use a foul transport such as this? Why do you think you find it barren so?”

Maleko's mouth opened slightly and his eyes darted around in their sockets as he mentally put together the Officer of Umba's words with the evidence they'd seen so far.

“I will not ask again," the celestial said, grim-faced. "Yield!”

They did and the celestial lowered his morningstar.

"That's it?" one of the cloaked men scoffed.

"Did you see what they did to J'inn?" the other asked, incredulous. "And just look at your sorceress!"

The angel turned his head slightly to regard the woman and his features softened to show genuine concern. "Ixin, are you well?" he asked.

"I'll live, Ayremac," she said, casting a contemptuous glance at Del made all the more menacing by virtue of her face paint. "The saurivaecaesin got a lucky hit in. It's only a flesh wound." The Officer of Umba nodded and Del drew a Potion of Cure Light Wounds from his belt, offering it to the dark-haired woman.

"Perhaps this will ease your pain?" he said and Ayremac turned an appraising eye on him.

"We will hear from these men," the celestial said. "And we will learn of their intentions. And then we will pass judgement."