The Taste of Seduction

"We come in peace; we are only looking for clues on what we are looking for. The Book of Spells.

The leprechaun Baloobas looked at them condescendingly after his hesitation. Then, his voice echoed in the cave as he spoke.

"You may be a friend of Maxwell, and you may have come here with clear intentions. But whatever it is you seek, we have no intentions to--"

"I\'m willing to give these up, every single one," Austin interrupted, making all leprechauns gasp in surprise when he showed him the content of his bag. "But in exchange, a clue leading to the book. Please…"

Murmurs erupted in the area. Even Baloobas, their obvious leader, looked at the four-leaf clovers in awe.

"Four leaf clovers! Ain\'t that dandy… they\'re giving it all to us?"

"I wonder how many are there…"

"Hmph… are those even legit clovers?"

"They\'re handling it with care in a soft bag to make sure it doesn\'t get crushed! Of course, it is!"

"They went here despite us being hidden in secrecy. It has to be."

"We never had time looking for them, protecting our treasure."

"Indeed. With their help, we will use it to finally court female leprechauns to populate our kind!"

"Fool! It\'s up to Baloobas to get the exchange from them or not."

"They\'re after the book… why?"

Soon, Baloobas raised his hand. Without a word coming from him as well, his gesture was enough to silence the people of his kind. He then cleared his throat, and continued talking to them.

"Those four leaf clovers… you are certain that you are giving them to us? Everything?"

"Yes," Austin reassured, putting them slowly on the ground of the cave. "But in exchange… the clue to the book."

It was silence once more. With Baloobas\' eyes on the four leaf clover, he remembered one of the problems of his kind. With them not being able to leave the cave as they protect their treasure, their pot of gold, they weren\'t able to scavenge for four leaf clovers.

Even female leprechauns lost hope in waiting for their proposal. Even though they wanted so much to have partners, their pride was too high not to disregard the tradition of giving and receiving a four leaf clover.

Men will be appreciated for their effort in looking for it, and women will be regarded highly for receiving a rarity, that is why.

"I understand that this may still be difficult for you to accept, but you have nothing to worry. These clovers were raised in my palace for a long time and they were carefully handpicked. You could tell females that you talked to a friend of Maxwell in growing these."

Baloobas looked at his kind. With their eager expression on their leader, he could see that they found Austin\'s exchange reasonable. He then looked at the group once more and nodded, letting out a sigh as he agreed to the exchange.

"Fine," Baloobas said, the leprechauns rejoicing. "But do know we also found it difficult to agree. We promised someone, you see… someone powerful to protect the book," he added, Atlas and Meredith looking at each other as they understood his decision.

Their kind was having problems, too. With him being the leader, he had to make a decision. As one solution is being presented and given to them now, how could he refuse?

"We understand," Austin said, every eye on him as he spoke. "Do know that we will never tell the location of the place and that the secret is only between us. Of course, we have our own reasons to looking for the book. Other than this, we can give more every 6 months from now. Is that alright?"

The leprechauns rejoiced once more. With a nod of conviction coming from Baloobas, he jumped down from the boulder and looked up at Austin. He extended his arm towards him, his hand open as he spoke.

"Swear to it, friend of Maxwell. I cannot say no to that offer. I shall give you details the next clues leading to the book in exchange for this bag, and the delivery of the clovers every 6 months."

"Of course."

Austin took his hand and shook on it. As they did, light shone on both of their hands, sealing their pact. Soon, Baloobas spoke, the leprechaun who led Austin and the group getting the bag from them after he gave his signal.

"The next clue to the book is found on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the arctic circle that gets no sunlight for 4 months a year. There is a location there being protected by beasts who roam when the evening reigns supreme. If I am not mistaken, they are already in the months with no sunlight."

"Where is the location where you say they\'re protecting something? And what exactly are they protecting?" Austin asked, and Baloobas delivered. He told them what he knew without hesitation.

"In Magdalena Bay. Not too near the waters, not too near the mountains, but in the forests. You\'ll see the last clue leading to the book. They\'re protecting a key adorned by the statue of the woman who asked favor to help keeping the secrets of the book. With the key, you can use it on the last place."

"Do you know the place?" Austin asked, Baloobas shaking his head to say no.

"Regrettably, no. Only the place where the key is."

"And what creatures are we talking about here?" Austin followed up a question, making sure they won\'t miss anything. "Beasts who roam when the evening reigns supreme… vampires?"

"No," Baloobas answered, shaking his head as he went straight to the point. "Incubi and Succubi… they only attack people during the night when they are asleep. They are strong at night, and lock on their targets during that time."

"Alright. Thank you," Austin thanked him, giving an acknowledging nod as well as they now finally got what they need. "As agreed, you have the bag of four leaf clovers, and more to come every 6 months from now."

"Thank you as well," Baloobas said, not bothering to know their names. "Take care on whatever it is you seek… friends of Maxwell."