Finn and Jake where sitting on the edge of Finns bed talking to Princess Bubblegum. He had relinquished his bed to her while she recovered.
"So, What did nurse Poundcake have to say today?" Finn asked.
"She said my legs where healing fine and I should be ready to start physical therapy in the morning." PB said.
"I knew you'd be fine Princess." Jake said.
"Thanks for believing in me." PB said. "Yo guys should go out and have some fun today. You've been cooped up in here with me ever since we went over to Huntress Wizards place."
"I don't know. I'd hate to leave you here all alone." Finn said.
"I wont be alone. Pep will be here to keep me company." PB assured him.
"C'mon Finn, why don't we head over to the market for a little bit. I've been needing new strings for my viola. " Jake said.
"Well, I guess we could go for a little bit." Finn said.
"Have fun you two." PB said.
Finn and Jake headed down stairs. They grabbed some treasure from their treasure room before heading out. The duo quickly made their way over to the local market. Jake went to a vendors tent who dealt in music instruments to get his strings. Meanwhile, Finn was perusing over different merchants goods. He bought a rare Card wars card for Jake and an old dark magic spells book for Peppermint butler. Jake caught up to him after his shopping was done.
"Hey man, I bought you something." Finn handed Jake the card.
"Woah, This card is crazy rare. Where did you find this?" Jake asked.
"I got it from Crazy Mikes collectible's tent over there." Finn said.
"Crazy Mike? But he never has anything good. Maybe I should start checking out his inventory again if he has stuff like this." Jake said.
They where about ready to head back home when they where stopped by a shady looking old man. He had snow white hair, a face filled with wrinkles, and wore a jet black cloak.
"Could I interest you two fine young gentlemen in a bit of property." The old man asked.
"Uh, no thanks. We already have a house." Jake said with a skeptical tone in his voice.
"But this is no mere house. It's a luxury cabin with a mine next to it." The man said.
"What kinda mine we talkin' about here." Finn sounded intrigued.
"A mine filled with gold and jewels." The old man said.
"Uh excuse me sir. I need to have a moment with a business partner." Jake said. He pulled Finn aside.
"Are you nuts? This old farts super shady." Jake said.
"If we could get it cheap enough, we could become rich." Finn argued.
"Or loose out on our money." Jake said.
"Ah come on Jake. What happened to your sense of adventure?" Finn asked.
"Don't try and guilt trip me man." Jake said.
"Please." Finn gave Jake the puppy dog eye's.
"Oh all right. But only if we can get it cheap enough." Jake finally caved in.
"So, did you two make up your mind?" The old man asked.
"Where interested, for the right price of course." Finn played it cool.
"Bargain hunters I see." The old man said. "I can part with my lovely home for 100 gold pieces."
"Sold." Finn shook his hand and the deal was done.
He payed the old man the gold and he signed over the deed. With deed in hand they headed back to the tree-house.
"Uh, Finn. Don't you think 100 gold pieces is a little low for a supposed gold mine?" Jake asked.
"Maybe so, but I bet we can get something out of it." Finn said optimistically.
"MMM I guess so." Jake worriedly said.
They arrived home and told PB and Pep the good news.
"Guess what? We bought a gold mine!" Finn said enthusiastically.
"What? Where? Why? From who?" PB was full of questions.
"Finn insisted we buy it from this old man at the market. The deed says its in the badlands." Jake said.
"That seems kinda shady" Pep said.
"That's what I told him." Jake said.
"Your both are just sticks in the mud." Finn said.
"Well whatever you do just be careful." PB worriedly said.
"Don't worry princess, we will." Finn said to comfort the princess.
"Oh yeah. I bought this for you at the market." Finn handed Pep the spell book.
Pep put on his reading glasses and flipped through the pages.
"Wow, this thing is crusty old. I bet theirs some nasty spells in here. Thanks Finn." Pep said.
"No prob bob." Finn replied.
"So when are you guys gonna check out your new mine?" PB asked.
"I thought we'd head out in the morning. That is if you won't need us for a few days." Finn said. He wanted to make sure that PB would be ok.
"I'll be alright. I have Pep and nurse Poundcake here to keep me company, and Marcy will probably drop by too." PB assured him.
With the plans made they decided to take it easy the rest of the day since they will be hard at work in the coming days. Jake and Pep started playing some Card wars. PB and Finn chatted for a bit. She showed him the plans she had drew up for a new way to send relief packages into the Candy kingdom without putting herself in harms way. It was a cannon. She said she wanted to get started on it as soon as she was able to walk. After they where done playing Card wars, Jake headed down into the kitchen and made them a supper of cheeseburgers, french fries, and water. He took the food back up to the bedroom for his friends. They made quick work of their delicious meal. Finn helped Jake do the dishes then it was time for bed. Jake hopped into his dresser drawer bed and Pep into his hammock. Finn hopped into his temporary bed, a sleeping bag. He still wasn't used to sleeping in it, but after a half hour of tossing and turning he fell asleep. The next morning Finn and Jake woke up at the crack of dawn. They wanted to get their gear packed and ready. Finn opened up the door to their garage and began looking for supplies. Finn grabbed their pickaxes and put them in a storage crate. Jake grabbed their hard hats and thew them in the crate. They packed a bunch of empty storage containers to bring back the loot that they find. Jake headed back inside and packed them enough food to last the duration of their trip. With all of the supplies packed that they need, they went up into the bedroom to say their goodbyes.
