You call for your court physician: a short, pinch-faced man you employed for his steely nerves, not his bedside manner.
"The disease causes a burning fever, loosens the bowels, and - in the worst cases - kills," the physician tells you. "The well's to blame. Can you smell that? Like brine mixed with rotting fruit. Some foulness of the earth has tainted the water."
Available actions[]
1.
Search the Applewoods for curative herbs Somewhere in the woods lies the key to cleansing the well.
Difficulty: Scholarship*2
Success: Even death may die You find it in the Deepwoods: a flare of red in the arboreal gloom. Deathroot is most easily a poison, but with the correct preparation it could cleanse the pollution from the well. It's fleshy pods look like bloated fingertips. You pick them with a gloved hand. Within the week, the well-water is clear and fresh again. The villagers shower you with flowers and gifts, promising to bring you the finest fruits of their harvest.
+6 Prosperity
Failure: Deserted You search the woods for days, but find no cure. You cast enough elfroot down the well to raise the dead, but the well still reeks of old meat and maggots. The villagers seek other homes. Some join family elsewhere in Serault, or even beyond. Some have nowhere to go. Soon the village becomes another of the empty habitations that dot the countryside. Ivy swallows its crumbling walls. The wind whistles through its cold chimneys.
-6 Prosperity
2.
Order the digging of a new well Close enough to the village to be convenient, far enough to avoid the corrupted source.
Difficulty: Rulership*2
Success: A savior You oversee the work yourself. Under your direction the new well plunges deep, straight, and swift into the earth. The villagers act as though the Empress herself were staying with them. They feed you as well as they can, and share all they know of their corner of your realm.
+5 Clues, +10 Prosperity, +1 Authority, -1 Bag of Royals
Failure: Slow going The ground is hard with stones. The new well slinks slowly through the unkind earth. It is weeks before the village has its water. Your efforts are appreciated, though. You learn much about a part of Serault you've had little cause to visit before, and the villagers speak highly of your character.
-1 Bag of Royals, -10 Rumors of Revolution, +5 Clues
3.
Disperse the villagers among neighboring manors You can find them homes where their labour is needed, but it will mean splitting up families and friendships.
Result: Exodus They aren't happy, but prefer dispersal to starvation. In ones and twos, amidst tearful goodbyes, they are scattered throughout Serault to manors in need of strong backs and skilled hands.
+10 Prosperity, -10 Freedom
