Disclaimer: If you're looking for this story's disclaimer, please refer to Chapter One.

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(October 7, 2005) Well, this chapter was going to include Kirlsa, but it just didn't turn out that way. At least now I know what's coming up in the next chapter! Thanks to Regrem Erutaerc for some really useful ideas for this chapter – you'll see that I did use some of them, though maybe not the way you think! Oh, and alnel4life - I did try to use the chain-line design between breaks, but it didn't work for me...maybe doesn't like my internet browser or something...

I was in such a hurry to meet my deadline (and I procrastinated so much), that I didn't get this chapter beta'd yet. If I make changes later, I'll repost it. Speaking of deadlines, I think maybe I won't give myself one for chapter 4 just yet, since they don't seem to be working out. Don't worry – I still plan to have chapter 4 out before the end of the month, I just don't want to put a specific date on it. Plus, someone or something sicced a whole tribe of rabid plot bunnies on me, and it may take awhile for me to hunt them all down.

And now, witness the horror of my un-beta'd chapter!

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(October 14, 2005) I finally updated this to the beta'd version. There are no really plot-changing differences, but it should read a lot better now. Please feel free to re-read and see if you like the changes! Thanks hugely to Lucrecia LeVrai for putting up with me! Whew, I feel a lot better now that my first battle scene is behind me. Even if it was kind of like Don Quixote and his windmills… ;)

To address lady-warrioress's question of Albel's left arm, or lack thereof – in the game's dictionary, in the second entry for Albel Nox I believe, it mentions that he actually lost his arm, though it doesn't specify exactly how much of his arm was lost… For the purposes of my story, Albel did lose almost his entire arm in the Accession of the Flame ceremony, and he replaced it with a false one. I plan to address the mechanics of his false arm at various points in the story where it fits in – most likely there will be a scene about it when they get to Aquios and have the wedding (which should end up being in chapter 5 or 6 unless I get really long-winded :) ).

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The Nature of Strength

By: BlueTrillium

Chapter 3: Queens and Monsters

She had never seen the halls of Aquios Castle so busy, Nel Zelpher mused as she made her way to the throne room. The reason, of course, was that preparations for the wedding of the king of Airyglyph to the high priestess's daughter were finally underway. True, the wedding would not take place for at least two more months, but a wedding apparently took a lot of planning – a royal wedding, even more so. Nel shrugged inwardly at the thought. All she needed, or cared, to know about the wedding was the security plan. And how to keep out of everyone's way, she added mentally, dodging a frantic maid balancing several bolts of cloth. Reaching the massive doors of the audience chamber, she bowed slightly to the guard outside as he opened the way for her.

Inside, the difference was startling. As the doors slowly swung shut, the noisy bustle was suddenly cut off, leaving only the sharp sounds of her boots striking the floor as she approached the throne.

"Your Majesty," the Crimson Blade went to one knee at the foot of the steps.

"Lady Nel," Queen Romeria acknowledged. "Please, rise."

The head of the Secret Legion rose to her feet, absently noting that it still seemed odd to have an audience with the queen without Magistrate Lasselle present. A welcome difference, but still odd.

"We have just received word via dragon messenger that the peace treaty has at last been completed." Nel nodded. It would have been hard to miss the sight of the air dragon landing in the courtyard. "His Majesty King Airyglyph XIII and his court set out from Airyglyph City two days ago. It is our command that you should ride out to meet them, and join them as part of their escort here, to show a united front to the people."

"As you wish, Your Majesty. Is anyone to accompany me?"

"None at first. However Clair, Tynave, and Farleen will join you as the column passes through Arias. We must show unity, but we must also show trust. We must not make it appear that our people need protection from them."

"Understood, Your Majesty." Nel bowed.

"Go with the blessings of Apris, Lady Nel. This peace is important to all of us." The Crimson Blade understood the subtle reminder. For all that she was a spy, the people of Aquaria knew she was the representative of the queen, and her actions would reflect upon the peace. Nel knew her responsibilities.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Apris keep you as well." Mouth twisting a little with the irony of calling on a deity she could no longer believe in, Nel straightened and left, already planning her trip. If she traveled light and switched lum often, she should be able to easily meet with the king's column at Kirlsa.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Albel was bored. The ridiculous amount of fuss raised by the caravan seemed to scare most of the monsters away, and the few that did attack were disposed of so quickly that most of the civilians didn't even know there had been any attacks at all. Albel hadn't gotten to dispatch a single one, and that, combined with the maddeningly slow pace, was grating on the captain's temper.

