Nick went on and on, but as soon as the last words came out of his mouth, Bonnie smacked him across the face with her scepter. “Heal!” she shouted. She charged up the weapon again, this time striking Nick so hard across his chin that it sent him reeling back a few steps before disgracefully collapsing onto his backside. Despite the shocking ferocity of the blow, the magical light left the Healer’s tool and restored him back to full health. She stalked forward and stared down at Nick, who had fallen over onto the flat of his back. “There. Just had to make sure you weren’t still hurt from the fight.”

“You didn’t have to hit me so hard,” Nick said, reaching up to grasp his jaw where he had been struck. “I was just joking.”

“I think perhaps she did,” the princess affirmed. “Foul remarks invite foul actions, as kind words invite kind deeds. If you should wish for your companions to treat you better, learn to use better speech.”

“Boss . . .” Bonnie looked over at Lucas. Then, without saying a word out loud, she mouthed a single phrase. “Can I kill this girl?”

Lucas nearly died laughing as he shook his head. “What do you need, Bonnie? Was my payment insufficient?” he asked, looking over at Nick still dusting himself off as he stood up.

“No, I’m sure it’ll be enough,” Bonnie answered. “Anyway, what’s next?”

Lucas glanced over at the princess. Well, technically, I need to steal her to generate a quest, but . . . He paused and looked back to the battlefield, and he was unfortunately reminded of exactly how high the cost had been. Then, when his eyes flitted over the body of the city watch guard whom he had spoken with earlier, a notification popped up.

Quest Update: You have failed to protect the individual carrying the information you seek. Due to your failure, none of the other guards will assist you in this inquiry and will act as if none of them are aware of the information.

Lucas blinked. What?! He wanted to rage. He wanted to curse the stupid dead guy out in frustration. He hadn’t purposefully let the guard die. It had just happened. The lunatic went crazy and charged in irresponsibly. What the freaking hell, man?

“Boss?” Bonnie asked, resting a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?” She slowly lowered her hand to his shoulder blade.

“He died,” Lucas replied, pointing over at the man’s corpse. Stupid freaking AI, punishing me after the fact without even giving me a clear warning ahead of time. Lucas silently cursed, but he was more upset with the fact he had tried his best and still failed to save the guard.

“Oh. Well, uhh . . . can’t save them all?” Bonnie shrugged.