With the bugbear rather gruesomely defeated, the door to the teleportation circle's room unlocked. Miss Sable picked up the body of the deceased adventurer, and we left the now-conquered dungeon behind.
I followed Miss Sable to a village a half-day's walk from the dungeon, receiving further survival advice from her along the way.
At the village, we were met by the family who had hired Miss Sable to recover their child. It was... a very emotional reunion. Miss Sable did make some small attempt at comforting them, though truth be told, I thought I detected a hint of boredom in her manner, as though this was just another day like any other for her. She excused herself quickly after receiving her pay, ostensibly to give the family space to grieve, though she was most likely just exhausted by the interaction.
For me, however, the scene caused me to feel keenly just how awful things would have been had Miss Sable not rescued me. As scary as dying was, at least for me it would have been final. But for my family and friends... they were the ones who would have to live on with the memory of me, and of where my foolishness had gotten me.
I decided I would return home first thing in the morning to tell everyone I loved them.
As for the jerks who abandoned me, we hadn't encountered them since the hobgoblin incident. If they weren't still in the dungeon, they probably returned to the city we had initially set out from.
I would just have to give them a piece of my mind some other day then. Assuming nothing had happened to them.
...Upset as I was, I couldn't bring myself to wish misfortune upon them. Not after what I had just witnessed.
After spending the night in the village, Miss Sable and I parted ways. She had her own matters to attend to, and as for me, well... I intended to continue as an adventurer, but tackling dungeons could wait until I was better prepared.