In a small town, he sat with his foot propped on a table with his hood over his head in a bar full of drunk and rowdy men. Different voices were speaking about many other things. Women, fights, drunken babbling, and Kings and Queens. Then, it all went silent when the door opened, shining light into the dimly lit bar. It was a man with lightly tanned skin, wearing a navy blue robe and a Navy blue hat. The man's eyes scanned the bar until he saw him sitting in the back. With both his hands behind his back, he walked to the back of the bar to the man sitting at the table.
"Do you need something?" asked The man, sitting in a corner in the darkness.
"I heard that you were in town," said Odval as he sat down. "Koga The Wanderer."
Koga lifts his hood to get a good look at Odval. He examined his appearance. "And who the hell are you?" He asked coldly.
"My name is Odval. I am the adviser of King Zog of Dreamland. I am here on his behalf to request your services," said Odval.
Koga scoffed and let his hood fall over his eyes. "And what the hell does royalty need help with? They can't get off their fat asses and come speak themselves..."
Odval clears his throat and ignores Koga's remarks. However, deep down, he agreed with him. "Well...anyway, moving on. We are willing to pay you handsomely."
Koga looked at Odval from under his hood once more. "Is that right? And what do you want me to do?"
"Our princess, the daughter of King Zog, has run away from the kingdom-"
"I'll stop you right there," said Koga, holding his hand. "You have a runaway princess problem? And you want me to go fetch her for you?"
"Yes... that sums up our issue. Princess Tiabeanie was set to be married to the prince of our neighboring kingdom, bentwood. But-"
Koga laughs. "I never would've thought that royalty can't keep an eye on their princesses..." He said, removing his feet from the table and sitting up straight. Odval could look at Koga's face more clearly. His skin was a dark shade of tan, and his eyes were bright green. Some of his hair was coming out from the hood. The color of it was pitch black, and his hair was lengthy. "A Runaway Princess would make a good play," Koga said jokingly.
"Umm, yes, I'm sure it would..." Odval replied. "Do you accept?"
Koga rubbed his chin as he stared at Odval. "How much?"
"A thousand," Odval replied quickly.
Koga grinned, and he got up from the table and reached behind him, grabbing an enormous greatsword and placing it around his back. Then, he grabbed his short sword and hooked it around his waist.
"Which way did she go?" asked Koga
"North," replied Odval. "Here's a drawing of Princess Tiabeanie..." He slides him the poorly drawn picture of Bean. Her body was short, her head was large, and her two front teeth were overly lengthy.
Koga stared at the picture. He then stared at Odval and raised a brow.
Odval gulps, "Our king recently had our artist executed..."
"Right..." Koga takes the drawing and stuffs it in his pocket. "I'll have her back in two days," he states as he heads for the bar's exit.
"All of this had better been worth it..." Odval whispered
...
Princess Tiabeanie replayed the events of her wedding in her head. She, staring at Prince Guysbert's stupid face, slapped the ring away from his hand, him stumbling to catch the wedding ring only for him to kneel over and have his head go through one of the swords on the throne. At that moment, she thought the wedding was off. But her tyrant of a father, King Zog, decides to marry her off to Guysbert's brother Merkimer. That's when she knew she had to leave. She ran from the wedding hall, grabbed whatever she could, and ran away. And now...here she was.
Bean took a deep breath and exhaled. She had her wedding dress in hand as she stood over a cliff, gazing at the broad view of the luscious green forest and vast mountains with clouds hovering around the top. Bean lets go of her wedding dress as it falls to the bottom of the cliff. She smiled and turned around to both Elfo and Luci.
"Alright, let's hit the road, guys! Today is the day when my life will finally change!" She said happily, feeling the happiest she's been in a long time. "We're off to a new start! A new life!"
"Let me start by asking," said Luci, leaning against a tree and watching Bean walk past her. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"Nope," said Bean, shaking her head. "But that's just the fun of it! I don't have everything planned out for me! I get to make my own choices!"
"Don't worry, Bean! We'll be by your side every step of the way!" Elfo cheerfully said.
"Your words, not mine..." Luci shrugged. "So, bright and free princess, where are we off to?"
