The well was much older than the social fabric of the village. A culture expired long since, in ancient times had chiseled the smooth shaft through solid basalt. It was so deep that in living memory only twice had anyone risked the descent to the water's surface, and only to recover fallen creatures which otherwise would have poisoned the source: once a cat's cadaver, once the corpse of a child. Then the well had gone dry. No one knew the cause of the disaster.