The tuneful chirping of the temple's resident silverfinches woke Hella late in the morning. It took her much longer than usual to come round and remember the dramatic events of yesterday. With a guilty cry she realised that she'd missed the low tide and the morning trip to the river to replenish their stock of fresh water. The thought made her sit up rapidly but then she immediately felt dizzy and had to sink back and close her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened them again, Jodyth, Gemulae and the old widow were suddenly all in her room, wanting to see how she was.

Gemulae had a welcome cup of water and understanding Hella's unspoken concern, informed her that she'd taken on her duty this morning and fetched their water.

"And have you watered the plants?" Hella asked.

"Yes, yes, don't fuss!"

"We were worried about you," Jodyth said simply. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Tired," Hella answered honestly. "Maybe just a little feverish. I don't know."

"Have you been skipping meals?" the widow asked.

"Well, there's never enough to go round and I'm not always hungry so..."

"There is today," the widow said. "And I'm going to see that you get a good breakfast inside you when you're ready to come down."

"No services today," Jodyth said. "It's a rest day. I want you to rest and get well. And eat properly."

"My flute!" Hella remembered. The one thing of sentimental value which she still had from her home in Earthengrew was now at the bottom of the ocean. How was she going to tread the way of the harmonic path without it? It wasn't like Hella to be emotional. She always thought of herself as a practical soul, but then she wasn't used to being the centre of attention and suddenly it was all a bit overwhelming. Put it down to the fever (because she really was unwell), put it down to stress, put it down to tiredness or all three but something came welling up from inside all at once, and she burst out in tears.

"I'd only just given you that glass of water and I thought you were going to sob it all out," Gemulae said, provoking a wan smile from her friend.

"A good cry never hurt anyone," the widow woman said. She had prepared their breakfast herself. The delicious sound of frying fish was complemented by the aroma of lemon and sage, and by the time it was set down in front of them, Hella found she had more of an appetite than she imagined.

"Can you tell me what happened yesterday afternoon please?" she asked timidly as they ate, "I... I can't really remember it properly. I think I really was ill. I... I'm better now though?"

That would have been a more convincing assertion if it hadn't been said with a slightly plaintive intonation, halfway between a question and a statement. The other women exchanged concerned glances but Gemulae was the first to respond.

"Well, you certainly made more than a bit of a splash," she began. "I have to admit, I thought I knew how to get that fisherman's attention when I threw myself in front of his cart but you're on a different level, Earthengrew girl!"

Even Jodyth had to smile at that, although she didn't exactly approve of Gemulae's joking interpretation of events.

"Maris jumped in straight after you as soon as he saw you fall overboard. You were in a state. I mean confused and more than half drowned. He got you back on the boat, you must remember that?"

Hella could remember coughing up water for a long time, then her mind went blank.

"We got a lift back all the way to the temple afterwards," Gemulae continued. "Nothing was too much trouble for our fine fishing captain. And he gifted us some of the best parts of his catch, which you're eating now. He was very worried about you."

"D... did it work then?" Hella asked. "The whole fish charming spell? I thought it had failed."

"The catch was better, but it wasn't good enough," Jodyth answered. "That's what the authorities are saying. The spell just disintegrated too soon. Rumour has it that the Deep Sleepers were turning over down in the sea bed and that was the source of the corruption."

"What now then?"

"We try again. Apparently the spell casters have another idea. Some alternative music that is supposed to work better with a different charm spell and definitely won't disturb the Deep Sleepers this time. In theory."

So it turned out that it was actually a practice day, which wasn't quite the same thing as a rest day, Hella felt, even if the priestesses didn't have public services to conduct. She didn't feel ready to face other people today though, so it was good to have just the three of them together and to have some proper time to work on their performance of this new score, which had arrived with couriered instructions whilst Hella was still sleeping.

Well, actually it wasn't just the three of them. There was also the widow, who had somehow graduated from visitor to guest.

"Do you have a cooling pot anywhere in this kitchen?" she asked. "We've got more than enough fish here to last for two more days, but only if it can be kept out of this heat or it will spoil soon enough. I can make some salted pastes that'll keep longer, but they won't be as nice."

"The only one we've got is an old thing over there in the back corner of the larder," Jodyth said. "It doesn't work though. Hasn't done for as long as I've been here. We should throw it out."

"Let me look," the widow said and then a few moments later she exclaimed in surprise. "Do you know what this is?"

The Wheat Street Temple Cooling Pot

"An old cooling pot that doesn't work," Gemulae said. "We told you!"

"Dear oh dear," the widow tutted. "Does nobody remember anything these days? This isn't just any old cooling pot. Do you know how old this cooling pot is?"

"How old is it then?" Jodyth asked, half in irritation and half in curiosity.

"Older than this temple for a start. Older than your city as a matter of fact, and then some. This pot of yours dates back to the days before the Planar Conformation. And further still, if you believe it. It's older than the Old Pale Empire. It's older than your entire faith. When Lynodyth walked the earth, this cooling pot was already someone's precious possession. It's older than the Sundering. Your cooling pot was made on Zisleth by the mages of the Kingdom of Snowborne in the Axial Tower and when it was first made it would have been charged and enchanted with polar snow. It's one of only a very, very few that still survive from that original design."

"Still doesn't work, though," Gemulae said with apparent scepticism, but you could tell she was impressed and was looking at the elaborately decorated blue and white glazed vessel with fresh eyes.

The widow sighed in exasperation. "It's like all old things," she said. "It needs some care and attention - someone to look after it. These pots can be made to work again, they just need a suitable sympathetic seed and a little light re-enchantment and it'll be better than every other pot in this city, I'll vouch for that. And I'll take care of it, if you let me."

