How Can I Be Expected to Earn a Living While Also Following an Ethical Moral Code?

So there I was, surveying the warehouse I meant to rob. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark figure with a shock of white hair dart into an alley. It was a bad day. I wanted to get to the top of a tall building to get a better look at the warehouse, and I failed to scale it multiple times. I hope no girls were watching. I need less booze and more active capers beneath the light of the moon and the stars. (Alas, I can't. I'll get to it later.) I also had the nagging sense that I was slipping into my old ways, after having been on a relatively righteous path up until that point. Still, owing a substantial debt spurred me on to shady criminal action. Knowing that we were being tailed, it seemed unwise to go through with the warehouse job in the middle of the day. (Especially since we were being shadowed and warehouse security was at its weakest during the morning shift change.)
 
As bad a day as it was, I wasn't born the day previous. After some debate, Scorch, Marlaia, and I decided to hide out at a bar and see if our tail would follow us inside. It seems that they knew we would resort to this tactic. They left a note that I should check out something called the Eyecatcher and also some kind of eye patch. It reminded me of my father. I had an inkling of an idea that this would be the kind of thing Mizzana would pull, but I laughed it off as an absurdity. This Eyecatcher is probably another den of scoundrels and lowlives looking to steer me back away from my path towards being a respectable, upstanding person. (Yes, I know that said path is tenuous and rife with mortal peril.)
 
We finished up at the bar and made our way back to the Brass Dragon. Urku, Igris, and Daara arrived not long after we did. It seems they had a fruitful journey and brought us a somewhat lucrative missing person case. The only catch was that the Zintarum had taken the same job and we had to beat them to the punch. Easy enough. Those that we'd run across hadn't been that tough or smart.
 
When I brought up our plan to rob the warehouse the next morning, Urku wasn't pleased. He was of the persuasion that those riches should go to their rightful owners. I was of the persuasion that we were the rightful owners of those riches. I tried to convince him that we deserved at least a sizable cut of the treasure. After all, the owners of the goods should count themselves lucky to get anything at all back. They were lucky that the Zintarum didn't just divvy the goods up amongst themselves and sell it all for traveler's dust. In the end though, I came around to Urku's way of thinking.
 
The slum lords of the Field Ward love their gold. The rent is far too much for accommodations being offered there. If you're a day late or a nib short, they have no problem throwing you out into the mud. Most business owners (from all over Waterdeep) aren't any different from those slum lords. They sell their goods at a steep markup while they pay their employees less than what they need to live. (The workers fight hard for every nib of this money. For Ilmater's sake, look at Loraleth. She's worked herself to the bone her whole life and has practically nothing to show for it.) I guess my point is that, in a world like this, is it really so bad to just reach out and take whatever it is you need? Everyone with any wealth seems to have done so in some way or another. What makes burglary any worse than employing people at slave wages? What makes reclaiming lost treasure any worse than price hikes for food, clean water, and shelter? Illithids are nasty. So are chromatic dragons and beholders. Still, I can't think of any beast nastier or hungrier than the market and the cruel despots who have mastered it.
 
I guess I owe it to myself and the people in my orbit to be better. I have to rise above my own greed and the circumstances in my life that created that greed. With my skills as an investigator and with the Brass Dragon, I have a real chance at climbing out of the muck and bringing everyone that I possibly can with me. I guess it's best not to let my hunger for treasure interfere with these goals. (And yes, there's a good chance I'll wind up broke, but at least getting there will still be fun.)
 
The next morning, I had a chat with Eustace Stagget over in the dock ward. I'm sure he loved having his breakfast interrupted by a scruggy lout like me. I asked him about the guy we were after (Dasher Snowbeetle), and he pointed me to the Endshift Tavern over in the Field Ward. After a lengthy inner struggle, I decided to tell Stagget about the loot on Candle Lane. I thought that maybe he would see that it found its way to where it belonged. Of course, there's a good chance he'll divvy it up with his cronies and spend it all on traveler's dust.
 
I headed back to the Brass Dragon on my way north, and told everyone where I was going and why. They decided to go with me. (Before we left Marlaia stopped me and talked about some encounter she had with a little ghost girl. I empathized with her fear as I had a similar encounter not that long ago. I told her that our ghostly staff was likely holding information from us.) I was glad to have them along, and not just because I enjoy their company. We made it to the Field Ward without much problem. I headed directly for the Endshift. As soon as I stepped in, Loraleth's brother, Taldit became aware of my arrival. He's been training to get into the Watch and he doesn't like me very much. He did everything he could to dig into me. I try to be careful what I say to Taldit. I can be 100 percent certain that anything I say to him will make it back to his lovely sister, and I have a hard enough time staying on her good side. Gods, he's annoying. Captain Armstrong wasn't any more pleasant. I didn't have much luck talking to him. My scaly friends were able to get through to him, though. He said that Shardrunners (a gang that I'd heard Snowbeetle might've been involved with) might be found at a hostel on Spice Street in the Dock Ward. One guy in the Dock Ward sends you all the way to the Field Ward. The guy in the Field Ward sends you all the way back to the Dock Ward. That's guards for you. Scorch used a spell to make it seem like Armstrong pooed himself and then retreated into the ring when he was found out. It was amusing.
 
While we were in the Field Ward I decided it would be a good idea to see if my father perhaps knew anything about the shardrunners. He lived in the criminal world for a long time, and even though he runs his business as cleanly as he can, he is still very much connected to criminal elements. Along the way, my companions picked up a stray beggar suffering from some disease or another. They managed to cure him, but he was without his memory, so he came with us. Dad offered me pretty much the same information that Armstrong did. I felt foolish for going to the guards first. At least Dad seemed to get along alright with my new companions. I told him to lead the Zintarum astray should they come in. I also told him to tell Taldit to go fuck himself if he saw the little shit. If he does, it'll still get back to Loraleth, but at least I won't be in trouble. It was around this time that Dad brought up Mizzana and I hastily shrugged it off. I'm still having a hard time working out how I feel about Mizzana, and Loraleth makes these things doubly difficult. I really don't like thinking about it. One day, I might have to deal with it. I'm not looking forward to it.
 
Anyways, we decided to take our new charge south to a temple of Ilmater. I didn't mind so much because Ilmater is one of the gods I actually like. It's been a while since I tried to speak to him. Unfortunately, on the way there, we were ambushed by the Zintarum. They rained hell on us from the rooftops while their armored captain blocked our escape. The kobolds and I lauched a three pronged attack on the captain while the others casted spells at the rooftop archers. It was a nasty fight. Our enemies were tough, numerous, tactical, and murderous. The kobolds did a number on the captain, and I scored the flashy killing blow. I saw crossbows turn on me, and ran for my life. One of them put a bolt in my neck, and again, I found myself in the gutter, dying. Because my father brought up Mizzana, my mind drifted to one of the last noble parties we crashed. We were out on a balcony, under the stars. I had a glass of wine. She (having shared an unfortunate night of drinking with me years prior,) had a wine glass full of clear water. I said something, I can't remember what, and she smiled.
 
Thankfully, I have more than one person who likes me enough to snatch me from the jaws of death. I'm not in good shape. I have wounds that are bleeding through my clothes and I can't move but to stagger, but we're headed to a temple of Ilmater. Perhaps something can be done there.