"Where getting ready to head out." Finn said.
"When are you guys coming back?" PB asked.
"I packed us enough food to last a week." Jake said.
"Good luck. May your journey bring you great wealth." Pep said.
"Just be careful. I don't know what I'd do without you guys." PB said.
"Don't worry princess. I wont let Finn get to reckless." Jake assured her.
Finn and Jake both gave PB and Pep a hug goodbye then headed outside. Jake transformed and made himself bigger so he could carry all of their supplies. It took them about an hour to reach the badlands. They had trouble finding the cabin at first, but after a half hour of searching and asking for directions they arrived. They peered over their new cabin. It wasn't nearly as luxurious as the old man had made it out to be. It had boards missing from the front steps, a busted out window, and a tarp over the roof.
"I told you that old man was full of it."Jake gloated.
"Lets at-least look inside." Finn pleaded.
Jake agreed and the two headed inside. The inside wasn't as bad as the out, but it wasn't fantastic either. The boards where a little creeky and the furniture had a layer of dust on it, but it could be worse. It had a bed big enough for both Finn and Jake, A usable kitchen, and a surprisingly clean bathroom. Jake unloaded the supplies then started tidying up the place. He transformed his arm into a feather duster and dusted the whole house. After a bit of coughing and sneezing it looked good as new.
"Remember what you said outside negative Nancy?" Finn jokingly said to Jake.
"I'll admit, I may have rushed to judgment." Jake said.
After they got settled in and took a little break they decided to go and check out the mine. They grabbed their gear and walked up to the mine entrance. It was all boarded up. Finn used his pickax to pry the boards off. After this strenuous task was done they turned their head lamps on and descended into the mine. The mine was deep, dark and damp.
"Jeez, this place must be decades old." Jake said.
"I know right? Hope all the goodies aren't taken." Finn said.
They made their way to the end of the mine-shaft. Finn and Jake made the decision to branch off in different ways. Jake would continue mining straight and Finn would start a new tunnel to the right. With the swing of his pickax, Finn began the new tunnel. He broke threw layer after layer of stone and dirt. Mining was much harder than Finn imagined. He thought it would be about as hard as his every day adventuring but he was wrong. After a while his shirt was ringing wet with sweat. He removed his signature white hat so his head and hair could have more breathing room. He put his hat in his backpack so he wouldn't loose it. He worked away for a half an hour, but didn't have anything to show for it other than a pile of stone and dirt. Meanwhile Jake was mining away in his own tunnel. It made him feel good to be super productive for a change, but similar to Finn he had nothing to show for his work. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. While he did this he felt someone taping him on his shoulder.
"Did you find anything?" Jake asked assuming it was Finn.
He turned around and almost jumped out of his own skin. Before him was a ghostly white figure. It was feminine in nature. It had equally long, white hair, and black, soulless eye's
"Hey, you're not Finn!" Jake said as he realized what he was looking at.
He took off running past the figure and towards Finn's tunnel whilst letting out a loud scream. He ran out of his Mine-shaft and into Finns. Jake was running so fast by the time he reached Finn he couldn't stop. He ran right into Finn and knocked them both square on their butts.
"What the heck Jake?" Finn asked as he picked himself up.
"Dude, we gotta get out of here. I saw a ghost." Jake frantically said.
"A ghost? I think the heat down here is getting to you man." Finn said.
"I'm serious! Come see for yourself." Jake started dragging Finn back to his mine-shaft.
They arrived at the end of Jake's tunnel. Their was no ghost to be found.
"But...But." Jake stuttered.
"Come on Jake, lets go up and cool off a bit." Finn said thinking that his friend was overheated.
They went back up into the cabin. Jake took a seat on the sofa and Finn fetched them both a glass of water. Finn handed Jake his water and took a seat next to him.
"Man. That thing looked so real." Jake said.
"Brains are wicked powerful things. Yours was probably just playing tricks on you." Finn said as he took a sip of water.
They finished their water and cooled off a bit before heading back down into the mines. They dug a few more hours before both of them where exhausted. Not a single valuable was found. The two of them headed back up into the cabin for the night.
"So, see anymore ghosts?" Finn jokingly asked.
"No, thank goodness." Jake laughed.
Since he was all sweaty from working so hard all day, Jake decided to take a shower. He hopped behind the shower curtains and turned the water on. After a few minutes of letting the cold water pour over his sweaty body Jake felt something poking him in his back.
"Please be Finn playing a prank. Please be Finn playing a prank." Jake thought to himself as he turned around.
