Well of Wishes

A couple of hours east from Aylesford into the rocky foothills of the Ozgarn Mountains, lies an old outpost tower built at the site of a legendary spring. A circle of stones was built up around the spring, making it seem to be a well.

The water of the well restores fatigue, and legend is it can reveal Destinies.

Mayor Constance Gutherford tells a tale of the haunting of the Well:

Centuries ago, before these lands were tamed of monsters, the lord of Camlin caused an outpost to be built in yonder rocky hills. It was a stone tower built near a sweetwater spring, later built up so as to resemble a Well. When the beasts of the hills attacked, as they did for generations, the tower served as a defensive point for local people, and countless lives were spared by its existence. The water from the spring, it was said, had rejuvenating qualities, and gave the people hope while surrounded by malevolent beasts. It was even rumored that, when things seemed truly hopeless, wishes were granted to those who drank from the spring and said words now forgotten.

As times passed and the lands were tamed, the tower fell into disrepair as the more fertile lands below were tended. The spring continued to be revered by some.

In the time of my grandmother, however, all that changed. A young couple in love, teenagers, Alfred and Gwendolyn, were to be separated because of a feud between their parents. Unable to bear the thought of being without each other, the two ascended the tower to commit suicide together. Gwendolyn jumped, but Alfred lost his nerve. He returned to our village and told his story in tears, and the people were torn between pity and scorn. He lived out his days in depression and solitude, and died in his middle-years, heartbroken, while I was a young girl.

Soon after Gwendolyn's death though, there were reports of a ghost wandering near the spring, and people told of a sensation of paralyzing cold, and one villager was stricken dead in his tracks when he heard its eerie wail. Some said the ghost was Gwendolyn, and that she was calling after Alfred, in a bone-chilling howl from beyond death.

So, my mother, the previous Mayor of Aylesford, forbade further visits to the spring, and now it has been nearly forgotten except by our elders.

In TBA - John, Jonny Humboldt seems to have came up with a way to put Gwendolyn's spirit to rest.