After several days of this, he couldn't take it any longer. Abruptly he reined in his lum. The members of his squad paused and looked curiously at him.

"I'm taking you and you" he pointed "to scout the road ahead. Squad leader, you're in command until I return." Before the soldiers even finished saluting, he was gone, the two men scrambling to follow.

Once out of sight of the rest of the entourage, Albel slowed his pace and allowed the other two to catch up. Much as he would have preferred to scout by himself, strategy demanded that he not go alone, in case he encountered some danger that required him to send someone back to the caravan to warn them while he held off the threat. Two men were the fewest he felt he could get away with and not be reprimanded by Woltar later.

Up ahead was an area of the mountains where Albel recalled often finding congregations of venomous pines: deceptive monsters that disguised themselves as trees. Approaching the vicinity, he dismounted, tethering his lum to some nearby scrub. The two men followed his lead. He gestured his soldiers into silence as they neared the dip in the trail. They topped the last rise, only to find nothing. "Damn," Albel muttered before he could stop himself.

"Sir?" one of his men questioned.

Albel ignored him for a moment while he contemplated his options. It had already been mid-afternoon when they left the column, and now it was getting close to sunset. Inwardly he cursed again. His squad had the first guard shift that night; he had to get back before nightfall. Letting out an explosive sigh, the lean swordsman gestured back the way they had come. "Looks like the trail is clear. We have to be getting back. Let's go –"

Even as he finished speaking, an object plummeted to the ground between them and exploded, throwing all three men to the ground. Immediately, Albel got back to his feet, katana unsheathed. He scanned the cliff top for the source of the attack. Squinting against the stark contrast between the sun's glare behind the rocks and the black shadows cast by the rocks themselves, he thought he could make out the waving silhouettes of what looked like branches. A maniacal grin crossed his face for a moment. It looked like the scouting trip wasn't going to be a total waste, after all.

Another projectile shot out over the edge of the cliff toward them, followed closely by two more. Glancing over at his men, the young captain saw that they had finally regained their feet and were looking to him for orders. They seemed uninjured. Drawing on his knowledge of the mountains around the trail, Albel batted the first bomb with his sword down the side of the mountain and shouted, "There should be a side path back near where we left the lum – it goes up to the top of that cliff. Find it and try to get behind them. I'll climb up from here." They seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Go!"

Dodging the other bombs, the knight didn't see his subordinates leave, but when he checked again, they were gone. Finally, he thought. Reaching the base of the cliff, Albel sheathed his sword and started to climb. The venomous pines seemed confused by the disappearance of their prey – he could hear some shuffling and scraping sounds as they apparently milled about. Taking advantage of the momentary reprieve, the slim warrior climbed as fast as he could with the shadows hiding the handholds. He couldn't be silent though, not with his claw and the metal parts of his boots clanging against the rocks, and soon a veritable rain of the small bombs showered down.

Fortunately, most of the projectiles fell far enough out from the cliff that they missed Albel as he continued to struggle upward. Gritting his teeth, he tried to ignore the impacts on his shoulders and back as he reached for a hold near the top of the cliff. Lunging for it, he realized too late that the hold was not really there; it was a trick of the shadows. In a spray of rock dust, he slid down a few feet before he caught himself.

Suddenly the hail of bombs stopped, and Albel could hear shouts coming from the top of the cliff. His men. "Maggots," he muttered. He had wanted to get there first. Grunting with the effort, he pulled himself to the top of the cliff.

He was confronted with the sight of five of the mobile trees surrounding his two men, who were standing back-to-back, swords raised, as the vines lashed out at them. He had to admit, they were doing a good job of defending themselves, but defense alone would get them nowhere. Once again unsheathing the Crimson Scourge, Albel moved closer to the group, enjoying the surge of adrenaline that came with the prospect of a fight at last. Then, "Attack, you fools!" he shouted, slashing horizontally at the trunk of the nearest tree, nearly cutting it in half. He finished it off with another slash, severing it completely, then attacked a second venomous pine before it could react. Several branches fell to the ground, accompanied by Albel's mocking laughter. "Too easy," he taunted.

Enraged, the pine swung another of its branches at him. The young man dodged the blow, then grasped the branch as it continued past him, allowing its pull to swing him out of the way as another tree's vines lashed the place where he had just been. Out of harm's way, he quickly cut through the branch he was swinging from and dropped lightly to the ground, dropping the piece of now-dead wood. "Maggot. You'll have to do better than that."

