W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 13

Ignorance and Innocence

Balsilide

15 Years Ago

Endarno exits his room smiling. Minutes before, he had received notice that the time of the trial had been changed. Already, a plan is forming in his mind to ensure that he is allowed to enact his plan, and not Walson at the trial. As he opens the door, he nearly runs into his partner.

"Ah, Endarno." Walson says. "Who was that young man that I saw leaving the office?"

"Oh, him. He's nobody. Why? You didn't talk to him, did you?" Endarno says.

"No, I didn't get a chance to. Why do you ask?" Walson says suspiciously.

"No reason. He was nobody, really. He was just delivering a letter to me from my, uh, cousin! Yes, my cousin. My cousin, Rimgar! Yeah, that's it." Endarno says.

"Huh. Okay." Walson says.

Endarno smiles. He was quite proud of himself for making up a story like that so quickly.

"By the way, I still haven't changed my decision." Walson adds. "We will still be using my strategy in the case tomorrow. I know you want to be more aggressive, but I cannot allow you to put our case in jeopardy."

"If that's the way you feel, I have no choice but to respect your decision." Endaro says.

"I glad to hear you say that." Walson says.

Endarno turns to leave, but stops when he hears Walson's voice.

"By the way, what did Rimgar say?"

"Who?"

"Rimgar? Your cousin?"

"Oh, right! Him. Um, he's fine. Poor guy is just starting school right now, but he's doing alright."

"That's good to hear. Tell him I said hi."

"I will. Now if you don't mind, I have a lot of important work to do, and I'd appreciate it if I wasn't disturbed."

"Of course. Good day, Endarno."

"Good day, Walson."

Endarno sighs as soon as he was out of earshot. That was close. Now all he had to do was avoid Walson for the rest of the day and he was home free. He wouldn't let anyone get in the way of him winning this case.

Balsilide

"Alright, door number two."

Will knocked three times on the large wooden door. The sign above the door read SWOG: MANUFACTURER AND BLACKSMITH in large brass letters. Swog was the second of three names on their list of people who could have made the dagger.

An older gentleman soon answered the door. He peered over thick, round-rimmed spectacles perched on a large, pointed nose to get a better look at the Guardians.

"Yes?" he said.

"Are you Swog?" Will asked.

"At your service. Please, come in."

Swog opened the door and invited the girls inside. He walked with a hunched back and used a cane to support himself.

The girls entered his workshop and found it similar to Quincy's. The walls were lined with a wide assortment of tools and weapons. Unlike Quincy's, this workshop was gentler and homelier. The girls felt surprisingly welcome in it.

"Now, what can I do for you? Would you like something to drink?" Swog asked, opening his fridge.

"Sure!" Irma said.

"Um, I'm afraid we're not here for drinks." Cornelia said, elbowing Irma in the ribs. "We're trying to find who made this dagger."

Will presented Swog with the dagger. Swog handed Irma her drink and took the dagger from Will.

"Well, I'll certainly help if I can." He said.

"Really?" Hay Lin said.

"Yeah, you sure we don't have 'persuade' you, or any thing like that?" Will added.

"Of course not! Why would you have to do that?" Swog asked.

"Well, this dagger was used to kill a diplomat." Taranee replied.

Swog smiled.

"I'm not a fool, miss." Swog said, "I make weapons and I know what they're used for. But be assured, I am a legitimate businessman. I have all the permits necessary to make and sell weapons. I cannot be held responsible for what my weapons are used for after I sell them."

"Really? That seems like a dumb system." Hay Lin said.

"Prehaps." Swog replied with a laugh. "Either way, it is a moot point. I did not make this weapon."

"Oh." Will said, taking the dagger back. "Well, we're sorry for wasting your time."

"Wait!" Swog said, forcing the girls to stop on their way to the door. "While I didn't make this weapon, I know who did."

"Who?"

"This is a Bradams' weapon." Swog said.

"Are you sure?" Cornelia asked.

"Positive. I'd bet my entire warehouse on it." Swog replied.

"How can you tell?" Taranee said.

"As I said before," Swog began, "we weapon dealers know what our weapons are used for, and we deliberately make them as inconspicuous as possible. But we are also a prideful bunch, and we always make sure we have some way to tell our weapons apart. You see, the handle of the dagger you hold in your hand is made of Fysher wood. It's a darker wood, and it looks nicer then any other. Only Bradam uses it. It's his signature. Look around the room if you want, you'll see the difference."

Will did, and found that no other dagger in the room had a handle the same as the one she held.

"Why does only Bradam use it?" Irma asked. "If it looks so nice, why don't you all use it?"

"It's heavier and not as strong as most other woods." Swog said. "I prefer function over form myself, and therefore use a lighter, stronger wood."

"I guess we can take your word." Will said, heading for the door.

