>>6343105Sorry about the wait, friends. I had a well-needed nap. On with the story! We're finally here!
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Following the path, you finally see it with your own eyes -- the sacred well shrine. A stone brick well was built up, with some wooden beams jutting over and to its sides, for whatever reason. There is also a stone slab with some kind of inscription on it, that you are unable to read. Near the well, there is also an old bucket that has seen better days, but it should still work to fetch water.
Immediately, Sabine and Arne peer over the edge of the well. "Woah!" They say in unison.
You pick up the bucket, but notice the rope that was once attached to it has frayed away over the years. You look at Mandevilla. "Do you know why we came here, to this well?"
The woman looks around at her vines that once covered the whole area. They lie about, hanging from the wooden beams of the shrine and are littered about on the ground. "I do not." Her voice is quiet.
"The young humans, their mother is ill. They are frail and defenseless, and yet they risked their lives in the wilderness to fetch this blessed water for their mother."
Mandevilla fails to give a verbal response, but holds onto the bucket in your hands. She plucks a green sprig from her hair and whispers to it, and you watch as it grows, and stretches into a long, strong vine. "You'll need a cord for the bucket to fetch the water, yes?" She quickly ties the vine to the bucket, and takes a step back once she hands the object to you.
"Thank you." You now realize that you're not sure how you would have gotten the water without a new rope...
You look over at the young ones. "Arne, Sabina? Are you ready? I'm going to get your water."
Arne pulls out a water skin. "I'm ready." Sabina stands by, hands folded.
You slowly lower the bucket into the well. You pray, hoping that the spirit of the well hears you. "Spirit of the sacred well, we are here on behalf of the mother of these young ones. She needs your healing waters. Please help!"
You feel a faint bloom in energy. The sensation is similar to magic, but it is like nothing you have experienced before. You hear a voice echo from the well, "You have fulfilled my request, so I shall grant your desire. Drink of my waters, and be healed..."
You pull up the bucket, and find it is full of pristine water. Quickly, Arne dips his waterskin into the liquid and fills his vessel. There is still some left. You can feel the sacred power emanating off of the water!
>Drink it. You've earned after all this trouble.>Offer it to Arne and Sabina. This is their journey, after all.>Offer it to Mandevilla. It will serve as a symbol of her repentance.>Offer it to your brother. He's looking pretty thirsty. 