By the time Bean, Elfo, and Luci had left the bar, It was midnight. The trio laughed and swayed as they were drunk from all the drinking. Elfo laughed as he bumped into Luci and said, "Man, what a naughty night we had!" He let out a tiny burp. Bean, however, let out a loud and deep burp, "Man, I did so much drinking I don't even remember if I drank at all. I probably didn't!" She said, smiling. Luci would say, "You know It's a great night when we're still up to see the plague patrol!" He pointed out excitedly as they all looked at a man picking up the bodies of people who'd died from the plague. The man smiled at Bean. "Morning, Princess!" He winked at her.
"Oh my god, I just winked at by a corpse shoveler! I don't want this night to never end!" said Bean.
"I'm sure I can help add in on the fun,"
The trio turned to the left and looked down a dark alley. Emerging from the darkness was a woman sporting an all-black attire. Her hair was a bright shade of pink. Following behind her were two other men. The girl dressed in all-black, named Hilda, smirked at Bean. "Long time no see, old friend," She said with her hands on her hips.
Bean gasped, "H-Hilda?"
"Uhh, Bean's who your friend here?" Elfo asked curiously.
"Umm, guys, this is Hilda, Hilda, this is Elfo and Luci," Bean introduced.
"Hi! I'm Elfo!" Elfo chirped as he waved at her.
"Sup Tuts," Luci greeted.
"An Elfo and a talking cat?" Hilda raised a brow, "Wow, you've got some interesting new friends, eh Beanie?"
Bean chuckled nervously. "Well, when you run away from home trying to avoid an arranged marriage, you just happen to run into some good friends, you know.."
"Ahem..." said The bald man with a vein popping out on his head.
"Oh right," said Hilda, remembering. "This is Rupert," she said, gesturing her head to the right at the tall man wearing a grey jacket with fur around the collar. And this is Tuppence." She then gestured to the left at the man wearing a green coat with white fur around the collar. Tuppence was bald on the top of his head, just like Rupert; however, Tuppence had a dent on the far right of his head.
"Pleasure to meet you, Princess Tiabeanie," Rupert greeted
"Likewise," said Tuppence.
"Uh yeah, hi," Bean greeted them awkwardly. She placed her attention back on Hilda. "So I take it that you're still up to the same old same old, huh?"
"Of course!" said Hilda proudly. "It's a career for me! I mean, I had to go and find some partners after you and your brother ditched me and all."
"Wait, what?" Luci looked between Bean and Hilda.
"You and Tavish used to be thieves?" Elfo said in awe.
Bean groaned and rubbed between the center of her nose. "We were just a bunch of town delinquents that pulled some stupid pranks on people we didn't like. After a while, we met with Hilda, and we formed a gang, and maybe we did steal some stuff, and I guess we were thieves,"
"How is your brother doing anyway?" Hilda asked.
"Hardly leaves his room, acts all high and mighty, thinks he's smarter than and Is a kiss ass," Bean said, not wanting to talk about Tavish anymore. Hilda shakes her head in disappointment. "Hmph, what a shame. Oh, how the mighty have fallen...." She sighed, "Anyways," She walked over to Bean and placed her arms around her shoulder. "What do you say, Beanie? Do you want to do one more job with us? For old-time's sake? We could really use your help!"
"Hilda...I don't know-"Bean was about to say before Luci hopped onto Bean's shoulder. "DEPENDS!" said Luci loudly. "What exactly are we going to steal?"
Hilda looked around to make sure no one was listening. She then whispered to them, "Potatoes...." Bean, Elfo, and Luci stared at them for a moment. They looked at each other and then back at Hilda. Elfo would then ask, "You three must be starving." Luci would then say, "Have you three tried stealing things of value?"
"Hey, Potatoes ARE valuable! I've been a potato thief ever since my father never came back from the lemon crusade!" said Rupert
"Riiight..." Luci said, slitting his eyes at him.
"I expected a potato thief would look as stupid as you," said a voice in the distance
Everyone turned to where the voice came from and out came Koga. Hilda, Tuppence, and Rupert gasped, and they slowly backed away. "Honestly, I wouldn't care about potatoes getting stolen. But I'm tired of that old lady asking me if I caught the person doing it," he said as he stepped forward lazily.
"Koga, The Wandering Swordsmen!" said Tuppence. "Your battle against the gnomes of Arrowhead Valley is a legend!"
Bean raised a brow and turned towards Koga. Koga groaned and rubbed his head. "I don't want to talk about it...." He said irritably, seeing that Bean was about to ask why she was fighting genomes.
"That's funny because I saw a war between Gnomes and Ogers on my way to Dreamland! War is pretty interesting!" said Elfo
"I bet you lost...." Luci whispered with a grin.
"No, I didn't!" Koga snapped at Luci. He then turns toward the three thieves. "Alright, you three, bring your asses over here so I can turn you all in. And don't try and run. I will chase you three down and kill you all."
"Wait, Koga!" said Bean, standing before him. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
Koga just stared down at her. "No, I'm not letting your pink-haired friend go."
"Koga, come on...It's just potatoes. Are you going to send someone to the dungeons over potatoes?"
