Michael's problem -- really his whole party's problem -- is one that pops up now and again in D&D campaigns and in game-related fiction (maybe most infamously in Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series, when the celestial is willing to bring only one of three dead party members back to life, even though they are on a mission to save the world). The party tromps through some benighted hell-hole, comes upon an imprisoned celestial creature, braves deadly dangers, traps and guardians to free it, and maybe even loses one or more characters in the process. Rather than showing gratitude, the celestial cops an attitude, grudgingly offers some minimal reward or assistance, then disappears.