Jodyth shrugged. What had they got to lose?

"We weren't the only ones to struggle yesterday," the old priestess told her junior colleagues when they were all sitting in the Chapel of Tones. "It's been decided all the temples need more time to learn and rehearse, so we're getting a morning AND an afternoon and then if we pass tomorrow's early test, it'll be onto the boats again for the sixteenth bell high tide."

"Test? What test?" Gemulae queried.

"The City Harmoniser and his team will be going round all the temples listening to their performances. He'll judge whether each one is good enough to meet the standards of the new magical casting. He's starting in the west and working his way towards the quayside and we have an early slot at eighth bell."

There were a number of optional parts which could be combined according to the availability of instruments and musicians and the priestesses spent half a bell just studying the scores and discussing their options although in the end it was Jodyth's decision.

The senior priestess took the harp, Gemulae was allocated a violin part again and it was decided that since Hella's flute was no longer an option, she would take a pure singing line. The youngest priestess also had the best voice of them all, a sweet mezzo-soprano with good breath control, although she could not project it with the sustained volume that some more challenging performances demanded. Fortunately, this particular arcane harmonic ritual did not require especially loud vocals although it was still a complex piece of music. Soon, all three of them were absorbed in the learning process and they were so focused on their collaborative work that when Jodyth declared it was time for a break, Hella could hardly believe it was midday already.

The widow had prepared a meal again and the priestesses silently agreed that she was a most helpful guest and a welcome one whilst they had these new duties. It was fish of course, but this time it had been steamed and marinated in a spicy sauce and was served with potatoes, peas and a loaf of Zane Pilder's bread. It was absolutely delicious and all four of them ate with relish.

Turquoise Wallstone

"I used leaves of wallstone to provide that hot peppery savour," she explained in answer to a question from Jodyth. "You have plenty of it growing in the cracks in the temple walls. I just harvested a little. And don't worry, I didn't take from your garden. The vegetables came from the market, at a steep enough price though, I can tell you!"

The widow was clearly pleased by their compliments but most pleased by her success in restoring the cooling pot , which became clear when they had all finished eating.

"The cost of ice round here!" she grumbled good naturedly. "Back in Soque it used to be virtually free. Maybe not now though. I don't know. Anyway I suppose these transformation mages have to make a living and it can't all come from desalination. Still, mage ice is extortionate. Just as well you won't be needing it now," she concluded smugly, showing them all the results of her work.

The pot was indeed cold and the remaining fish, good for two more meals, was sitting at the bottom, packed in ice.

"The sympathetic seed was the easy part," the widow said, "despite the cost. Really it should have been natural polar ice. Magemade ice is about the worst possible substitute but it's the only thing I could get in this city. The difficult part was re-enchanting the pot. I didn't need to pay a mage for that. I knew how to do that myself. You don't live as long as I have without picking up a few tricks on the way. Anyway, I'd say this is now good for another fifty years before it needs recharging."

A large jug of water had been placed at the bottom of the pot and the contents cooled to a refreshing temperature. Hella had forgotten what it was like to have a nice cold drink on a hot day and as lovely as the meal had been, she thought that little luxury was the highlight.

"It's a shame not everything is so easy to mend," the widow said and her face fell.

Jodyth frowned as their guest drew out a hair net, the same one that had caused that strange little fracas as they left the temple yesterday. The widow ignored the older priestess who had refused her then, and turned her attention to the violin player.

"Your hair is lovely," she said, brightening and addressing Gemulae. "It's so long and golden. It would be perfect to repair my net. Can you not spare me two lengths?"

Gemulae's startled response was instinctive and forthright. "No! My hair is lovely and I thank you for saying so, but I need my lovely hair..."

"Only to attract men!" Jodyth snorted.

Gemulae bridled. "I need it to keep my dignity. We're representing the temple at sea tomorrow. How would it look if my hair was all cut to shreds? Besides, you never offered your hair yesterday, did you and that was only one cut you told me?"

The old priestess and her young deputy glowered at one another.

"In any case, who mends a hairnet with hair?" Gemulae continued, turning away. "It's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of! You don't use hair to make a hairnet!"

The widow sighed. "I had hoped," she began but then seemed at a loss for words. "It doesn't matter. The hair must be freely given and your hair is yours to do with as you wish, just as you say. Forget I asked."

The little altercation was soon over but it had soured the atmosphere of good cheer they'd all been enjoying and the afternoon practice sessions began badly. Even so, the music they were working on had a definite compelling quality and Hella felt a growing respect for the composer. As they all absorbed the themes and worked to interpret the intent of the piece and bring it to life, the soothing magic of music calmed them all.

By evening the trio of musicians were feeling quietly confident about their ability to make the music the new sea spell required. The widow seemed very happy to have become their informal cook whilst they were all working so hard and for their evening meal she'd even managed to skip the fish and offered up a cheese omelette with mushrooms. Who knew what prices she'd had to pay at market for these luxuries? The priestesses were grateful and didn't ask. Any lingering hint of animosity that might have arisen from the refusal of the widows strange request at lunchtime dissipated as they all ate together again.

There was much discussion of the new spell, speculation about tomorrow's test, which made them all nervous, and the prospects of success. Hella was quite caught up in the excitement of it all and couldn't help but wonder if they'd be sailing on the 'Pride of Laque'. She'd like to see Maris again. She wanted to thank him for rescuing her from drowning and she wanted to show him that she wasn't just some silly girl who fell in the ocean when the boat rocked. She had genuine talent as a singer and she could make a contribution to helping his ship bring more fish back to the city.