From the air, Kykna had spotted the Round Meadow, a ten-foot-diameter circle of grass marked off by white stones. This, Thomlyn had told the magi, was said to be a magical site, home to a giant. So Cleis the Huntress led Ilius, Gergo, Tereysa, Conrad, and a few grogs inland. They passed Manannan's Chair, a faerie mound, Tereysa rode up to explore. There, atop a bare hill surrounded by trees, she found a barrow sealed with a large and heavy stone. But the expedition was bound elsewhere, so she rode off to catch up.
They found King Orrey's Road and turned north. This is a road in name only, and is really no more than a wide and clearly beaten trail. Regardless, they took it to the foothills of the mountains and then turned west, finding their way through the wet, marshy ground where the Silverburn River ends. And, after about four hours of travel, Cleis found the Round Meadow.
With his Second Sight, Gergo discovered a regio inside the circle of stones. Carefully he led everyone else inside, where they discovered the meadow was two miles across, not ten feet! And in the middle of that wide circle was a 12-foot hairy (but naked) giant with the horns of a goat, wielding a tremendous scythe in his swift-moving arms. Soon they were hailed by the giant, who introduced himself as Fenodyree and told his sad tale.
Once, Fenodyree had been a courtier of King Manannan, whiling away his time in endless feasting, dancing, and revelry. But Fenodyree fell in love with a mortal woman. Entranced by her straw-blonde hair and grass-green eyes, the giant forsook his duties in Manannan's court. When he failed to attend a dance thrown by the king, he was cast out of the court and cursed with his hideous appearance. Fenodyree would give anything to return to the court of Manannan, but as an exile, he needed someone else to speak for him. Fendoyree offered to teach the visitors how to reach Manannan's court. Would the wizards be willing to do this favor for him?
Kykna, as the resident expert on all faerie matters, concluded that despite his huge size, Fenodyree was actually a kind of brownie. This suggested two things: first, he was helpful and not a threat, and second, under no circumstances must anyone offer him clothing. For if he was offered clothing, he would have to leave. Armed with this knowledge, the magi agreed to help Fendoyree in his quest, and the giant invited them to stay in the Round Meadow for now, while they gathered their resources.
Over the next couple of days, Cleis led the rest of the grogs and covenfolk to the Round Meadow. Pablo, of course, could not walk, so Ilius carried him on the wizard's flying carpet. Soon, everyone was safe in the regio, where the weather was always pleasant and the giant was helpful and friendly (especially if the covenfolk left a bowl of milk out for him). The magi experimented with some spells and determined that the mundane meadow beyong the regio possessed a Magic aura of 2, but the regio itself was Faerie with an aura of 4. Tents were pitched near the river's edge, and Thomlyn continued his work setting up a laboratory so that he could create alchemical powders and potions to help Pablo. Sabine, meanwhile, was instructed to learn the local Gaelic, to facilitate her role as a translator and scribe. Thomlyn knew the monks of Rushen Abbey could teach her this language, but the monks would not permit a woman into the abbey. So Sabine was allowed to rent a room in a private home in Castletown, from which she could recieve the monk's instruction.
It was now mid-January, a month into winter. The magi concluded that, while the Round Meadow was certainly safer than camping out on the Ronaldsway, it was not a fit location for a covenant. They wanted a regio, but one of magic origin, not faerie. And the Magic aura of the mundane meadow was not physically large enough for a covenant. They would have to seek elsewhere. But where?
Magi from Stonehenge, Hibernia, and Loch Leglean had been trying to settle Man for centuries. Those covenants had all fallen, but presumably they had been built in Magic auras. If the magi could go to these locations, they could potentially rebuild one of them, or even start anew on the same spot. Every new covenant had to register it's location with the Redcaps, but each tribunal kept its own records. So it was decided the magi and companions would divide their efforts: Conrad would lead a group to the Mercer House outside Coventry in England and Thomlyn would lead a second group to Hibernia.