“We need a ruse,” the old monk grunted, frowning and nodding his head. “A stratagem to lower the odds against us. We need to remove either Longhair and his men from the equation, or this wizard. If they combine their efforts against us . . . ”
He did not have to finish. We both knew what the results would be if we confronted a united effort our foes sought.
“Why does it take so long for the wizard to arrive? Can wizards not just blink their eyes or recite an incantation, and arrive in Charades instantly?”
“Yes, they can.” I nodded, smiling. The old man was a natural Null Stone. He could shut off the powers of most wizardry by just his sheer presence within close proximity to a wizard. But, for all his powers and all the years he roamed the high country and the foothills as a warrior-mon
