A Well [Setting]
The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. (Luke 6:45, NASB 1995)
A Well
Hitting water is only the first step, though it is the most important one. Once the shaft is dug, the current bracing must be replaced with wood for the task. The temple stores bastard wood for such occasions. Each timber has been soaking within the temple, hallowing each fiber from the outside in. These timbers become the new bracing. These timbers are the heaven's declaration:
"thus far you shall come, but no farther".
They form the line, the ring, which forbids anything below from crawling to the surface.
Twice a year such successful wells are inspected by the priests. Once at the end of the dry season and once at the end of the wet season. The priest descends and each timber is inspected for any marks or decay. Bastard wood is mean; the world is meaner. Such signs are evidenced further down in the well, where the below attempts to scratch out the line cut by the above. Any marked timbers are replaced to maintain the sanctity of the well.
Well water is free from the influence of that snarling animal above who has dominion over the land. The water is fresh and cold, two rarities in all the world. Sadly, it is not clean. Oh, it is free from salt, that much is true. But it is not free from the chaos which writhes and hates below. It is fresh, but unclean; potable, but impure. Such water must be cleansed from the influence of chaos, lest below spread above. The process is slow: all well water must be brought to the temple to sit and soak in the presence of divinity. Only after this length of time has the contagion been burned out, making the water truly safe to drink.
Abandoned Wells
Not every well hits water, but every well is a deep puncture into the earth. Failed wells are common, marked only by a cover secured to the mouth of the well. Some have their covers intact, some have splinters of wood surrounding their mouth, some do not have covers anywhere in sight. Abandoned wells never received hallowed timbers. No line was cut. It brought up no water, but it did allow for chaos to bubble to the surface. An abandoned well is a tunnel for the Other to ascend and enter into our world.
All the more reason to praise the heavens for the screaming, stinging salt winds of the flats. It'll kill whatever gets caught in it.