Gotta stop the tourists coming up your mountain somehow, right? :D

Glad you enjoyed it. And thanks for leaving a comment. Means a lot!

The young man walked into the cave, hunched over and panting, sweat dripping from his forehead. Pyira looked at him and tutted. He must've done the whole climb in one go. The eager ones always do. Think they're too good to take a break at that campsite halfway up the mountain, 'only the weak and feeble need to pay some peasant for a tent for the night' they say to themselves as they march on by before collapsing of exhaustion two hours later.

The other seers saw him too.

Pyira sighed. "I got him."

She got up and walked towards the mouth of the cave, feeling the heat of the summer sun creep in through the entrance. Who the heck wants to climb a mountain in this heat?

The young man tried to catch his breath before sinking to one knee and bowing his head. "Prophet. I have completed your trial. I have climbed the mountain of Yawaog, traveled across the country to pick the herbs you demanded, and collected the blood of a pure-bred shark." They always added the pure-bred bit themselves, Pyira thought. What would a non-pure-bred shark even look like?

The man stood up and began walking towards her. "Ever since I was born, I've known I had a magnificent destiny. My family had ruled our town for many generations, we have used the man of our village to fight off countless invaders and cement our power. However, I know I have more to do. My father told me I have a greatness inside of me. Tell me. What is my destiny?"

Now he was closer Pyira could smell the sweat dripping from his skin. It soaked his clothes, polluting the cave with a foul odor. Her face instinctively squirmed, and she fought against the impulse. "Come, place the objects on the ground."

Nervously, the man opened his pack and took out the objects. He placed each one down with care, as though putting a child to sleep. Between each herb he looked up at Pyira, checking if the objects were in the right place. She nodded confirmation, wishing he'd hurry up and leave the cave quicker. Finally, he took out a small vial of blood and placed it by the herbs.

"Well done, traveler." Pyira said nodding, breathing through her mouth. "Now, do you have your donation?"

"Y- yes." The young man reached into his pocket and took out some coins, and reached out his hand.

She placed her hand beneath his and the coins dropped into her palm. As the copper hit, the visions came. Her head shot back, her eyes rolling into her head, as she saw every moment in the young man's history. His joy at his first horse, the time he and his brothers ransacked that neighboring village, the promises his dad made of his coming glory. And then she saw the future. What the young man wanted to know.

Pyira lowered her head.

"Did you see it?" the man said, standing. "What did you see? What is my destiny?"

Pyira thought for a moment, forming the sentences in her mind. "There is a great evil in this world, one that attacks people's souls, and turns their blood brown. This evil will come for you too. You will be a warrior against this evil."

The man nodded along, waiting for the next part. However, Pyira was silent. He waited for awkward second upon awkward second, his eyes nervously looking at the cave around him, trying to work out how to release the next part of the prophecy. "That's it?" he eventually blurted out.

"Yes."

"What evil?" the man asked.

"One not of human form."

"A dragon? A ghost?"

"The prophecy is what it is," Pyira said, waving her arm through the air with pretend symbolism.

"But. There must be more? Can you not tell me any more?"

"The prophecy is what it is." The same arm motion.

"Can you at least tell me when I have to face this foe?"

"Sooner than you may think," Pyira nodded.

"Soon?!" The man checked his sword was still by his side. "I will face this foe, I will defeat it and rid the world of this evil. What can I do to prepare?"

"The prophecy is what it is."

"But you saw my whole future. My destiny. Tell me what it is." There was a degree of anger in his voice that irritated Pyira.

"The prophecy is what it is."

"Come on. I climbed this whole mountain and now I have to rid the world of evil and you won't give me anything useful."

Pyira was growing weary with his moaning. "You must go now. The winds are changing." They are changing, Pyira thought, blowing more of your stink inside. "Your destiny awaits. Go. Onward to your destiny."

"But I need more information-"

"Quick. If you wait your destiny cannot be fulfilled. You must go."

That seemed to trigger something in the young man. His back shot upright, and he quickly grabbed his pack. "Yes. You're right. Thank you. Thank you."

Pyira stood with her hands clasped in front of her as the young man gathered himself and headed for the cave entrance.

She watched him leave and let out a long sigh, her body slumping, her stomach paunching out with the release of tension. The annoyance over, she turned back to the other seers in the back of the cave. "I dealt with the idiot, someone else can clean up that mess." She waved a hand over to the pile of herbs.

"We should add something," one of the others said. "Maybe the egg of an eagle and the claw of a lion? That sounds mystical but hard to get."

"Can we not just ask them to bring us a dog?" a younger seer whispered.

"No. No pets," an older woman barked. "Not again." She shook her head.

Pyira reached the group and took a seat around the fire.

"So what was his dessss-tiinnnnn-yyyyy" a woman chuckled. "He off to greatness?"

"He catches dysentery on the walk back down the mountain," Pyira said, placing the coins in a box. "Dies in a week."

