By Charles Moffat - December 30th 2017.
Author's Notes - I came up with the idea for a fable, the type parents might tell to children, early this morning. I woke up, had the idea, and immediately started writing it down. Pretty much wrote itself. It is too short to publish as an eBook, so I might as well just make it available here.
The fable is set in the hamlet of Izhamet, just west of Weyvin. It is a tiny village and seemed like a perfect place for a fable or legend to take place. Stylistically, I feel the end product is a bit similar to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs and Big Bad Wolf, and the German story of Struwwelpeter.
The Fable of the Incubus of Izhamet
Once upon a time there was three sisters, triplets, living in the tiny village of Izhamet in the land of Korovia. Their names were Anastasia, Katya and Valeska.
The three sisters were all beautiful and many villagers remarked and told them so when they came to buy bread from their bakery. Their bakery was known for its thrice folded loafs.
Upon their seventeenth birthday the three sisters were visited by an horrible nightmare and awoke screaming.
"I have claw marks on my neck!" cried Anastasia.
"I have claw marks on my breast!" cried Katya.
"I have claw marks on my bottom!" cried Valeska.
"Someone was in our room!" they said in unison.
There was definite signs of an intruder. Candles were knocked over, a stack of Katya's books had become scattered, and Anastasia's spinning wheel near the window was broken. The window shutters had been left open and a cold wintry breeze was chilling the room.
Anastasia rushed to close the shutters with a dash.
Katya started cleaning and throwing broken things in the trash.
Valeska ran downstairs to light a fire in a flash.
"The latch on the window is broken," remarked Anastasia.
"There are large claw marks on the floor," said Katya.
"The front door is unlocked and unbarred." Valeska yelled from downstairs.
"Somekind of beast or demon broke in!" they cried in unison.
"It got in through the window," said Anastasia.
"And attacked us while we slept," moaned Katya.
"And got out through the front door," deduced Valeska.
After all was cleaned and fresh linens placed on their beds, the triplets baked a fresh batch thrice folded bread which they ate with goat butter.
"We should ask the other villagers if they have had similar beasts getting into their homes," determined Anastasia.
"They will never believe us. We will have to be smart about asking questions," reasoned Katya.
"We should check with the merchant caravans and swordsmen. Perhaps they know stories of such a beast," suggested Valeska.
And so the three sisters closed up the bakery and instead of selling their bread, decided to deliver the bread to their usual customers instead. On the way they were smart about asking questions about strange scars they saw on the villagers, and making light conversation about legendary monsters. Upon their return they reported their findings.
"The midwife thinks she was attacked by a werewolf while she slept, but werewolves cannot fly," said Anastasia.
"The priest thinks he saw a vampire flying recently, but vampires cannot enter a home without permission," said Katya.
"A swordsman told me a story of an incubus that flies and likes to impregnate women while they sleep," moaned Valeska.
"An incubus could get in through the window," concluded Anastasia.
"An incubus would leave claw marks on everything," fumed Katya.
"Ummm..." said Valeska, causing the other two to stare at her.
"The swordsman said that incubi come back again and again until the women are pregnant," explained Valeska.
"We cannot have that!" said Anastasia.
"Not more claw marks!" groaned Katya.
"But how do we fight an incubus?" asked Valeska.
"We will need weapons," said Anastasia, heading outside to the blacksmith to buy a sword.
"And magic," said Katya, heading outside to find a merchant who might sell her a magic book.
"And knowledge," said Valeska, heading outside to question the swordsman once more.
When they returned they had what they all wanted.
"I got a sword, a dagger for Katya and a mace for Valeska," said a determined Anastasia.
"I bought a spellbook. Fire magic is really hard to learn," said an exasperated Katya.
"The swordsman said silver and acid was useful against demons," said a tired Valeska.
Valeska set down a large ceramic jug of acrid smelling acid and several pieces of old silverware.
"Isn't silver for werewolves?" asked Anastasia, worried her sword would be useless.
"Wouldn't fire be better than acid?" asked Katya.
"Silver is good against both werewolves and demons, and demons are immune to fire," answered Valeska.
The two sisters looked downcast. "But..." said Valeska. "I was thinking we could melt some silver and sprinkle it on your sword blade. And is there any acid magic in that spellbook?" At this the two sisters set to work. Valeska meanwhile rigged a trap inside the bread oven using the jug of acid.
"We should pretend to sleep downstairs tonight, near the bread oven to keep warm. The incubus won't suspect anything until it is too late," said Valeska, who then explained her plan.
And so the sisters carried their beds downstairs and set up near the oven. They lay awake waiting, their eyes gently closed so that they appeared to be merely asleep.
"I just heard the shutters rattle upstairs," whispered Anastasia.
"I just heard someone on the stairs, whispered Katya.
"Zzzzzzz," snored Valeska loudly, doing her best to cover the whispers of her sisters.
"Mwahahahaha!" said the incubus. "Which one should I ravage first?"
"None!" cried Anastasia, throwing her blanket over the demon's head and stabbing him with her silver and steel blade to drive him back.
"Acito splashio!" cried Katya, raising her hands and spraying magical acid on the demon, driving him back further.
"Have a nice trip!" laughed Valeska as she tripped the startled demon backwards and into the bread oven. She closed the door and threw the bolt.
The shocked incubus writhed about in the oven and then began to laugh. "Mwahahaha! Fires cannot hurt me. I was born in flames. Soon I shall be free of this feeble prison and -"
"Good luck with that plan!" said Valeska. She pulled on a wire that was connected to the acid jug dangling above the incubus. The jug rotated and poured out its contents on to the demon's head.
"Arrrrrrrg! No, no, nooooooooooooo!" screamed the incubus.
And then he died, his body wilting into a pile of ashes which fell through the gaps in the brick oven and into the coals below.
"I guess he is dead," said Anastasia.
"Banished," corrected Katya.
"I am hungry. Who wants to make bread?" asked Valeska.
In the morning the triplets opened the front window of their bakery and began selling their new fresh bread. "It is a new recipe," they said.
"Mmm... this tastes really good," said a villager.
"Yes, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside," said a swordsman.
"It is truly heavenly," said a priest with a knowing wink.
"How did you get it to taste so good?" everyone asked.
"Teamwork," the triplets said in unison with confidence.
"I kneaded the bread really good," said Anastasia.
"I mixed up the ingredients just right," said Katya.
"I got the flames in the oven super hot," said Valeska.
And so it was that their bakery prospered and grew famous for their very tasty bread, and although people tried to copy their recipe, it never tasted quite so good.
Many years later the sisters told their story to a passing bard and they wrote it down. "This is really good bread and a good story to go with it," remarked the bard. "But nobody is ever going to believe this story."
"Nobody will ever believe a story that three sisters beat an incubus with brawn, magic and brains?" asked Anastasia.
"Nobody will ever believe that an incubus once found us old ladies attractive?" asked Katya.
"Does anybody want that last piece of bread?" asked Valeska.
The End.
