I told Jason to go back to our base with Harold. That way, he wouldn't be frustrated with being in a courtroom a seventh time. I was at the bench on my side and Erica was on her side of the room.
"As I'm sure everyone is aware," she said, "there has been another murder. Two individuals were killed up in the mountains away from our town. Their background is unknown. Anyways, they are just more unfortunate victims of sorcery. A sorcerer's rod was found not far from the bodies and on it we found fingerprints that belong to the accused. We found some of his drool as well. It is unknown why he drooled at the crime scene though. Found in the pocket of one of the victim's pockets was card: the six of diamonds."
"Why do I keep hearing that?" I whispered.
"This six of diamonds," she said, "seems to have an important meaning."
"How so?" asked the judge.
"This card has popped up in the past several cases that I have handled," answered Erica, "The meaning will soon be known. Um… defender?"
"Are you talking to me?" I asked.
"Do you see anyone else at the bench?" she asked.
"Oh, that's right. He died last night." I said, "Um… what is it?"
"This card is important to your quest." she said, "Knowing what you are searching for, you will soon find the answer.
"Um… thanks?" I said, "To be honest, you're kind of confusing me-"
"Now, we shall begin the trial for the one in the cage. He's been accused of sorcery. It seems he used an instant K.O. spell to knock out the victims. Now, here is the book of incantations." said Erica, as she threw the book at me, which I caught this time.
"What is with this woman? She was my enemy yesterday and now she's helping me." I thought, "I wish I could understand what's going on."
"You will need that book," she said, "now I am going to call my first witness to the stand. He was on his way home from the mountains after a long period of… uh… research. Anyways, he shall be coming to the stand shortly."
"Sounds like an… interesting guy." I responded.
Only one question was on my mind. Did I even want to know what Erica meant by "research"? A man came up to the stand with long shoulder-length black hair and his eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses. As soon as he had reached the stand, I spoke up.
"What is your name and what is your job?" I asked.
"Defender… that is my responsibility." responded Erica.
"Oh… um, sorry." I said.
"My name is Jared Hawthorne," the witness answered, "I am a scientist and I like to research nature."
"Nature?" I whispered to myself.
"Please tell us about what you were doing when you saw those… unfortunate events." requested Erica.
"I had just finished my research for the day," he said, "and I was walking and I saw a guy in the distance with a sorcerer's rod."
"Could you clearly see this guy?" I asked.
"Well," answered Jared, "I was a little far. However, the accused's fingerprints are on there."
"Damn. Er, uh, please continue." I said.
"I could also hear somebody in the distance asking for help saying that he was losing his grip." continued Jared.
"Any idea why the supposed killer would say that he was losing his grip?" I asked.
"Because his hands were sweaty and causing the rod to slip from between his fingers?" responded Erica.
"No," I answered, "that request for help had to have come from someone else."
"Who did it come from?" asked Erica.
"It had to have been… a victim of another incident." I responded.
"Are you saying that you know of another murder?" asked Erica.
"No," I answered, "this was a victim of… an accident. Not long ago, someone fell off of a cliff and was thought to be dead."
"Does this even have anything to do with the current incident?" asked Erica.
"Yes," I said, "it means… we have a new witness."
"Prosecutor," said the judge, "we should probably look into this."
"Understood, your honor." answered Erica.
Within minutes, Kevin was standing at the witness stand. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how they found him or how they got him here.
"The new witness was looked into," said Erica, "and we've brought him here to testify."
"That's nice." I said.
"Witness," said Erica, "please tell this court your name and occupation."
"My name is Kevin Kevin Brinkerhoff." he answered, "I'm an archer."
"Please tell us what you 'witnessed' while you were hanging on to the cliff-side." requested the prosecutor.
"I was adventuring with my friends and I… fell off a cliff. My friends came back and shot me with an arrow." said Kevin.
"Hold on," I said, "who shot you with an arrow and why?"
"You should know the answer to that." responded Kevin, sounding a little angry.
"Oh, um… please continue." I said.
"Anyways," said Kevin, "I ended up falling even further. I heard what sounded like an altercation coming from above not long after that."
"Do you know what they were fighting about?" I asked.
"I heard somebody say 'Fainfol', whatever that means." answered Kevin.
"OBJECTION!" I shouted, "I find your testimony objectionable!"
"Is that why you objected?" asked Kevin.
"That is indeed why I objected to your objectionable statement." I responded, "What you just said is an incantation for a certain spell. However, the spell 'Fainfol' only causes one to pass out. Instantly killing someone requires a different incantation."
"What are you getting at, defender?" asked Erica.
"I'm saying that the witness heard an entirely different incantation!" I suggested.
"What!" she exclaimed.
"The incantation heard by the witness was different," I said, "which means whoever cast the spell… did not kill our victims. And going off of this, I'd like to also say that the accused is innocent!"
"Defender," said Erica, "could you tell us why the accused's fingerprints are on the sorcerer's rod?"
"That's easy." I said, "Dexter's prints were put on the rod when he was trying to defend himself, because for some reason, the killer decided to use it as a bludgeoning weapon."
"Do you have proof?" asked Erica.
"It's in the autopsy report." I answered, "I got a copy near the beginning of the trial. Anyways, it says that the victims were beaten to death, and there were some signs of fighting back."
"I think the answer is starting to become clear," said the judge, "it seems to have been proven that the one we are holding in the cage is innocent."
"I guess I have no choice." said Erica, "We will just have to have our detectives investigate further."
"Anyways," said the judge, "this court finds the one in the cage… not guilty."
I had done it. I had saved Dexter. Now, it was finally time to finish our quest. After the trial, all of us were spending some time in the defendant lobby and Erica soon walked in.
"Have you figured out what the card means?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered, "it means we need to take the gems to courtroom number six. I think that is the most likely possibility."
"How'd you even come to that conclusion?" asked Dexter.
"I was thinking the same thing as well." said Erica, "We should head in there."
"But like Dexter said," I continued, "I don't get why it has to be here of all places."
What were the gems going to do and why would they be used in a courthouse? Whatever the answer was, I knew I would eventually find it.