CHAPTER 8A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
Kellory skulked about the perimeter of the circle of guards, but could discover no way past them. Bonfires blazed, cutting through the murk, and sentinels strode their rounds with alert and wary eyes, swords or pikes held at the ready. Even a slinking water-rat could hardly have penetrated their lines unglimpsed…
Kellory crouched behind a glossy-leafed bush, considering alternative plans of action. Then, as there seemed no other way to gain entry to the palace of glass, he drew from his pouch of periapts and amulets a small box of ebony, wrapped in a silken kerchief. Opening this with a whispered Word, he carefully drew forth a ring fashioned from fragile ivory, set with a large stone of elusive, shifting hues. This odd ring he placed upon his thumb.
It was
