Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

steel on leather as Rupert and Julia drew their swords.
    'Anything?' whispered Julia.
    'Not a sound,' murmured Rupert.
    'I'm not being stopped now, Rupert.'
    'No more am I. Ready?'
    'Ready.'
    Rupert hauled the stable door open, and leaped out into the moonlit courtyard, Julia at his side. Outside the stable, a dozen goblins were busily looting half a dozen unconscious guards. The smallest goblin looked up, startled, and then grinned broadly at Rupert.
    'Hello, Princie, how's it going?'
    'A lot better for seeing you,' said Rupert, sheathing his sword. 'But hadn't we better get these guards into the shadows? They're a bit conspicuous out here.'
    'First things first,' said the smallest goblin, tugging hard at a guard's stubborn signet ring. 'The only ones who might spot us are the guards up on the battlements, and I've got a few of the lads keeping them occupied, just in case.'
    'And just what were you doing out here at this time of night?' asked Julia, still hanging on to her sword.
    She stared suspiciously about her, and glared meaningfully at a goblin who got too close to her. The goblin retreated in a hurry.
    The smallest goblin grinned triumphantly at the signet ring now adorning his thumb, and then looked a little sheepishly at Rupert. 'Well, to be honest, you're not the only ones planning on doing a moonlit flit. It didn't take much foresight on our part to realise that once the fighting was over, we goblins were going to
    be about as welcome here as an attack of rabies. So, we decided to gather up our families, grab what goodies we could, and make a run for it. It's not as if we had any reason to stay, you're the only one at Court who ever had any time for us. And with your brother on the throne . . . Anyway, we saw you were in a bit of trouble, so we thought we'd help out. Just for old time's sake.'
    'Thanks,' said Rupert. 'Where are you headed?'
    'Back into the Forest. We've never had much time for cities, or even towns. Too many walls make us nervous. Besides, I've come up with some great new schemes for waylaying defenceless travellers. Stick to what you're best at, I always say.'
    'Good luck,' said Rupert dryly, holding out his hand. The smallest goblin reached up and shook it firmly.
    'Good luck yourself, Princie. You're not a bad sort. For a human.'
    He whistled sharply to the other goblins, who quickly dragged the unconscious guardsmen away from the stable and into the shadows of the inner wall. In the space of a few moments, nothing remained to show that they had ever been there. The smallest goblin threw Rupert a snappy salute, blew Julia a kiss, and disappeared into the shadows.
    'Let's get out of here,' said Julia. 'This courtyard is getting to be as busy as a market day.'
    Rupert nodded wryly, and they hurried back into the stable. Julia led the horses out into the courtyard while Rupert bound and gagged Harald, taking great care to do a thorough job. He finally dumped Harald into an inconspicuous corner that just happened to be particularly filthy, and then he and the unicorn hurried out of the stable to join Julia and the horses. Sacking tied round the horses' hooves kept the noise down to a bare minimum, but even so Rupert felt horribly exposed and vulnerable in the bright moonlight. He glared quickly about him, grabbed his horse's reins, and started slowly across the courtyard towards the Keep. Julia followed close behind with her horse, and the unicorn brought up the rear. The slightest sound seemed unnaturally loud, and Rupert hoped like hell that the guards on the battlements were still occupied with their goblins. Julia moved quickly up beside him as they drew near the Keep. Four guardsmen were standing before the closed gates with raised pikes.
    'Are those your guards, Rupert?' asked Julia quietly.
    'That's them.'
    'Are you sure we can trust them?'
    'Of course I'm sure. They came back from the Darkwood with me. We could trust them with our lives.'
    'We are,' said the unicorn shortly.
    The guards nodded respectfully to Rupert, and lowered their pikes.
    'We were beginning to wonder if you were still coming, Sire,' said Rob Hawke.
    'I had a little business to attend to,' said Rupert. 'Any problems your end?'
    'Not so far. You got everything you need?'
    'Just about.'
    'Then let's get you on your way, before the master-at-arms starts making his rounds.'
    The four guards pulled back the heavy steel bolts, and then swung open the great oaken doors. The ancient wood was scarred and rent, with whole