"I've killed and hunted down people over stupider things, Bean," Koga stated. "Move again and see what happens," Koga said to the three thieves, and they stopped immediately.
"Oh, come on, Koga. You're being a jerk!" Bean said, glaring at him. I can't believe you're being such an uptight stick in the mud!"
"You guilt-tripping me is not going to work, freckles," said Koga, crossing his arms. Besides, I—" Koga's eyes widen as he suddenly gets an idea. "Wait a minute." He uncrossed his arms and began counting. One, two, three, four, five, six...hmmm." He rubs his chin, thinking.
Bean looked at him curiously. "Why did you just count all of us?" She asked suspiciously.
"Alright, listen up. I'll let you all off for two conditions!" said Koga, walking over to the three thieves.
Hilda looks at Rupert and Tuppence, then back at Koga. "And these two conditions are?" She asked, looking at Koga carefully.
"Well, condition number one. You help me on a quest,"
"A quest?" Hilda repeated.
"That's right," Koga nods. "I got some information from a few of my knight buddies back at the castle that there's a tomb that holds treasures beyond anyone's wildest imagination. And with all of us together, this will be a no-brainer!"
Hilda rubs her chin. "So...you want us all to help you get this treasure?"
"Yup!" Koga nods once more.
"And what's the second condition?"
"YOU STOP STEALING POTATOES SO THAT OLD HAG WILL STOP BUGGING ME!" Koga shouted at them. The thieves flinched at Koga's sudden outburst. Hilda quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat.
"Give us a moment." She then huddles up with Rupert and Tuppence. While the three discuss Koga's offer, Bean softly tugs on Koga's arm. When Koga turns around to face Bean, she asks, "What's up with you suddenly being all greedy? I thought you weren't too obsessed with gold."
Koga smiles and says, "I'm not. I don't care too much about the gold."
"What?" Bean said, confused. "Then why do you want to go to this tomb?"
"Adventure!" Koga said excitedly with a big, goofy smile on his face.
"You're joking?" asked Luci
"Look, I've been in this kingdom taking care of stupid requests and jobs for King Zog. I DESERVE THIS!" Koga desperately said.
"OK, OK!" said Bean, holding her hands up. "I get it!"
"ALRIGHT THEN!" said Hilda, turning around. "We accept your demand. We'll help you get this treasure, but we all get a cut! Agreed?"
"Sounds good to me!" said Koga.
"So, where is this treasure you're talking about?" She asked as she crossed her arms.
Koga clears his throat and begins to explain. "Far off from Dreamland, a warrior known as Gabriel Garret used a hidden underground tomb. Gabriel was the embodiment of greed. He wanted all the riches that he could get his hands on. Gabriel was said to be among the wealthiest people in the world. Of course, that rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Many were after his gold, so he built an underground tomb to hide all his riches from jealous men and women. But that didn't take long for those to discover where he hid everything. Of course, those seeking his treasure eventually found the hidden tomb. But the thing is, they were never seen or heard from since."
Elfo gulped fearfully when Koga finished explaining. Hilda would then ask, "This seems like a farfetched story. How do we even know if there is a treasure?" Koga chuckles confidently. "I've been on countless adventures since I was a teenager, and every dungeon I've explored has lived up to the legend surrounding it. Trust me; there is treasure there!"
"Well, fine then. You got yourself a team," said Hilda. We have a wagon we can take. We can meet at the gate heading out of Dreamland. Come on, fellas, let's get ready."
And with that, Hilda, Rupert, and Tuppence left.
Koga began cheering and jumping around in excitement. "WOOHOO! DUNGEON ADVENTURE, HERE I COME!"
"Well, I didn't have anything to do but sleep and be depressed, so I guess I'll go," said Bean with a shrug.
Elfo hurries to Koga and asks, "Umm...you don't think we'll run into anything bad, do you?" Koga would reply, "Oh yeah, I expect to run into the worst things down here! Like giant rats, skeletons, and monsters!" He said excitedly. "Doesn't that sound cool?!"
"Oh god..." Elfo said in a shaky voice.
"Psst! Hey Bean!" Luci whispered in Bean's ear. "I got an idea."
"What is it?" Bean asked.
"If there is a treasure in that tomb Koga was talking about, then maybe there's a way for us to keep the treasure for ourselves...."
"What are you suggesting?"
"We leave the potato thieves behind, and we take EVERYTHING!" Luci said with his usually evil grin.
"What? Luci, I can't do that," said Bean. "Hilda's my friend! Except for the two weirdos with her."
"Oh, come on. Don't you think she's planning to do the same thing to us? I'm sure when they were all huddled up, they were discussing how they would leave us for dead and take all that loot for themselves."
"Look, Hilda might be a thief, and she hangs around shady people and has probably killed a few times, but we've been through a lot, and she wouldn't leave me for dead," Bean protested.
"Are you sure about that?" said Luci.
"I am sure, Luci," said Bean. But her eyes lowered to the ground as she walked. "I mean...I don't think she would...."
"Well, when the time comes...I do hope you make the correct decision. HEY! Maybe we can even leave Elfo down there, too!" Luci said as he rubbed his hands together mischievously.
"No, we're not ditching Elfo..." said Bean, glaring at Luci.
"Ugh...oh well, it was worth a try...."