"I glad to hear that." Swog said. "Good luck!"

"What a nice old man!" Irma said after they had left. "I wonder if he's hiring."

Cornelia rolled her eyes.

"Looking for a job?" Taranee asked.

"I need Karmilla tickets." Irma said, stressing the word 'need'. "But my parents won't give them to me unless I get a job."

"I can get my parents to buy me an extra ticket for you." Cornelia offered.

"Thanks Cornelia, but I got to do this my way." Irma said.

"Um, can we focus?" Will said, snapping her fingers in front of Irma's face. "We just got strike two."

"But at least we know who did make the dagger." Hay Lin said.

"If Swog was telling the truth." Cornelia added.

"I'm sure he was." Hay Lin said.

"Yeah?" Will said, beginning to walk down the road "let's go find out."

Meridian

The Honor Guard looked down on the abandoned city.

Mora had once been the capitol city of Meridian, hundreds of years ago and well before the castle in which Elyon now lived had been built. After the construction of the castle, the villagers of Mora had relocated to Meridian, which was now the capitol. Mora had been abandoned and was now in ruins. Semi-destroyed houses lined remnants of streets, and the nearby forest had crept in, giving the old city an unearthly and spooky feel.

The ruins were visible from the projected site of the portal that would span Meridian and Balsilide, and was the perfect spot for a showdown between the best of both worlds. Located over an hour away from the castle, Caleb had never been to Mora, and therefore had no advantage over the R.E.G.

The Honor Guard strolled down what had once been Main Street. There was no one in sight.

"Maybe they chickened out?" Vathek said.

"They don't seem the type." Raythor said.

"Yes, because you're a great judge of character." Vathek responded.

"Hey, you're the reason we're here, not me!"

"Don't start you two! Stay focused!" Caleb said.

The two shot each other one last glare, then returned to scanning the buildings.

"What if it's a diversion?" Julian said. "What if they just want to get us away from the castle?"

"I don't think so." Caleb said. "For two reasons. First of all, Aldarn and the military are much better prepared to hold off an invasion then the seven of us. Plus, as far as they know, we could get the Guardians at any time. Face it, we're pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. Getting rid of us would just waste time."

"And the second reason?" Julian asked.

"Him."

Caleb pointed down the street where a solitary man, dressed in the R.E.G. uniform, stood in the center of the street. The Honor Guard all drew their swords, and slowly walked towards the man. As they got closer, they could tell see it was Balken, the R.E.G.'s leader.

"Caleb, I surprised." Balken said, as the Honor Guard got closer. "I didn't you could do anything without the Guardians to hold your hand."

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Caleb replied.

"I know this…" Balken said. He snapped his fingers and all six other members of the R.E.G. appeared from behind buildings, completely surrounding the Honor Guard.

"You're out of your league."

"That the best you got?" Caleb said, not taking his eyes of Balken.

"It's enough."

"Let's find out."

Caleb lunged at Balken, who sidestepped the attack and tried to counter with an elbow. Caleb saw it coming and mover out of range. He could see the rest of the Honor Guard begin to pick their targets and engage the R.E.G.. The battle was on.

Balken attacked with his sword, but Caleb easily blocked it. He blocked several more hits before going on the offensive. Balken was more then up to the task. Both men were testing each other, trying to find their opponents weakness. Neither man found any.

Balken backed Caleb up into a narrow ally. He jumped from wall to wall and delivered a flying kick. Caleb ducked at the last second and threw an uppercut of his own. Balken dodged the punch and brought his sword back into play. The two men clashed swords, with Caleb slowly managing to back Balken out of the ally.

Balken threw a punch that Caleb was able to dodge, sending Balken off-balance. Caleb grabbed Balken, and threw him against a wall. Balken was ready for this and managed to kick Caleb away and regroup.

Balken delivered a flurry of blows that Caleb barely managed to block. Balken threw a left hook that missed, but connected with the backhand. Caleb reeled, and was unable to fully get out of range of the Balken's sword. Balken sliced through Caleb's shirt, and drew a thin line of red across Caleb's chest. First blood to Balsilide. Caleb managed to drive Balken back into the wall, giving both men a chance to catch their breath.

"Finished already?" Balken said.

"Are you kidding?" Caleb replied. "I'm just getting started!"

Author's Note

Hello, everybody. Hate to interrupt, but I've got some bad news. Due to circumstances out of my control (A.K.A School), I will be unable to update this story for two weeks, starting on August 20th. I know, I know, I hate it too, but I've got no choice. I'm going to put out one more issue on the 19th, but that will be the last until September. After that, it should be back to normal. For those of you reading my other story, powers, I'm going to try to have that story finished before I go so that it won't be affected. Once again, sorry, and thanks for reading.

- HeartofMeridian