The tree looms large. Very large. On inspection people see it as either an ash or an olive tree, either wood or ice either mundane or magical. There is no-one in the covenant grounds at all
Orlaith flies up to see how tall it is, but the branches always seem out of reach. On her descent she espys a knothole. On approaching it grows to the size of a doorway. A rope ladder is established to enable Pumillius and Karl to climb up, and the knothole/doorway leads through a tunnel to a regio boundary. With joy in their hearts they cross the boundary.
They find themselves floating on a solid golden platform, surrounded by howling winds and screaming voices. On the platform is a hackneyed puzzle involving bottles of air and a b*tree puzzle (see here :http://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/18709/how-can-i-turn-a-b-tree-into-a-puzzle?rq=1 for details).
They manage to make the platform (with the Magi aboard) move towards the moonlit path and they proceed to walk to the next layer of the regio.
The scenery starts off being perceived as snow covered with ski tracks following a quadruped. As they follow the environment turns into a more pastoral scene, and they come across a woman with a bow bathing in a pool. Luckily Oralaith speaks first and so the group avoid the fate of Acteon. She asks if they are here for the hunt.
Orlaith says she was wondering where her friend Tethys is, and the huntress directs them to follow the river as then the should surely find the sea at the end, and asks again if they are there for the hunt. The magi again demur and leave her in peace. They follow the river and Martin is filled with the scent of the chase. As the joy of the hunt courses through him the river gets wider and wider until they find themselves at the coast. There floating in a mini iceberg ( frozen water,not a lettuce), just at the mouth of the river is Tethys.
She is smiling and Pumilius slowly melts the ice away with judicious use of Pilum of Fire. She says
"It's so beautiful"
,sighs, and the Party is stunned to find themselves back in the Covenant at the base of the Tree. Voices indicate that the covenfolk have returned, but a thorough search reveals no trace of Tethys.
The knothole is investigated again and the room with the platform and the bottles is as they left it, but a few judicious applications of Rego herbam puts the clouds back into the bottles, and thus the golden platform back into the starting position.
Time Passes:
At the Autumnal Equinox the Hibernian Tribunal is held, there is much to do about regularizing the covenant of Hill of Uisneach (Have they defended their Catharch, do they have enough cattle etc.) after this has been done Orlaith Pumilius Karl and Vincent set up a trade of books (One intellego Summa, one Muto Summa, and One Philosophy Summa) Aoide will provide similar recompense (Players to determine what books they should copy).
Next Session will be the end of Summer 1231