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us to eat,” Alex said with a laugh. “And I can probably help restock your bag as well.”
    Alex conjured up a fire to cook on and started taking things out of his magic bag. Savage actually did the cooking, and Alex was glad that he did. Savage was an excellent cook, and they were soon eating and talking about the different small kingdoms of Nezza.
    They had just finished their meal when Savage suddenly stopped talking and held up his hand. Alex remained quiet as well. With a wave of his hand, Alex put out the fire. He listened to the darkness that had fallen around them. He could hear something moving on the hillside. It sounded like something big, and it wasn’t worried about making noise.

Chapter Four
    Stoics
     

     
    Alex and Savage crawled back under the low hanging tree, stopping at the edge of its shadow to look down the hillside. The sound of something moving was growing louder; it was getting closer to them. The moon had just risen, and its light cast long shadows between the trees. Alex and Savage waited in silence, and then Savage pointed at something in the darkness.
    Alex had seen the movement as well, but he couldn’t make out what it was. The creature continued forward until it was only twenty yards away from Alex and Savage’s hiding spot, and then it stopped. The night grew silent, and time seemed to stand still.
    “What is it?” Savage whispered.
    “No idea,” Alex whispered back.
    For several minutes nothing happened. Alex was trying to figure out what the creature was, but it was impossible to guess in the darkness. The creature remained silent, as still as stone. After what seemed like a long time, Savage spoke once more.
    “Do something.”
    “Like what?” Alex questioned.
    “You’re the wizard. Do something, you know, magical,” said Savage, holding up his hands and wiggling his fingers.
    Alex rolled his eyes at Savage and then turned to look at the creature in the darkness. He didn’t like the idea of facing an unknown creature. It might be something friendly; it might not even know that he and Savage were hidden under the tree. Unfortunately, Alex didn’t think this creature was friendly, and he was sure it knew exactly where he and Savage were.
    After a few more minutes went by, Alex crawled out from under the tree branches and got to his feet. Lifting his staff, he caused the end of it to ignite with a brilliant white light.
    “I am Alexander Taylor, wizard and friend of the council of wizards. What is your business here?”
    There was no reply. The creature stood still for a moment, and then it seemed to bend forward slightly, like it was bowing. Alex tried to get a better look at it in the light of his staff, but his light did more to show him to the creature than it did to show the creature to him.
    The creature suddenly moved, charging forward at Alex.
    Jumping to his left, Alex caught his foot on a dead branch and half stumbled, half rolled out of the way. He was back on his feet as an ear-splitting crack filled the air. It was the sound of stone striking stone, and it sounded as if at least one of the stones had broken.
    Alex looked over at Savage. He had managed to get out of the way as well, though he appeared to be tangled in a nearby bush. Not waiting for the creature to make another charge, Alex sent a ball of flame crashing into it. The fireball exploded on impact, filling the narrow rocky space with light.
    His fireball didn’t harm the creature, at least not as far as Alex could see, but the light was useful. The creature appeared to be made of stone that had been carefully carved into the figure of a giant man.
    The creature bowed again, and Alex knew it was about to charge. He cast a binding spell to hold the creature in place and was stunned when he felt his magic slide off the stone creature like water. He changed his magic to a tangling spell, hoping to keep his attacker in the narrow space between the giant stones and to give himself time to think.
    His