Ben:

”Good thinking, Horatio.  If he isn’t going to help us, we need him well out of earshot of our plans,” says Ben.

Turning his attention to Will, Ben asks, “What is wrong with Squirt?  Is there anything we can do to help?”

Horatio silently keeps hauling the little Orc away, shaking his head at Ben's naivety. "He won't." Is all he replies.

As he pulls away from the clearing and the kids, Horatio will begin to whisper to the Orc. "Your weapons must be magical, or coated with some kind of poison, eh? That's good. We'll need those. What about your clothes, armor, boots, the like? I don't want to destroy anything too useful." 

He isn't bluffing. Nor is he trying to intimidate the little assassin. In his mind an ice cold thought repeats over and over again. Killers. They're all killers. And for the first time in his life his adolescent outrage at the unfairness's in life is completely overshadowed. It is replaced by a murderous intent. He would have killed all my friends and not even cared. Even these children. He cannot be allowed to try again. 

"Squirt's okay," replies Will to Ben. "He's just a little low on oil. You can talk to him yourself if you like. He's up here." He points a thumb behind his shoulder, inside the treehouse.

~~

Meanwhile, Horatio has lugged Zarak in his cage a fair distance from the tree.

"My mission had nothing to do with you," says Zarak to Horatio. "Imprisoning or executing me will win you nothing but grief. I promise you I've got nothing on me but a pair of old knives and my leathers. No magic, no poison. I'll tell you what – if you want to kill Granny, be my guest. I have no allegiance to that old hag. You let me free, and I'll tell you what I know about her."

"Trust the assassin willing to betray his benefactor?" Horatio shakes his head and continues on towards the water.

(( Is anyone else with us? ))

" Where can we get oil from? Can we squeeze it out of Karak?"

Ben:

”I actually have some oil in this pouch I can share,” says Ben excitedly.  “For some reason I can’t light this lantern, but the oil seems to be fine,” he adds, heading to the indicated location.

Zarak laughs. "She's not my benefactor. She simply rules this realm."

(There is little water nearby other than the Wayward Pool, from where they last departed, which is some distance away and evidently impossible to approach without a horn.)

~~

Will shakes his head. "He runs on Boggle Oil, not regular oil," he replies to Ben and Matilda. "Th' only place I know where to find boggles is Granny Nightshade’s workshop. They hide under beds and in closets, scarin' people and stealin' stuff and playing tricks." Zennor shudders audibly at the mention of them.

Horatio lugs the cage to the nearby water and uses a stick to check for depth. (( Deep enough to submerge the cage into? ))

While he does he looks at the Orc without any expression on his face. "I've known a lot - and I mean A LOT - of bullies. I've punched and fought my way since childhood. I've stood up for others and lost more times than I can count. But I've never tried to kill anyone before. I would have killed Bavlorma for sure, if able, but that was a reaction. Instinct.. You will be my actual first. I guess that's what this place is all about. Killing." 

Again - he's not bluffing or trying to intimidate the Orc. He doesn't care what the assassin shares or doesn't share. He just wants the peace of mind of never having to worry about him again. (( If you want me to roll something anyways let me know. I realize this moment may lead to an alignment shift, but he's willing to go full Punisher on this realm at this point. His stress and fear over the safety of the others, and now these children, is maxed out. ))

Horatio lugs the cage all the way back to Wayward Pool. Affixing a stick to his head as a unicorn horn, Horatio directly approaches the lake with the cage. Neither the centaur nor Lamorna nor the pixies are present to witness what happens next.

"I'll see you in the Abyss, friend. But if you kill me you'll never learn the secret ways to the Palace of Heart’s Desire," Zarak says, unsuccessfully negotiating for his life.

Zarak's final reply is lost in a trail of bubbles within a very peaceful lake. 

(( Pull him back up and loot him, returning with the empty cage and whatever I take off of him. Horatio lashes stones to the body so the fish can feed. ))

Titaani would have run back over to Little oak at this point (distracted, again) and smiles up at the tree. "Excuse me, can I go into the house on top of you?" She asks politely. "I want to meet squirt."

...

As Horatio finishes looting Zarak's body, he feels someone watching him. Turning, he sees Tiny standing a few metres away from him, a mournful expression on his face. 

Matilda hadn't followed Horatio, something in her had stopped her steps despite her anger against the assassin.

She stood quietly looking towards the direction Horatio had gone, her dagger loosely hanging from her fingers...

The dead assassin has only two daggers and a garrote upon him - none magical. He has no other possessions of note, other than a half-eaten snack, now dripping with lake water.

~~~

Meanwhile, Titaani is invited to enter the treehouse via the rope ladders that climb from the ground to a pair of trapdoors in the floor. 

The floor of the treehouse is covered with blankets, cushions, and piles of straw. Hanging from the six-foot-high ceiling by a rope is a basket that holds apples, berries, sugarcane, and a few crumpled-up sheets of parchment. In one corner, lying on a cushion, is a rusty oilcan. Will, Bobi, and Sloane are here. "Looking for me?" squeaks the oil can. "Is it time for a party?"

"Well, not a party, necessarily," Titaani says with a smile. "We're trying to save the realm from the hourglass coven. Oh, I'm Titaani, by the way! It's nice to meet you."

Horatio looks at Tiny long moment, then shakes his head and says, "I want to tell you to forget what you saw, but there is no point. This place if filled with death, so you'll see it eventually. Our path is either us killing one bad person after another, or us eventually being killed by one bad person or another. Don't lose hope. We came all this way to do what was right, even though it seems like no one else in this forsaken place care to do the same." He heads back to the others with the two daggers and garrote added to his belt, making sure to wait for Tiny so that they're not left alone. 

Tiny doesn't lose his sad expression, but nuzzles his head against Horatio's legs in an effort to comfort the carpenter. 

Matilda doesn't meet Horatios eyes as he returns....she should feel relieved.....she just feels sad.....

"Hi, Titaani! You seem fun! I'm Squirt!" squeaks the oilcan. It tosses and turns on its cushion but does not arise from it. "Going against the Coven, huh? That sounds hard! I'm feeling pretty empty right now, so I'm not much help today. Got any boggle oil I can have?"

"Boggle oil? No, I'm afraid I don't," Titaani replies. "How come you're feeling empty? Did something happen?"