The Morality System

Abigail and I appeared outside the dungeon, about 20 feet from the entrance. Henry and Stu were waiting outside, but as soon as they saw us, their faces widened in shock.

"Holy shit. You actually did it? You actually defeat the dungeon boss? Or did you just run past it to the teleporter?" Henry said.

"Can you actually do that? Wouldn't the teleporter not work until the boss is dead?" I said.

"Kid, how would I know? I've never completed a dungeon. This is the only dungeon I've ever run and most of them ended in me running away from an enemy I didn't think I could beat," he said.

"That's fair I suppose. I have to ask though, what happened with Lloyd? I'm not pointing any fingers or looking to blame anyone. I mean more like, how did he get one shot or two shot by that troll? I thought you guys would have decent stats," I said.

"Kid, we're strength primary C and D-rankers. We deal high damage, but our hp is shit, and we can't dodge. We're mainly good at smacking down slow enemies with low attack damage. Lloyd was a D-ranker so he couldn't gain any stamina or agility stats from the cores we collected, not that we were allowed to absorb cores, except for the bare minimum required to do our jobs," he said.

"My strength is 203 and Lloyd's was probably somewhere between 150 and 160. Not that high, but keep in mind, that's our best stat. You know stamina? The stat that gives you hp and durability? The only way any of us could increase our stamina is through training and we got none of that from the company."

"I was just handed a sword on day one, given a handful of strength cores, and told to go fight. And none of us have time outside of work and taking care of our families to do training."

"The only stamina stats I've gained are on the job just from swinging the sword so much. I'm looking at my stats now and it says my stamina is 106. Consider Lloyd's was probably around 104 and there's your answer. We basically all have day-one stamina stats. It's a miracle we haven't died already. We're mercenaries. Our careers don't last long and they usually end bloody."

"When you put it like that, it makes total sense," I said. "I'm sorry for pushing you for an answer. I was just so shocked by Lloyd's death. I thought you all were safe and we'd work together for a long time, and then one of you is just gone."

"Hey kid, it's alright. I get the instinct to search for answers. I also get not being used to seeing a friend die, even if you only knew them for a few hours. It's something you learn to not look for solutions and just accept. And the deaths aren't so bad after a while. You get used to it," he said.

"That's not right though. If the company had tried harder to keep you alive with training and better equipment, Lloyd might still be alive," I said.

"It's not right. But there's nothing we can do about it. We're at the bottom of the ladder and shit always falls down," Henry said, sighing and rubbing his neck.

"Now, let's go sell this loot so you don't have to lug around all this extra weight. It would be better to give to Lloyd's family in money form too. What are they gonna do with a bunch of crystals besides just selling them at the market themselves? And they'll probably get a worse price since they aren't mercenaries."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. I was disappointed that things had to be this way, but as Henry said this may be the only option. I'd keep my mind open to other possibilities though.

"Sounds fun! I've always wanted to know how the other half lived," Abigail said.

"What, are you some rich kid turned bum? Why are you down here slumming it with the common folk?" Stu said.

"I'm a—" she started to say, but I covered her mouth.

"She ran away from home," I said. "It would be a huge scandal for her family if anyone found out she was missing. That's why she can't tell you her family name. Right, Allison?"

I turned to Abigail so only she could see my face, and I winked at her. Hard.

"Is something in your eye, Tom?" Abigail said.

"Allison, you know I don't like being called that. Use my real name, Jarnathan," I said. Then I leaned in really close so I was whispering in Abigail's ear. "We don't want them to know who we really are. They might turn us in for a reward. And I wouldn't blame them if they did."

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, Jarnathan! I always forget you hated that nickname," she said.

"Your name is Jarnathan?" Stu said. "What kind of name is that?"

"It's a new fancy upper city name. You probably wouldn't have heard of it," I said.

"Well, Jarnathan, we're here. At the market. So keep your eyes peeled and don't let anyone pick your pockets or steal your bags or coin purse. You'll never get it back," Henry said.

"Good to know," I said. "Do you have control over that bubble?" I pointed at the large bubble containing and carrying the treasure chest full of crystals.

"Yeah. I can prevent people from taking it," Abigail said.

"Good. Put a bubble over your other stuff too, so people can't take those either," I said, looking around.

"Done!" She said.

"Ok. We're all set, Henry. Lead us to whoever is going to take these off our hands," I said.

"Follow me," Henry said.

We arrived at a very fancy-looking stall. At least fancy compared to all the other stalls in this marketplace. Maybe not upper-city fancy, but it was definitely lower-city fancy.

It had all kinds of different trinkets, baubles, potions, and crystals displayed. There was only one version of each potion and crystal displayed, and they didn't look very authentic. The only way I could tell what they were supposed to be was from the labels underneath and in front of them.

I was wondering why he would put fake items on display when a kid rushed by and snatched a fake potion off his display. The man didn't even react with a facial expression.

He said nothing and just reached under the counter, pulled out an identical fake potion, and replaced the stolen one on the display. So that was why he didn't have authentic merchandise out in the open.

When he saw Henry, and the rest of us his face lit up, and he said, "Henry! Good to see you again my friend." His eyes fell onto the treasure chest.

"You're not selling scraps this time I see. I'm excited to see what you got. Good day, I assume." He looked at me and Abigail. "Welcome! My name is Bobbin, and this is my shop, Bobbin's Baubles and More!"

He had warm brown skin, striking white hair, and a jovial smile. He wore traditional merchant's garb, and by that I mean he was dressed the same as any of the merchants in this square. I didn't actually know what merchants normally dressed like here since I got here yesterday.

"Nice to meet you, Bobbin. I'm Jarnathan, and this is Allison," I said.

"Nice to meet you Jarnathan, but let the lady speak for herself," he said, looking Abigail up and down. I could tell he was interested in creating an excuse to stare at Abigail's features, rather than anything to do with respecting women, but I let it slide.

"It's ok, Mr Bobbin, but as… Jarnathan said, my name is Allison, and… well, that's all he said," Abigail said.

"Marvelous to meet you, Allison," Bobbin said while taking Abigail's hand and kissing it.

Allison pulled her hand back and giggled at that. I couldn't tell if it was an actual giggle or a discomfort one. I know how I'd feel, but I didn't want to assume her feelings.

"Stu, good to see you as well," Bobbin nodded in Stu's direction. "So, what do you have for me today?"

Abigail set the chest on the counter of his stall. Bobbin carefully opened the chest and what he saw inside made his jaw drop wide open.