A slight rumble warned him of the injured tree's next attack, and he quickly leaped aside as dozens of roots shot skyward from the churned-up earth. As soon as the roots began to subside, he dashed between them and stabbed his sword through the trunk. Groaning, the monster collapsed, taking Albel's sword with it. Careless fool, he berated himself. Should have seen that coming.

As he approached the katana to retrieve it, there was a rustle in the dead tree's branches, and two pit tarantulas leaped out at him. With his claw-arm, he swept one forcibly to the side, smashing it against the tree trunk with a satisfying splat, but the remaining spider latched on to his other shoulder, fangs biting down into his arm. The young knight grunted in surprise, then angrily snatched it with his claw and heaved it far out over the edge of the cliff.

Turning back to the trunk that had trapped his sword, he wrenched it out of the wood. Three of the venomous pine were left, and possibly some more pit tarantulas. A wild grin crossed Albel's face; it was almost like old times. He laughed. "Come and get me, you fools!"

Two of the trees were advancing, trying to pin him between them. Ignoring his bleeding arm, he leapt quickly on top of the fallen tree, and then leapt again to a precarious perch in the branches at the top of one of the monsters trying to trap him. Hanging on as it thrashed around trying to dislodge him, he drove the Crimson Scourge down into the center, swiftly drawing it back before it could be trapped again.

Mortally wounded, the venomous pine whipped its branches around in a frenzy. Albel lost his grip and was flung backward into the trunk of the other mobile tree, its rough bark digging furrows into his back as he slid down. A bit dizzy, Albel forced himself to his feet and stumbled away from the pine, half-expecting Fayt or Nel to appear and heal him, even though he didn't really need it. Was that something red coming toward him? Nel?

Shaking his head violently, he pulled his wits together enough to recognize that the object flying towards him was actually another one of the bombs, and he brought his sword up to slice it in half. Fool, he berated himself, that time is past.

The venomous pine slung another projectile, advancing upon him. Again Albel swung his sword, but this time, he hit the bomb back at the tree. Exploding, it set a couple branches on fire. This seemed to cause the pine some confusion, and it paused. Taking advantage, the captain approached the monster, katana ready – suddenly, the tree jerked to the side as another sword slashed at its trunk. "Captain!" The young warrior nodded acknowledgement as the two knights joined him.

Methodically, the three men surrounded the pine and lopped off every branch and vine that attacked them, until at last the monster looked more like a stubby candelabra than a tree. Albel moved in for the kill, but leaped back when another pit tarantula emerged from the flaming crown and fell to the ground. The lean swordsman dispatched it with one quick slash, then finished off the pine.

When nothing else immediately attacked, he looked around. The fifth tree was already severely wounded, apparently taken down by his men while Albel was fighting the first three. The captain snorted and walked over to finish the pine off. Coming up behind the monster, he remedied the situation in three quick blows. He made a mental note to toughen up the training regimen when the trip was over and they returned to Airyglyph.

As the last venomous pine collapsed, he started back toward his men, but was forced to stop and lean against one of the fallen trees as the dizziness returned with a vengeance. Hazily he realized that he must have been poisoned when the pit tarantula bit him. He reached over his shoulder for his pack, and only then realized that the packs had been left with the lum. Cursing, he forced the dizziness aside and reluctantly used antidote runology instead, sealing the wounds on his back and arm as an afterthought.

His men were staring at him in shock. "Captain, where did you learn –?"

"– Forget it," Albel interrupted. He surveyed the devastation. Branches and vines were strewn everywhere, and the massive trunks were distributed haphazardly like a child's toys. The pine that had been on fire slowly guttered out as he watched. "Might as well get some use out of these. The column should be setting up camp by now. You two! Collect as much firewood as you can carry down to the lum in one trip. Watch out for more of those spiders."

As the two men obeyed, Albel examined his sword. It was not a pretty sight. The blade was coated with sap and pine tar, with bits of bark, leaves, and dirt sticking to it. He scraped it off as best he could, but most of the sticky mess remained. He sighed in exasperation. He wouldn't be able to sheathe the sword until he cleaned it, and he wouldn't be able to clean the sword properly until he got back to camp. Resigned to carrying the katana unsheathed all the way back, he gathered some firewood with his claw and, once his men rejoined him with their own loads, started back down the path to the lum.

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Before you ask – yes, Albel knows some basic runology in this fic. He doesn't like it very much, though. However, he's not about to turn down a weapon when it's available. Anyway, please read and review!