Unknown

Villagers awake to find that a strange well has appeared in the center of town.

They have never seen a well before.

They don’t know what it is or where it came from.

They are curious, heedless.

Many townsmen want to explore it; one vaguely expresses concern.

Some want to stay away from it.

Discussion across the day eventually leads to a decision.

A group convinces the rest that it is probably harmless, and may serve a beneficial purpose to the town.

“We will drop an object down to determine the depth first.”

An apple is dropped. A short wooden plank is dropped.

The bottom appears to be soft and not too great a distance.

“We can use this as storage, keep the most valuable of our weapons and devices hidden.”

“Someone will go into it and begin examining the walls and constructing a solid floor upon which to build.”

One man, an experienced carpenter, volunteers.

Night has fallen.

With an oil lamp and a strong pulley system, he is slowly lowered into the darkness.

“Appears to be structurally sound! Keep it going!” he yells, before it becomes hard to breathe.

The light becomes faint to the onlookers, who are surprised at how distant the man seems.

The light completely disappears.

The rope is thinning as quickly as the air.

It snaps.

The man plummets with a silent, helpless scream.

The rope above goes limp.

A light shone down exposes a rotten apple and a warped wooden plank lying on a soft floor.