It was the ghost girl again. Upon seeing her Jake freaked out.
"Hello." The ghost girl said in a ghastly tone.
"Uh. Finn, You better get in here quick!" Jake yelled.
"This better not be one of your ghost stories again." Finn said as he opened the door.
Finn peeled back the shower curtain and saw Jake and the ghost girl.
"Ooooooooookkkkkk. Maybe you weren't crazy Jake." Finn admitted.
"See. What did I tell you." Jake said as he started to shake from fear.
"Sooo, can you talk?" Finn asked the ghost.
"Yes." The ghost answered.
"So, your not here to eat us, right?" Jake asked.
"No." She answered.
This eased Jake's mind a little bit.
"Why are you here?" Asked Finn.
"This is my house. Why are you here?" The ghost girl asked.
"An old man sold it to us." Finn explained.
"Did he have snow white hair and wear a dark cloak." The ghost girl asked.
"Yeah." Finn answered.
"I was afraid of that." The ghost girl said.
"Afraid of what?" Jake asked.
"That old man was the one who murdered me. He used a dagger covered in a special potion that prevents me from moving on to the spirit world. So I'm constantly trapped here. This isn't the first time he's tried to sell my home either. Every time he does I see the people come in and set up shop I get lonely and only want to talk, but when I do I scare them off. Then he just sells my house again and the cycle repeats." The ghost girl explained.
"We'll be your friends!" Finn said to her with a smile on his face.
"Y..You will?" The ghost girl stuttered. "My names Amber, whats yours?"
"I'm Finn, and this is my brother and best friend Jake." Finn said.
"Hey! Sorry we got off on the wrong foot." Jake greeted.
"Nice to meet you Finn and Jake." Amber said.
"So how did you get mixed up with a shady fella like him?" Jake asked.
"When I wasn't mining for gold and jewels I would tend to travelers who needed a place to rest on their journey through the badlands. One of my patrons was that old man and the rest is history I suppose." Amber told them.
"We'll help you bring that old sleazeball to justice." Finn promised Amber.
"You'd really do that for me?" Amber asked.
"Sure, after where done with our mining trip. That is if you don't mind us using it." Finn said.
"It's all yours. What use would I have for it?" Amber chuckled.
"At-lest you a sense of humor about the whole situation." Jake said.
"Sometimes all you can do it laugh and move forward." Amber said.
Finn and Jake where getting hungry. They grabbed a quick snack before heading to bed for the night. The following six days where filled to the brim of hard, backbreaking work. They dug several feet per day. Amber kept the both of them company while they dug deeper into the earth. They Didn't find anything for the first few days, but on the forth day Jake struck a small vein of gold. It wasn't much but it was a start. The next day Finn found a small vein of gold of his own and a small diamond. He was so excited he rushed over to show Jake.
"Look what I found!" Finn shouted as he showed Jake and Amber.
"Woah! Great find!" Jake said.
"I'm happy you're having some luck in my old mine." Amber said.
They continued their mining until their week was up. The food supply was running low and it was time to head home. They didn't find anything other than the gold and one diamond. It wasn't the big money making adventure that Finn hoped it would be, but they broke even money wise and made a friend along the way. Now it was time to bring their friends killer to justice. They packed up all of their supplies and started making their way home with Amber in tow. On the way home they discussed how they would find the old man.
"I was thinking, if PB's legs are better she'd be great help." Finn said.
"Yeah, she's been around a long time. I'm sure she's dealt with her fair share of scumbags." Jake added.
"Thanks guys." Amber said.
By the time they made it home it was dark. The three headed inside the tree-house and headed upstairs to tell their friends of their adventure. PB, Pep, nurse Poundcake and Marceline where up in the bedroom. Nurse Poundcake was making PB do some leg exercises to get her leg strength built back up.
"FINN!" PB yelled when she saw him in the door way.
"Where back." Finn said.
"And we brought a new friend!" Jake said.
"Friend?" Pep seemed confused.
Amber floated her way upstairs and stood next to Finn and Jake.
"Sup." She said.
"Woah a ghost. Sick! Where'd ya meet her?" Marcy sounded intrigued.
"Well, you see." Finn explained the whole situation to them.
"Wow, that's totally messed up. I'll get to researching this creep first thing in the morning." PB said.
"Thank you. I don't know what i'd do without your guys help." Amber said.
"I can't believe it. A real ghost. I've waiting so long for this day!" Pep said.
"I have a fan do I?" Amber jokingly asked.
"I'm just generally interested in what its like being a ghost. How about you tell me some of your stories?" Asked Pep.
"Sure." Amber said.
Amber began telling Pep her tales as he jotted some notes down in his note book. With the plans for the following morning set in stone they all decided it was time for bed. Pep stayed up a bit longer than the rest of them talking to Amber, but eventually he got to tired and went to sleep. Amber being a ghost didn't need to sleep. She laid awake the whole night thinking about how nice it will be to finally get closure.