"Well..." Bean thought for a moment and looked around. "Well, for starters, we should make camp! Then we set off west!" She said, pointing to the right.
"That's east..." said Luci.
"Uh..." Bean looked at Luci and then looked behind her. "WEST!"
"That's South..." Luci corrected her once more.
"ANYWAY!" Elfo yelled out as he glared at Luci. "Let's keep following this path. We'll be sure to run across a town by then."
"Right!" Bean said with a nod as she grabbed the sword that she had taken from a guard.
The trio would travel for a couple of miles. They often set up camp to rest before they started traveling again. So far, they had not seen any signs of a town on their travels. After the second day, the three of them sat around another camp. The only thing they ate was some fruit that they collected from a nearby tree.
"Man, how thick is this forest? It feels like it's never-ending," said Elfo, staring into the fire.
"Ugh, I'm getting sick of eating apples!" said Bean, tossing the half-eaten apple away.
"We've been going in a circle," said Luci.
"What?" said Bean and Elfo in unison.
"How come you didn't say anything?!" Shouted Elfo
"You two didn't ask," Luci said, puffing out his cigarette smoke and then laughing.
"UGH!" Bean gets to her feet and then grabs her sword. She turns around. She froze as she stared at a man wearing a brown and green outfit with a hood over his head.
Koga tossed the apple Bean was eating into the air and then caught it. "It's not nice to waste food," he said to her as he took one big bite of the apple, nearly eating it whole. Mm, now that's a good apple."
"Uhh..." Bean stared at Koga, clutching her sword tightly. "W-Who are you?" She asked. Her voice quivered slightly.
"My name is not important," he replied softly, tossing the eaten apple's core away and pulling back his hood. He was handsome, with tan skin, long black hair, and emerald eyes. He took out the poorly drawn picture of Bean that Odval had given him. "So you're Princess Tiabeanie?"
Bean looks at the picture. "Wow...dad must've executed another palace painter..."
"I...I think it captures your looks pretty well..." said Elfo, looking at the drawing.
"Yeah, all of her buck teeth definitely..." said Luci, laughing again.
Koga looked over at Elfo. "An Elf?"
"Hi, I'm Elfo!" Elfo said happily as he waved at Koga
Koga then looked over at Luci. "And...a cat?"
"Uhh no, I'm a demon pal," said Luci. "How the hell do people keep mistaking me for a cat?"
Koga stared at Luci for a moment. "A talking cat?" This resulted in Luci saying, "Oh, for Fucks sake!"
"Anyway," said Koga, looking back at Bean, "Time to go home, Tiabeaine. Your kingdom is paying me a healthy amount of gold to bring you home."
Bean glares and grips the sword handle with her other hand. "No. I am not going back there so I can have my life thrown away for a stupid political alliance! NO WAY!" Bean draws her sword and points it at Koga.
Koga looks at the sword and tilts his head a bit. "You know that's not a toy, right?" He said, placing his green eyes back on Beans.
"Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I don't know how to use a sword!" said Bean as she tossed the holder on the ground and gripped her sword with both hands. I am not going back to that hellhole," she said slowly. Koga grins. He starts chuckling as he stabs his great sword to the ground and draws it. "Alright then..."
Bean gulped. Her heart was racing as he saw Koga stab that large sword still kept in the sheath to the ground. The amount of strength he had to have to do that...how strong is this guy?
Elfo had a look of fear on his face, while Luci looked excited to see a sword fight. Koga points his sword at Bean. "Let's see...how well you can use that sword, Princess..." Koga said as he stepped forward. Bean then began stepping to the right. The two of them would start circling each other. Koga kept his eyes on Bean, but Bean's eyes were too busy looking up and down at Koga. She was trying to read his movements the best she could. Then Koga suddenly stopped walking and dashed forward. She gasped and held up her sword to block Koga's strong downward strike. Their blades clanged loudly on impact. Bean tried to hold her balance as Koga placed all his weight upon her. She grunts and tries to push back, but Koga's strength overwhelms her. Bean lifted her right foot and kicked Koga in the stomach, which only caused her to stumble and hit her back against a tree. She gasped and closed her eyes as she rubbed the back of her head.
