Bandit recognizes Lectrus’s lamp from her own experiences with it, and so she knows that “You’re no better than me” and “I’m going to make you pay for this” are lies, even if Jemmington doesn’t yet know they’re lies. She recognizes a lot of herself in Jemmington, from the misfit status to the thieving impulse to the bitterness. And while she’s still bitter about her ex-squad, she can offer Jemmington some advice that would’ve helped her in her younger days.

Bandit’s group took nothing from this “heist” except the orcs to free them, so it’s a totally nonprofit venture—a loss-leader, if you count labor costs. Her warning to Jemmington means that they will be looting other slave-owning travelers, if only to support their continued operations. But just now, Bandit gains more from leaving the ring behind than she would from taking it. She’s more than a thief. And she doesn’t need Peacemaker status to prove that.

(I did try one last time to sneak in one of Bandit’s squad members referring to her as “Command’r Keynes” or just “Keynes” to drive home the point, that she had shed the designation “Bandit” even if she was still putting her thief skills to use. I don’t remember why Flo nixed this, but she had other tweaks for this part; we may just not have had room. Can’t win ’em all!)

FB: Bandit’s a good enough thief that she can occasionally give up a valuable just to prove a point. It’s not that consequential to her bottom line… really, it’s just a Tolkien gesture.