An H.S. Church original.
Kart had lunch set for himself. It was about noon when the bell tolled at his door. He approached the door and opened it to find what looked like a traveling salesman. However, his question did not sound as if he were selling anything.
'Yae sheen ae flaem 'round 'ere?'
'Yes, but it was but a cooking fiar,' said the shepherd.
'No mor cuking fiars! Is bad!'
'Who… exactly are you?' asked the shepherd.
'Im one of thous who warrn people dor-to-dor! Ae travelling doomsayer.'
'Where's your next stop?' asked Kart.
'Last stop, yae are,' said the doomsayer. 'Erm… maybe is yor naebour…'
'Right; thanks for the warning.'
'Yae'r welcom' said the doomsayer.
Kart closed the door and walked back to the table. When he was done eating, he washed the dishes and paused for a moment to think about what the doomsayer had said.
Kart decided to experiment a little. He pulled out the tinderbox and a small bit of timber.
The shepherd lit the lumber in the back yard. The flame spread slowly, then started to spark wildly. The fire started to extend upward and formed some kind of human-like creature.
'Wh-h-o-o-o daers-s-s-s-s-summon thy deamon's-s-s-s baen?!'
'Deamon's bane?' Kart grabbed a bucket of water, but the water began to boil and the bucket burst into fire. The beast strode off, leaving a trail of ash and dead grass.
Kart just stood there, stricken dumb from what he'd seen. 'I gess Barc isn't the only wizard here,' said the shepherd.