"What the heck was that? It was like kicking a stone wall!" Bean thought. She then opened her eyes to see that Koga didn't exploit her invulnerability. He just stood there. Koga lifted his other hand and gestured for her to come at him. Bean glared, and she did so. Bean swung at Koga wildly without a single moment of thought.
"COME ON, BEAN. YOU GOT THIS!" Elfo cheered her on.
"Nope..." said Luci
"YOU CAN TAKE HIM!" Elfo continued to cheer her on.
"No, she can't," said Luci once more.
Koga was avoiding all of Bean's attacks. He was swaying to the right and the left, ducking, and then finally parries Bean's last swing, sending her sword into the air and landing next to Elfo, causing him to yelp and fall over. Koga holds the tip of his sword at her. "You got spirit. But your form is sloppy, and you hardly have any style. You're just swinging your sword without a plan." Koga lectured Bean, who glared, holding her head up as Koga placed his sword near her weak chin. "But even if you did have some skill on you, you still wouldn't have beaten me," Koga smirked as he moved the sword away from Bean. "But...nice try."
"NO!" Bean screamed as she grabbed a handful of dirt and tossed it toward Koga's face. Koga coughs and begins rubbing the dirt off his eyes.
"DAMN IT!" He shouts.
Bean saw her chance. She got to her feet, picked up her sword, and ran. Koga reached into his pocket, pulled out a bolas, and chucked it at Bean. The roped stones caught between Bean's legs, and she fell to the ground.
"Not so fast!" Koga said with a smile, walking over to her.
"LEAVE BEAN ALONE!" Elfo yelled as he hopped onto Koga's head and began punching at him.
"ARGH! YOU LITTLE GREEN FREAK!" Koga yanked Elfo off of him. He pulled Elfo's shirt over his face, causing Elfo to lose his field vision, and tossed him to the ground.
Bean grabbed her sword and began cutting the ropes apart and freeing herself. "NOT SO FAST!" Koga called out to her as he started sprinting towards her. Bean gets to her feet and slings the sword straight at Koga. But Koga catches the sword by the handle with ease.
"Just who the heck is this guy?!" said Bean in a panicked tone as Luci started running.
"I'm starting to think your kingdom emptied its vaults for this guy!" said Luci as he and Bean turned around to see Koga hot on their tails. This caused them to run straight into a fleshy wall, and Bean fell over. "OW!" she rubbed her head and looked up.
That "Fleshy wall" that Bean ran into groaned loudly and reached its feet. It turned around to face Bean. It was a giant, one-eyed creature that roared at them viciously.
"OOOOH, MAN!" Bean screamed with widened eyes.
The one-eyed creature's angry gaze was removed from Beans and placed upon Koga, who was duel-wielding two swords. He slashed at the swamp monster, cutting it to bits.
Koga turned around to face Bean. "You're welcome," said Koga with a grin.
"Ugh..." Bean groaned. At this point, she knew she couldn't get away from him.
...
Bean, Elfo, and Luci were all tied up around their wrist by one long rope, with Koga holding the mainline. "A Demon and an Elf. Yeah, that's something that guy didn't mention at all. Ugh, this is overwhelming," Koga sighed as he rubbed his head. The three of them were now on the correct path back to dreamland, but to Bean's displeasure, it was on the path back to hell.
"You know you can always let us go," said Elfo
"Yeah, not happening, little guy," said Koga, grinning at Elfo.
Bean just scowled at Koga. Koga looks over at Bean. "You know your face could get stuck like that," He teased.
"PISS OFF!" Bean spat.
"Oooh, scary!" Koga laughed. "You know this is the first time I've ever heard of a princess that ran away from home. Running away from a nice bed, servants to feed and pamper you. Sounds like paradise to me."
"Yeah, sure it is," said Bean bitterly, her voice full of spite.
"Look, tall and bushy-haired guy," said Elfo, looking up at Koga.
"My name is Koga, you little shrimp," said Koga, keeping his eyes on the path ahead.
"Right, Koga. You seem like a nice and understanding guy. Can't you see where Bean is coming from? She's getting married off to someone she doesn't even know! Her whole life is being tossed away!"
"A second guy," Luci corrected. "I think the first one still has his head through a sword," The demon chuckled.
