Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

with half a brain in his head is fast asleep! The old man's getting senile, if you ask me. He'll be needing help to find his own privy next.'
    Rupert grinned happily as he listened to the Seneschal rant and rave. It was nice to know some things didn't change.
    'Now then, sir Seneschal,' said Rupert finally, when the Seneschal had slowed down enough for him to be able to get a word in edgeways, 'aren't you going to tell me what happened to your leg?'
    'My leg?' The Seneschal stared at him blankly, and then glanced down at the thick oaken staff he was leaning on. 'Oh, that. Julia and I found some demons hiding in the South Wing. Not to worry, though, they're all gone now.'
    He didn't volunteer any details, and after a moment Rupert decided not to ask. He didn't think he really wanted to know.
    'I haven't even had time to say hello to my own grandfather,' grumbled the Seneschal. 'Not that we've ever had much to say to each other, but still ...'
    'Your grandfather?' said Rupert.
    The High Warlock,' said the Seneschal. 'Must be twenty years since I last saw him.'
    Rupert heard footsteps behind him, and looked round just in time to see Harald and the King entering the hall. The Seneschal sniffed angrily, and pointedly turned his back on them all. Rupert and the King
    shared a knowing look.
    'Has somebody upset you, sir Seneschal?' asked the King, politely.
    'Ha!' said the Seneschal.
    'Rupert,' said the King, 'why is the Seneschal sulking?'
    'I am not sulking!'
    'Then what's keeping us?' said Harald. 'The South Wing is waiting.'
    'Just a minute,' said Rupert. 'Is this all of us? No guards, no escort? According to what the Seneschal's been telling me, the South Wing is still pretty dangerous.'
    'You can always stay behind,' said Harald, 'if you're worried ...'
    'I was thinking of the King's safety,' said Rupert.
    'Of course you were,' said Harald.
    'That's enough!' said the King sharply. 'We aren't taking any guards, Rupert, because if the Court were even to suspect what we plain to do in the Armoury, they'd probably try to stop us. And we haven't got time to put down another rebellion.'
    'What happens when we come back with the swords?' said Rupert. 'The Court isn't going to take kindly to being kept in the dark on this.'
    'You can say that again,' muttered the Seneschal.
    'We've been through this already, sir Seneschal,' said the King firmly. 'You have agreed to help.'
    'Besides,' said Harald, 'once we've got the swords, what the Court thiinks won't matter any more.'
    'There'll be time for discussion later,' said the King. 'The dawn is drawing steadily closer, and we haven't even got to the Armoury yet. Sir Seneschal, if you please ...'
    'Oh, very well,' said the Seneschal grudgingly. 'We might as well make a start, I suppose, since I'm here.
    It's my own fault. I'm just too easy-going, that's my trouble. I let people take advantage of my good nature.' the Seneschal continued to mutter and grumble under his breath as he led the way out of the hall, and into the South Wing. Harald and the King followed close behind him, and Rupert brought up the rear, his hand resting lightly on the pommel of his sword. He stared covertly about him as the small party moved briskly through the dim, foxfire-lit corridors and passageways, and at first he was almost disappointed that everything seemed so ... ordinary. After all the songs and legends he'd heard about the missing Wing, he'd been expecting something more intimidating. Rupert smiled sourly; he of all people should have known that songs and legends were wrong more often than they were right. And yet there was something about the South Wing . . . something disturbing. Rupert had felt it first in the hall at the boundary, but as he made his way deeper into the heart of the rediscovered Wing, it seemed to him more and more that there was an unfinished air to the empty, echoing corridors, as though something was about to happen, or was already happening; something that had no end ... A cold breeze stirred the hackles on the back of Rupert's neck, and he shook his head quickly. This was no time to be letting his
    paranoia get the better of him. And then a new thought came to him, and he increased his step so that he could walk alongside the Seneschal.
    'Sir Seneschal, why is this Wing still empty, when the rest of the castle is packed with refugees? Can't we billet some of them here?'
    'Nobody will live here,' said the Seneschal quietly. 'Thirty-two years ago, something happened in this