148: Well, Well, Well

"That is the third scariest well I've ever seen."

Karoline looked over to where Flint was staring down into the well. It was an enormous well, with a marbled stone wall surrounding it and an elegant wrought-iron roof above it. The well itself sat in the middle of a copse of trees in the Far Nor'east of Cragnon, a somewhat icy and windy place at the best of times. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best of times, so a freezing wind tore through the copse and through the two friends.

"You have a list of scary wells?" Karoline asked, walking over to stand next to Flint. "I thought Bowser was weird for having a list of closets he wouldn't go in."

Flint shrugged and turned away from the well to rummage through a pack. "You'd be surprised at how many times I've fallen down wells in my adventures. Once, I spent a whole week down one in the outskirts of Duckburg."

A particularly powerful gust of wind sliced through the copse of trees, and Karoline shivered in her blue Muth-hair lined coat. Thankfully, Flint had been wise in his purchases of supplies and had gotten two coats (even if they were a little thin for this weather). He wore the other one, which was pink. Karoline did not look good in pink.

"Was that the worst well?" Karoline asked.

Flint pulled a grappling iron out of his pack. "No," he said, inspecting the iron for any fatal flaws. "The worst- and scariest- was one out in Cape Cragg. It was tiny and thin, and I couldn't move my arms. The good thing, though, was that I also couldn't drown." Flint chuckled at the memory and turned back to the well. "Well, are you ready to descend?"

This well in the Far Nor'east of Cragnon was famous for the legends surrounding it. Supposedly, weresquigs came out of the well every time the moon was waning, but never at any particular time of night. The one villager who had claimed to see this happening, a Cragnon by the name of Neix, was sleep-deprived and full of himself, but he also said that when it happened the water in the well disappeared. Flint, hearing this, strongly suspected that a Za'Arivean portal was to blame for the disappearing water and the appearing monsters (though he told himself quite sternly that weresquigs aren't real things). Karoline and Flint had come to the well now, when the moon was waning, to see if the water did disappear.

"The water disappeared?" Karoline questioned, just to make sure.

Flint nodded. "Let's go." He wedged the grappling iron into place, making sure it was tightly gripping the wall of the well. Fighting back the tears that welled up when he accidentally nicked his finger, Flint tugged on the iron and turned to Karoline. "I'll go first."

"What, just because I'm a girl?" Karoline challenged.

"No, I just don't want you…" Flint trailed off when he saw Karoline's smile. "Ha, ha, ha."

Climbing onto the wall, Flint grabbed the rope of the grappling iron and slid down into the well. He went down the rope, hand over hand, until Karoline could only see the top of his head. "Don't worry! There isn't any water!"

"I thought you knew that," Karoline said as she crawled onto the wall and took the rope. The rope was a little cold, but thankfully it wasn't cold enough to freeze her hands. Then she, too, slid down into the well.

"I knew, but I didn't know, you know?" Flint replied. Karoline just rolled her eyes.

The well was dark. This seems obvious, but it's only when you're descending into a well trying to find a mystical portal that you realize just how dark wells are. In fact, they're so dark that words kind of fail you. Later, when telling Bowser about it, Karoline said, "It was darker than… than… well, it was really dark." Disturbingly, the well was also humid. See, you usually get humidity with heat, but there in the Far Nor'east it was very cold. It shouldn't have been humid, and yet it was.

And… Karoline frowned slightly. Was that a warm breeze coming up around her legs?

"Are you breathing upwards?" she asked. "Or am I just hallucinating from the cold?"

When Flint finally responded, he sounded like he was trying to force words out. "No, I feel it, too. Either this well has a furnace down beneath it, or the portal leads somewhere warm."

"How far downward is it?"

Flint shrugged, though he knew Karoline couldn't see him. "No idea. My guess is that the portal's pretty far down, though."

The two continued to descend, hand over hand. Karoline's heart was pounding from the exertion, but she willed herself to continue. To amuse herself while descending, she replayed one of her favorite memories in her head.

"Karoline, dear, were you reading this book?"

"Yes, Bowser. Why do you ask?"

"You were really reading A Day with Jane and Howard?"

"You know, Bowser, it sounds almost like you've read the book, too."

"…Nope. Never read a book in my life."

"Then why did I catch you reading The Phantom Tollbooth last night?"

"…You know what they say. Reading something boring helps you go to sleep."

"I love you, Bowser dear. But I don't believe you."

"Humph. …What did you think of Jane and Howard?"

Still in the dark, Flint and Karoline were. …Sorry, Yoda took the keyboard right there. Anyway, the two had been descending for the better part of an hour. Flint was whistling something that sounded like the Flint Cragley Goes to the Dentist theme song, while Karoline continued to replay fond memories. The warmth was slowly getting stronger and was distinct from the breeze; on occasion, the breeze would dissipate, but the warmth would still be there.

Karoline didn't notice when Flint stopped whistling. In fact, she was so deep in a memory that it took him three tries to get her attention. By that time, she had almost run into him. "Karoline!"

"What is it, Flint?" Karoline asked, stopping her descent.

"I'm at the end of the rope," Flint said. "And I can hear something that sounds like waves."

"What are you going to do?"

Flint thought for a moment. "I'm going to let go of the rope. I know the rope was longer than this, because it had an infinite stretching spell on it. So there must be something below us. It could be the portal."

Karoline bit her lip. She didn't want Flint to let go. Who knew what was down there? There was most likely some terrible and abrupt stop that would, if not kill him, bang him up pretty nicely. But… Flint wasn't one to get his facts wrong about ropes and such.

"All right. Be careful, though," Karoline finally replied. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Don't worry," Flint said. "I'll be okay." And with that, he let go of the rope.

Karoline heard him fall through the darkness, and suddenly she heard a splash.

"I'm okay! I just fell in the shallows off of Keelhaul Key!"

Screwing up her courage, Karoline let go of the rope.

She splashed down, safe and sound.

All was well.

A/N: Here's another chapter for all of you! I enjoyed writing this, and yes, I did that title on purpose. You're welcome.

Sorry it took so long to get another chapter! I have no excuses, except being overwhelmed by writing. That's all. …All I can say is I was really blessed by Heavenly Father to get this chapter written!