More words at r/ArchipelagoFictions

Beverley Chills Cop: The Squeequel. Chapter 2, Electric Boogieloo.

Snowy was daydreaming out the window as Blitzen steered the blimp towards Elfton, when Poiloog interrupted. “Snowy, our analyst, Summer, needs to brief you before the drop.”

Snowy turned. “Summer? I think I worked with your sister, Spring.”

“Oh no, that's Summer Dove. My last name is Emory.”

“Apologies,” Snowy nodded. “Take it away, Summer E.”

“As everyone here knows, but I’ll state anyway, the Christmas Sloth is an immortal time traveller, who every year delivers Christmas presents to all children. He moves slowly, but jumps back in time as he goes, allowing him to deliver billions of presents in one night, even if it lasts thousands of years for him. Santa is evil, and wants to use gifts as coercion, only giving to children who meet his moral standards. Last year, you two thwarted Santa’s attempt to kill the Christmas Sloth before having no major cases for eleven months.”

“Woah, we found that stash of guns at the Winter fair?” Snuggles looked to his partner for support.

“Yeah. Glock in’n’around the Christms tree.”

“Those were water pistols,” Poiloog grumbled.

“Anyway,” Summer interjected. “Elves remain fiercely loyal to Santa. You can’t let them know your police. Now, good luck, gentlemen.”

With that, the floor opened up beneath Snowy and Snuggles and they plunged from the blimp. They screamed as they fell, screaming all four feet until they landed gently in a large snowback, and looked up at the airship floating at head height.

“Hey, you two,” a voice squeaked. “What’re you doing? explain yours’elfs. You police?”

Snowy looked at the three foot woman standing with crossed arms. Then he peered at the blimp with POLICE written on the side knocking a chimney off a nearby house. “Noooooooooooo?”

“Good. If I saw a lawman, I’d shoot the sherelf and the deputy. In that case, we’re friends. How can I help?”

Snuggles dusted off the snow. “We’re looking for music.”

“Oh. For that, the d’elfault place to go is the disco.”

“The disco?”

“Yeah. Elfa Fitzgerald is playing. The owner’s the welfiest guy in town and flew her in.”

“Where would we find this disco?” Snowy said, an antler twitching.

“Just head down the street and turn elft. But be careful,” the woman turned with an ominous aura before walking away. “Something dodgy is elfoot in that club.”

Snowy and Snuggles followed her directions. It didn’t take long to find. The Jingle Ball was written in electric lettering on the wall and even outside they could hear the thumping bass, strobe lights emanated from the windows, and party goers raved to I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

“Kinda gross he had that song written about himself?” Snowy muttered.

“Agreed.”

Inside, they walked into a bar that hung from the low ceiling, then up to a bar that served drinks. A waiter spun round. “What can I get you two ‘elfy gentlemen. Maybe a signature cocktail? We have History is nothing more than a tableau of crimes and misfortunes or A taste of haven.”

“Odd names,” Snuggles muttered. “But don’t you mean heaven?”

“Elf no.”

“Don’t serve those two men. Uh-huh. I should’elf known we’d get your kind.”

Snowy and Snuggles turned to see an elf with quaffed black hair in a white sequin jumpsuit.

“You are?” Snuggles asked.

“Elfis. Musical legend and… Uh-huh… owner of this elfstablishment. Now let’s discuss the elfant in the room, shall we. You cops?”

Snowy looked down at the police badge on his chest. “Nooooooooooo?”

“Maybe we should - uh-huh - test that. You know how you spot a cop. Make them dance their socks elf.”

“What?”

“Cops can’t dance, uh huh. Let’s see how skelful you are on the dancefloor, then we’ll decide if we’re friends or your dead.”

Snowy looked down at his lanky hooves, then across to Snowy’s flat-footed webbed toes and non-existent legs. “I’ll do it,” he sighed.

“No. I got this,” Snuggles waggled forward.

“What? Penguins can’t dance?”

“Just call me Snappy Feet,” Snuggles replied, pulling out a pair of sunglasses in the very dark club. “DJ!”

A record skipped and a voice boomed over the speakers. “Ladies and gentleelf, though the weather outside is frightful, but the fiiirrrrreee on the dancefloor is delightful. So since there’s no place to go, let’s get to a ho-ho-ho-hoedown.”

Boogie music began, as the crowd cleared the dancefloor, hollering in delight. Snuggles waddled in-eloquently to the middle of the room, arched his back… then jerked… Then jerked again. Stiff movements. But controlled. Then he bent his arms, swinging his hips round slowly. Snowy watched on in awe. Snuggles was doing the robot.

“Snuggles… how?”

Snuggles turned to his partner in a slow, smooth motion. “Secret, kid. I’m quarter robot, on my mom’s side.”

You were trained for this moment. A bomb found in a museum. Defuse it or some of the most priceless artifacts in the world will be lost forever - not to mention your own life. However, there is a hitch. This bomb is unlike anything you've ever seen.

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