"Well, no, I can't understand. I'm not a princess." Koga replied bluntly. "And besides, it's none of my business. I don't care what goes on in Kingdoms. They hire me, I do the job, and I get paid. That's the circle of life in my world."
"Tch, of course, you don't care. You're just like my dad! All you care about is money and how happy you can be! You don't care about anything or anyone but yourself!" said Bean, glaring a hole through Koga.
"Pretty much," said Koga.
Bean gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. Her scowl turned into a sad and defeated expression. She had given up. There was no way out of this. Elfo looked over at Bean and felt his heart drop. Koga looked over at her as well and then looked away with a sigh. Suddenly, Koga stopped and looked up at the sky. There was a loud, roaring noise that caught the attention of the group.
"Uhh...what was that?" said Elfo, his voice shaky.
Right after Elfo asked that question, another roar was heard from the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a creature soaring in a circle above them in the sky. Bean gasped, "N-No way...is...is that a" But she was cut off when Koga yanked Bean off the horse along with Luci and Elfo, and they sprinted into the thick forest. They reached a spot where they could all hide.
"Oh my god...Oh my god...that was a dragon," said Bean, breathing quickly. "I can't believe I just saw a real live dragon. And it's near us!"
"Shh, stay quiet! I'm trying to hear!" said Koga, looking up at the sky.
"I'm in my happy place...I'm in my happy place...I'm in my happy place..." Elfo kept saying to himself with his hands covering his pointy ears.
"Uh....guys..." said Luci as he tugged on Bean's shirt. "We should get out of this spot-"
"Shut up already! I'm trying to hear," said Koga in a quiet yell towards Elfo and Luci.
Once they stop talking, Koga listens carefully. He didn't hear the shrieking roars or the sound of the dragon flapping its wings. It seemed as though the Dragon was gone.
"Alright...I think we're in the clear..." Koga said, relieved, "Now, what did you want, you mangy little feline?" He glared at Luci.
Luci points behind them. The three turned to see a large purple and white egg sitting right behind them, as big as Koga but broader. Koga's eyes widened.
"That's...a Dargon egg..." Koga said in a terrified tone
"W-What?" Bean gasped
"Oh no..." Elfo groaned.
"Oh yeah," Luci replied.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently as the dragon landed near its nest. She moves the many jumbled-up leaves out of the way to see Bean, Elfo, Luci, and Koga sitting next to its egg. The dragon's primary base color was white, with a purple shade on its arms and around its back. The Dragons' eyes were crystal blue. Its hair was long and went down its spikey back with streaks of blue inside the purple hair.
The Dargon roars at them, causing the group to scream in fear. Elfo holds up his hands to cover his face. "PLEASE DON'T EAT US! WE MEAN NO HARM! WE WERE ONLY HIDING FROM YOU! WE DIDN'T KNOW YOUR BABY WAS HERE!" he cried.
The Dragon stopped roaring and looked at Elfo. It placed its crystal blue eyes on Bean, Luci, and Koga and then reached Its large scaley hands over to them; flaps appeared between Its fingers as it grabbed its egg gently, taking it from the nest. The four of them watched as the Dragon smiled.
"I'd be saying, aww, right now...but I'm too scared to move..." said Bean, smiling nervously at the dragon.
"I've never seen a dragon like this one before..." said Koga, knowing he wouldn't get eaten. "The shade...the eyes..."
The Dragon extended its long wings and flapped them, causing a massive gust of wind to pick up. It leaped off the ground roughly, causing the area to shake more as it flew off. The four of them sighed in relief.
"Well...that happened..." said Bean, looking at them.
"I'm going to need some new shorts..." said Elfo, his voice still shaky.
"I've never seen a Dragon...well, not ACT like an actual Dragon before. That was... strange," said Koga, brushing his hands across his long, thick hair.
"Well, maybe not all Dragons are firebreathing man-eating monsters like everyone makes them out to be," Bean said as she mustered up the strength to get to her feet. She suddenly felt a jolt as she did so, and her whole foot went through the ground. "Uhhh..."
"Hold on, I got you," said Koga as he got to his feet, only to have his lower waist through the ground. "Oh..."
Then, the ground below them collapsed, sending the group into the deep dark pits below.