Four-Leaf Clover

Four-Leaf Clover

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Two mysterious figures walked towards the outpost from the northern wasteland, the lookout sounding his trumpet and awaking the outpost.

A beautiful woman with auburn hair, wearing a bright red corset and a slitted skirt flowing down her tanned legs walked up front. Behind her was an imposing man, brown tangled hair flowing to his shoulders, clad in dark leather and bloodied chain mail, wearing a sword and crossbow on his person. He held the head of some monster on a long spear which appeared to double as a walking stick.

The commander of the guard soon walked up to the gatehouse and greeted the two people.

"And a fine greeting to you, noble guardian of Solais," the woman shouted in a haughty tone, "we come in peace, having slain the mighty dragon which has ravaged your trading vessels for the past year." The man struck a heroic pose behind her, widening his stance and placing a hand on his side, pointing the spear at some non-existent flying beast with the other. "May we enter your fine lands to present the beast's head to your nobles?"

The gate guard shouted something about this being strictly against protocol, their arrival completely unanticipated, and needing to check with his superiors before immediately deciding in a fog that all of that was meaningless, and that the strangers meant no harm.

"Open the gates!" the commander ordered at the top of his lungs.

The two figures walked through the gates, the smirking man nodding towards the commander as he passed.

-

"... Eighty-nine, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two." the portly man in a grey tunic counted, placing another golden coin into Talos' pouch on each count. "Ninety-two golden crowns, for the death of the great dragon and its three hatchlings."

Talos thanked the man, not expecting a bonus for the death of the beast's offspring, but he certainly did not complain. Nor did he tell Leonard Thorn that the monster's head lying on the table was that of a wyvern and not that of a dragon. He mused internally of the thought of some rich merchant stuffing it and placing it above his mantle, telling everyone that came by that it was a dragon until he was eventually corrected. Alanna giggled behind him, then blushed and put a hand over her mouth when Leonard looked her way.

"The Grey Suns thanks you for your service." Leonard replied with a slight bow, signalling the end of their contract.

"No, thank you. May we do business again in the future." Talos replied, attempting to keep up the courtesy. He bowed slightly towards the portly man before exiting the warehouse behind him with Alanna.

"You're rich!" Alanna exclaimed with a pinch of his arm as soon as they were out of ear shot.

Talos grinned as he looked her over, admiring her beauty. He tossed the pouch towards her, Alanna barely catching it in time. "Well now you're rich," he declared before starting to walk away towards the city proper. Alanna's eyes widened as she felt the weight of the heavy pouch.

"What?! What about you? What about all that 'quest for gold' crap you told me?" Alanna questioned him with a high-pitched incredulosity.

Talos turned around, still walking, and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm good," he responded curtly before turning back around. He raised a hand in a mock wave as Alanna stepped towards him, adding "I'll be at the Four-Leaf Inn, on the waterfront at sunset. See you there."

Alanna stopped in her tracks, realizing that he was serious. She looked back down at the sack of coins as her eyes lit up, and headed straight for the central market.

-

Alanna admired her reflection's new warddrobe in one of the city's fountains as the sun began falling over the endless ocean to the west.

She had purchased an entirely new look for herself. She wore a red collared shirt under a dark brown, long-sleeved leather jacket, both unbuttoned down to the top of her breasts. They were both tight enough on her to show off her curves, but still loose enough not to impede her movement

too

much. She also purchased lightweight red gloves which extended below the jacket, and a set of high-quality, brown leather pants that enhanced every curve of her lower body. A red leather line ran along the side of the pants on both sides, rising to her hips from her ankles. Lastly, her new thick boots, again a high-quality dark brown leather, reached up just to the bottom of her knees. She had a new red hooded cloak in her pack when she needed it, which matched her shirt and gloves. She turned around to look at her backside, bending just the slightest bit provocatively to check out her own ass in the water's reflection.

She giggled. She still had eighty-five of the gold crowns Talos had gifted her earlier today. Best part of her shopping spree was the lack of slutting her way to good prices. She turned down every offer of a better deal, acting completely innocent to the disappointment of the shopkeepers.

She entered the door of the building marked with a green four-leaf clover sign above the entrance and quickly found her man at the back of the hall, surprised to see him in new gear as well. He was situated at a table overlooking the sun-lit ocean, but sat facing away from the sight. His feet were propped on the table, half-full mug of ale between them, and he was talking to a much older man to his right. She smiled when she saw the full glass of wine opposite him and strutted towards him, drawing the attention of most the tavern and for once, not giving a fuck about it.

Talos smirked as she drew near, introducing her to the old, scarred man named Sigismund Decatur. She took the seat opposite Talos and picked up the wine glass. He had saved the best view of the sunset for her.

"Sigi, tell Alanna the story about the elven tomb," Talos said with a chuckle. Alanna sipped the rich, flavorful wine as she nodded and listened attentively, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

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Author's note: Thanks for reading the first story I've ever written. There's more to come. Custom, another 10-part series, takes place immediately after the events of Luck. So if you liked this, that's even better. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.