Forgotten Water Carriers

Water is the life of civilization.  It is considered essential to founding a city because a city requires so much for drinking, cooking, washing and even for industrial needs.  And shortly after a settlement grows to the size of a town the establishment has to grapple with the need for water because it is inefficient to have someone from each household to fetch water every day or even more frequently.
The job of water carriers is the answer to the great need for water in densely populated areas.  A pair of fellows with a specially outfitted and reinforced wagon travels upstream and fills their wagon's great bucket.  Next, they take their wagon to the city where the wagon is emptied into a cistern with a handful of pipes leading away for folks to draw water.  The pair heads back out of the city for another trip.  This keeps up until all the allotted cisterns have been refilled for the day.
When a magical item was discovered that emitted fresh water, and it was learned that it would continue to do so indefinitely, the Count demanded the item be brought to him.  A silver pitcher, finely crafted, was brought before the Count.  When it was tipped, fresh water flowed from the spout.  And it never ceased even after it had been tipped for a few minutes.  The Count recognized the importance such an item would have for his city and so he traded the item for a chest of gold.  The owner thought it was an advantage to him as well since he could not use so much water as the item produced.  Both were satisfied.
The Count gave orders for a new cistern to be built that would supply the keep and the bailey.  Until it was completed the pitcher was used to supply water to the different buildings of the noble household by carrying it from building to building.  Once the cistern was completed, the pitcher was suspended in the cistern in a tilted position and the water flowed.  Pipes were constructed to carry the water to each room where water was needed.  Next, a suspended aqueduct was constructed to carry water from the initial cistern to another.  More cisterns, pipes and aqueducts were built and the need for water carriers in the city faded away.
News of the great success of the system came to the ears of the Duke, and the King.  The king ordered a report and immediately inquired where the item was found.  The Count understood where this was going and sought a powerful arcane or divine magic source to duplicate the power of his magic silver pitcher.  The clerics believed if they could uncover the secret incantation, their god might bless another pitcher.  Some druids sought a naturally occurring rock that was rumored to be able to sprout water.  Some wizards believed the secret would be uncovered in a ritual for sailing vessels granting them power over the wind.  They wished to unfold the secrets and create a ritual for commanding water.  Somewhere the mystery was uncovered and news came to the Count a magic stone was "found" that would emit water until itself was covered in water.  But the creator would not come forward for reasons only known to a few.
A chest of gold was offered for as many stones as the maker would deliver.  The first stone was delivered to the Count before the King compelled him to send his magic pitcher to the Capitol.  And as promised, the Count exchanged the stone for a chest of gold.  The stone was taken by a guarded wagon to the Capitol, and the king was well pleased.  The Count even had the foresight to send an advisor from his household that was very familiar with the construction of cisterns and piping.  The Count also sent a representative to discuss with the king an agreement where the Count would furnish water-stones to each of the other noble households for a set price so long as the supplier was able to complete the rituals.
As a result, in Calanthi, the need for water carriers in the cities is fading into memory.

The Magic Water-Stones have become a great source of prosperity. The people in the cities are suffering fewer maladies of the digestion system leading to improved health and productivity. The frequency of women dying in child-birth and in babies dying shortly after birth has fallen. The full consequence of this has not been measured, but regardless, it is a good portent. And the benefit of putting water carriers to use in another pursuit is a pleasant thought too.  They are healthy, strong folk that know how to handle a team.   There is talk of using the stones to help in irrigation for crops, but many don't believe so many stones would ever be available. There must be tens of thousands of farms across the country, after all.

In some groups of arcane magic users, the secret of the stones is still being sought after. After learning of the theory that a sailors special magic over the wind might become a power over the water, these arcane researchers have wondered what might be accomplished with earth and fire magic as well. The Clerics have convincingly claimed they haven't unlocked the secret with divine powers. The druids also have been convincing in their story that they haven't found a natural phenomena that will produce water like this. But from some whispers, there is a conjurer out there that is locking water elementals into a hollowed out stone, and these water elementals have the power to tap into the elemental plane to produce water to provide the environment necessary for them to survive. What if one of these stones were broken and the water elemental with the power to open a portal to their own plane were unleashed in Calanthi?

Type

Industrial