51 Whispers of The Well

In the early hours of the morning, darkness enveloped the world, illuminated only by the cold moonlight casting an outline on everything below. Throughout both the new and old city of Vizima, the landscape was sparsely lit, with only a few groups of guards wielding torches patrolling the streets.

Unnoticed by anyone, a figure clad in dark, tight clothing emerged from the slum area. This mysterious individual wore a black kerchief concealing their face and carried a silver sword. It was none other than Wayne. Intent on uncovering the truth about the house that had captured his interest during the day, Wayne took special precautions, disguising himself and acquiring Geralt's silver sword for the task. Given that the house still belonged to the City Hall, Wayne couldn't simply break in without cause.

His objective was to confirm whether he could address the issues within the house discreetly. By doing so, he aimed to potentially influence the City Hall's decision and, if successful, secure the house at a more favorable price.

Having consumed a potion in advance, Wayne navigated through the dark environment with ease, unaffected by the lack of visibility. Stealthily advancing, he skillfully avoided the gaze of patrolling guard teams and swiftly reached his destination.

The house in question was a two-story structure constructed from brick and stone, resembling a private villa. It featured both a front and back yard, encompassed by a wall exceeding two meters in height.

However, compared to houses with their own storefronts, this particular house was situated in a relatively secluded location. Its entrance and exit were not on the main street; rather, it was positioned almost adjacent to the city wall of New Vizima, separated only by a narrow passage.

Wayne carefully surveyed the surroundings of the house, ensuring that no one observed his actions. Satisfied with the lack of witnesses, he utilized his strength to climb up. Following the gate's location, he effortlessly scaled the wall and gained entry.

The front yard boasted a garden adorned with various flowers and plants. For aesthetic purposes, workers had constructed a wooden gazebo and a small pond within the yard. Wayne circled the garden, detecting nothing unusual. His wolf school medallion showed no signs of disturbance, indicating that there likely weren't any issues.

Approaching the main entrance, Wayne attempted to open it, only to discover it was locked. Additionally, all the windows on the first floor were closed, preventing entry. However, this posed no challenge for the witcher. After circling the house, he spotted a balcony on the second floor.

The semi-circular, open-air balcony sat approximately three meters above the ground. Formerly adorned with several pots of beautiful flowers, it might pose a significant challenge for ordinary individuals, requiring the use of a ladder.

However, Wayne, in his lightly dressed state without armor, stood tall. With a swift upward motion, he jumped, and his arms securely gripped the balcony's edge. After effortlessly pulling himself up, Wayne observed that the balcony connected to the master bedroom of the house. The furniture inside was new and appeared quite upscale. It seemed likely that the previous owner had chosen to leave abruptly, leaving behind various items.

However, Wayne paid little attention to these belongings. Upon entering the house, he heightened his vigilance and cautiously began exploring its interior. If the issues within were caused by mischievous spirits or non-lethal curses, resolving them would be comparatively easier.

However, if it's an evil spirit, things could get a bit troublesome. spirits, collectively categorized as a type of monster, exhibit varying degrees of strength. A potent evil spirit is capable of decimating an entire army, whereas a weaker one might struggle even to manifest. The origin of these monsters lacks a unified explanation, but most scholars and sorcerers posit that when an intelligent life form experiences extremely strong negative emotions and dies at a specific time and place, there exists a chance of it transforming into a evil spirit.

Wayne meticulously searched the house for nearly an hour, navigating from the second floor to the first, from the bedroom to the kitchen, and exploring nearly every nook and cranny. Despite his efforts, he found nothing out of the ordinary. Even his witcher senses and the medallion on his chest failed to register any anomalies, prompting a furrowed brow.

This situation could be attributed to one of two possibilities: either the issue within the house was significant, surpassing his ability to detect it, or there was minimal cause for concern, and the previous buyers' experiences were likely mere accidents resulting from various coincidences. However, Wayne leaned toward the former, as he was inherently skeptical of coincidences. Despite conducting another thorough search, the house revealed no abnormalities.

Preparing to extend his search to the backyard, Wayne departed the house. The backyard, in contrast to the small garden in the front yard, was more expansive. However, owing to the recent construction of the new city, these houses had not been entirely finished. Consequently, the backyard remained an enclosed wasteland. Aside from a deep well situated at the backyard's center, the rest of the area appeared quite level, lacking any discernible abnormalities.

Wayne's attention was instinctively drawn to the deep well. Intrigued, he approached the well constructed of bricks and stones with a cautious demeanor.

The well had a design tailored for larger families, featuring a wellhead width of approximately 1.2 meters. A wooden roof was constructed above it to shield against debris, and a fixed metal rotating rod at the wellhead controlled the rope for drawing water from below.

Upon approaching the well, Wayne immediately sensed an anomaly. His keen senses detected a subtle airflow emanating from the well's mouth, caressing his skin with a gentle coolness. This contrasted with the usual nearly enclosed spaces of typical wells.

Intrigued by this peculiarity, Wayne peered down from above the well. The darkness below obscured any visibility. Even with the enhancement of the cat's eye potion, he could only ascertain that the space beneath the wellhead was considerable, with discernible airflow—almost a breeze.

Wayne's heightened sense of hearing and touch indicated to him that this well wasn't an ordinary structure tapping into an aquifer for water through infiltration. Instead, it was directly carved from the surface rock formation, connecting to an underground river over ten meters deep. It utilized the river water through wooden barrels, explaining the spacious area below the well and the airflow driven by the underground river.

Furthermore, Wayne detected a certain monster's scent emanating from the well's mouth. While confirmation was elusive, traces of some monster's presence were undeniable.

This discovery prompted Wayne to formulate hypothesis about the situation. Perhaps the underground river, linked to a mysterious location, facilitated the entry of a monster or evil spirit into the house through the well's mouth, resulting in various accidents for the previous buyer.

However, the monster, for the time being, didn't pose an immediate threat. It hadn't inflicted life-threatening harm on the original buyer—whether due to incapacity or a lack of intent remained uncertain.

After pondering for a few minutes, Wayne identified three potential solutions before him.

The first method was the simplest: establishing a magic circle to seal the well's mouth. This would isolate the channel between the monster and the ground, restricting any actions it might attempt to alternative routes.

The second method, albeit more foolish and traditional, involved waiting. Wayne could spend several days in proximity to the well's mouth, concealing himself. There was a chance that the monster might emerge from the well during this time.

The last method was riskier: diving into the well, following the underground river to its source, and addressing the root of the problem. Fortunately, Wayne possessed the Hekna Talisman, enabling him to breathe underwater and swim faster.

However, a crucial consideration remained—whether Wayne, with his strength, could overcome the unknown monster or negotiate amicably to resolve the issue.

Contemplating his options, Wayne glanced at the night sky. It was still late at night and early morning, with the moon partially set, leaving about four or five hours until dawn. While pondering, Wayne sighed. If this were a game, he might readily plunge into the well to confront the monster.

Yet, in the real world, where there were no archives or respawns, Wayne recognized the need to avoid unnecessary risks. After a few more minutes of contemplation, he stood up, returned to the house, entered the room on the second floor near the backyard, sat by the window, and quietly observed the wellhead's position.

His hope rested on the possibility of luck, waiting for the entity to fall into the trap it unwittingly set.