"Rest easy men," Jack said and entered the pagoda.
The difference in temperature was immediate, with the tall conical roof keeping the interior cool and dark and pleasant. Half a dozen soldiers wandered around, staring open-mouthed at the dragon statues and the huge Buddha, with their voices muted as if they were in church, which, Jack surmised, in a way they were.
He had expected to see a single statue of Buddha with perhaps rows of pews as in a church back home. Instead, he saw a vast open space surrounded by an unknown number of icons in gold, porcelain and brass, with Buddha sitting cross-legged with a smile of peace on his face. He did not see the source of the light that gleamed from the soft sheen of gold and reflected from a hundred precious stones.
Jack stopped in awe. He hadn"
