Being an addict doesn't really explain the behavior though. Addiction causes people to do bad things directly related to feeding that addiction. The selfish things Rick does often has little to do with feeding the addiction. It just has to do with being a selfish dick, which explains the name choice by Chyos (Rick-->Richard-->Dick). You don't need to kill someone to be a dick nor know about a witch. Sending your best friend who's parent was just killed in an orc infested forest immediately back into said orc infested forest at night merely to find basic shelter more than qualifies.
He really doesn't need to know about the witch to be concerned. Not even believing his best friend when he comes back to him with a problem he unintentionally caused by accidentally sending him to his rape is just more insult to injury. He doesn't lift his finger to help anyone, even when helping doesn't cost him a dime.
I honestly thought up until you find out what Thomas has been up to that his position was more understandable than Rick when he chose not to help MC. He's not MC's friend, and MC had an outstanding debt with him. Rick on the other hand just couldn't be bothered to stop partying for but long enough to help MC find a shelter before resuming partying there.
No, his addiction explain his behaviour perfectly. Not all people who has an addiction will act all the time with the interest of getting a shot, that's not how it works. And Rick gets a payment from his parents to fuel up his addiction, things would change if his parents cut the faucet, then we would see more that behaviour you talk about, like stealing shit, borrow money, scam others etc. He doesn't pay him a room because he want to save his money to pay up his addiction and tip the girl he wants to be near.
His name doesn't have to mean "being a dick", or a lot of people with the name Rick would have a really bad time. In some countries Rick means "brave leader". So it is not really an argument.
In real life people with addictions that have friends or "friends" do things like that to them, after all addict people are ill, sick and needs help before helping others, their mind and way of think is different from healthy people.There are documented cases, and research studies of this type of people.
So, let's put on their shoes, shall we.
Rick is an addict with all the repercussion that it has.(And he could lied about the shelter, just for the sake of not paying him the room, like and addict would do.)
The MC is an "addict" of somehow until he lost his family and everything he has.He is desperate,so desperate that he doesn't think about "going into a forest in the middle of the night, with orcs, predators, and who knows who wandering" if it is really a good idea. An idea that comes from a "friend" that has an addiction like him.
And if we go even further, there are more neighbours in Arenfield to ask for shelter, even the fucking Church (charity and all this shit) but instead he goes in the middle of the night to that place. I don't know man, I would think about it.
I think it is pretty clear the situation that the MC is not in his right mind and Rick too.
So if your desperate friend with an addiction, comes to you, saying that he went in the middle of the night, with all the dangers, that he found the cottage that it "supossedly" exists in Rick's mind( we don't know if he really knew a cottage existed, he didn't go the forest, Arianna has more credibility than an addict, after all she really goes to the forest.), he mets an old witch, she made him drink a potion that can "grow a dick" and "grow his lust"(something that for comonners is not even thinkable), and the witch fucked him(depend on the path you choose),would you believe it?
I don't know man but my eyebrow would rise when I listen that, knowing everything.
About Thomas is not an excuse. People when they lost everything, they need help, not matter the situation. He could send him to the church, or make him work for the night to sleep in the hay.And it is not like Thomas didin't know about the MC losing his father.
