Forest Kingdom Trilogy 1 - Blue Moon Rising

get back.
    Right now, I'm more worried about the Armoury. I hate to think how much damage the demons could have caused there. How the hell did those creatures get into the Castle?'
    'Somebody let them in,' said Julia simply. 'We have a traitor among us.'
    For a moment, they just stood and stared at each other. Bodeen scowled, and the Seneschal shook his head dazedly. Julia smiled grimly.
    'Remember the demons who wait and watch outside our walls at night? Well, now we know where they hide during the day.'
    'I just can't believe it, Princess,' said the Seneschal slowly. 'Who'd be mad enough to bring demons into the Castle itself?'
    'More to the point,' said Bodeen suddenly, 'why bring them into the South Wing?'
    The Seneschal's head snapped up, his eyes wide with horror. 'Of course, the Armoury! The bloody
    Armoury!'
    He turned and ran through the side door into the antechamber. Julia and Bodeen exchanged a startled glance, and then plunged into the darkness after him. They followed the Seneschal through dozens of dimly lit rooms and corridors, his lantern bobbing ahead of them like a beckoning will-o'-the-wisp on a moonless night. Julia soon lost all sense of direction, and concentrated on running. She had a strong feeling that if she stumbled or fell, the Seneschal would just leave her behind.
    The Seneschal finally came to a halt before a pair of massive oaken doors, easily eight feet tall, and almost as wide. The carved and curlicued wood gleamed dully in the golden lanternlight as he reached out and pushed gently at the left-hand door. It swung smoothly open at his touch, the counterweights creaking loudly in the silence. For a moment the Seneschal just stood there, staring into the darkness beyond the doors, and then his shoulders slumped and all the strength went out of him. He staggered, and would have fallen if Julia and Bodeen hadn't been there to support him.
    'What is it, sir Seneschal?'asked Julia, scowling worriedly. 'What's so important about the damn doors?'
    'Don't you understand?' whispered the Seneschal, staring sickly at the open door. 'The Armoury's been breached! The Curtana's unguarded ...'
    He shrugged free of Julia and Bodeen, and led them into the Old Armoury. Beyond the massive doors lay a towering hall so vast the Seneschal's lantern couldn't begin to light it. Julia started as a suit of armour loomed up out of the darkness, and then relaxed slightly when she realised it was only an exhibit. Dozens of huge display cases lay scattered across the hall, showing swords and axes, longbows and lances, mains gauches and morningstars, in all their variations. Julia peered raptly about her as she moved slowly through the vast, dark hall in her narrow pool of light, awestruck by the sheer size of the collection.
    Rupert's ancestors had built up the Armoury over twelve generations, weapon upon weapon, until now it would have taken more than one man's lifetime just to catalogue it all. Julia felt her hackles rise as for the first time she realised just how ancient Forest Castle was.
    The Seneschal stopped suddenly before a dusty wall plaque, set in a deep recess that hid it from casual view. The single silver scabbard it bore was tarnished and begrimed from long neglect, but there was no sign of the sword it once held. The Seneschal sighed tiredly.
    'It's gone,' he said heavily. 'Curtana's gone.'
    'But the Sword of Compulsion's our only hope against the demons,' said Bodeen. 'Who'd be mad enough to steal it?'
    'Somebody who stood to gain if the Castle fell,' said the Seneschal. 'And these days, that description covers an awful lot of ground.'
    'All this way,' said Julia, too tired even to be bitter. 'All this way for nothing. Come on, sir Seneschal, let's get out of here.'
    'Of course, Princess. The King must be told.' The Seneschal turned his back on the empty scabbard, and stared out into the darkness. 'Somewhere in this Castle there's a traitor. We've got to find him, Princess. We've got to find him and the Curtana, before it's too late.'
    'Perhaps it already is,' said Bodeen quietly. 'Perhaps it already is.'

    Julia stared out of the stables at the falling rain, and sighed dejectedly. The afternoon was barely over, but it was already growing dark. The rain had been falling for over an hour, a steady persistent drizzle that wore at the nerves and worked its way down even the tallest chimneys to make the fires splutter and steam. Water gushed from the drainpipes and the overhanging guttering, turning