Hesitantly, looking around to make sure he was alone, Tsamais got out the lantern and placed it on a stone railing. He lit a piece of reed by ordinary means—stirring the coals in the brazier where he’d prepared his own supper—and slid the burning reed in through the round hole in the side of the lantern until he touched the wick.
At once the shapes cut into the shell of the lantern came to life, and it seemed that the bright folk from out of the forest were walking around him now. He felt the heat of their nearness, but it was a gentle, pleasant burning, which did not hurt him.
And a bright king stood before him, wearing a beehive-shaped crown like a king of Riverland, clad in gleaming scales and jewelry. His bare arms and his face were almost too bright to look upon. His sandals crunche
