"Well, we had fun making the hill slick for the kids to slide down," replies Squirt. "Maybe that wasn't the best use of oil, but..."

"You know who hires boggles? Granny does," interrupts Will, gently petting Star. "Are we ready to do my plan yet? You guys pose as travelers, buy some sweets, and arrange for a meeting with the hag. We'll set off the screaming scarecrows and lure the tin soldiers into the garden. Then while everyone is distracted, you guys free the captives from the workshop while I climb into the textile mill an' free th' kids there. The kids in the workshop are haunted by boggles – so maybe you can pick up some boggle oil for Squirt there."

"Mmm!" adds Squirt with relish. "Squeeze 'em good!"

Matilda nods, " Ok, kids first. Then castle."

Will hops down onto the thick grass. "Then it's settled. Let's do it! You guys ready? Squirt, you coming?"

“I’m too tired to fly today. You carry me!" calls down Squirt from his cushion.

"Never mind," replies Will. "You guys ready?" He looks at the party. "We can be there in two hours if we don't stop."

Ben:

”I will carry you, Squirt,” volunteers Ben.  “Can you ride on my shoulder?” he asks the weary oilcan.

"I'm ready! Ready to show those boggles what we're made of, that is," Titaani grins, already descending one of the ladders. "Let's make our way over now!"

Matilda moves across and takes Horatios hand squeezing it she gives him a tight smile, " Lets rescue some children."

Horatio calls to Will, "Let's run over the plan again. What money are we to purchase anything with? Why do we assume we're not wanted there, and that Granny Nightshade isn't fully aware of us. We did try to attack her sister, and certainly they speak to one another, right? Even if they don't, the witch trader saw us. Your whole plan, and the safety of those kids, relies on no errors. There are going to be errors. You say there are Tin Soldiers, describe them to me. Are they actually made of Tin? If so, how could we hope to harm them if we had to fight them? What weapons do they carry? Why won't they just run back and attack us and the escaping kids the second we go to spring the escape. Also, how are we supposed to not be followed with so many in tow? Run it by us again. This time, add the details."

"Alternate plan - me, Matilda and Tiny perform a super cool heist while you guys distract the hag and the soldiers?" Titaani suggests. "Agdon Longscarf was a jerk, but he did teach me a few things about invisibility." 

" Sounds good.  We need to do something here that doesn't make things worse....and so far we kinda suck."

" So lets do better."

"The flying oil monsters, are they flammable?"

"Great! Let's go!" calls Will, and starts to walk. The other children hop down and follow. Will pulls out a little kazoo and begins to play it.

The children are unarmed and empty-handed, except for Bobi, who carries a bag of apples.

Will begins to answer some of Horatio's questions as they start to walk into the woods. "Money means nothing here. Got any trinkets to trade, maybe?" 
He picks up a stick from a hollow and begins to swat leaves with it. "The tin soldiers have no weapons. They'll just sort of bop you on the head. They're just like walking suits of armor. Really dumb - they fall for stupid tricks you can play on 'em." 

"A heist!"  He brightens at Titaani's suggestion. "Well, Granny imprisons her most hated enemies in a cell inside her kitchen. So maybe you can try to sneak in there. Who knows who she has in there by now."

"The boggles," responds Will to Horatio's question, "They don't catch fire good. We tried that already." He laughs.

Will continues to lead the way through the wooded wilds, whistling and twirling his stick, while the kids eat apples and are occasionally distracted by the sights of the forest.

"There's two bridges. The right one goes to the Goblin Market. They sell candy, mostly. Chucklehead's the boss - he's got a toffee apple for a head. You can get audience with Granny through him. Me and the Gang will split off before that, though. They're gonna come in from the west and cause a distraction. I'm gonna sneak into the kitchen from the east. Then you guys come into the workshop to free those kids - that's where you can give Squirt a fill-up if ye' want. Boggles hide there a lot."

"Top me off!" cries Squirt from Ben's pack, where he evidently stowed away when nobody was looking.

" So left bridge, right?"

"I don't know...I kind of want to see this toffee apple headed goblin first," Titaani says, giggling. 

"Left bridge will take you to Granny's parlor – that's where she'll want to have tea with you if you have an appointment," says Will, whacking a tuft of grass with his stick. "You can make an appointment with Chucklehead – he's usually in the Goblin Market watching for thieves. I got a candy-coated beetle once there that made my mouth foam up so much I couldn't talk for an hour, but it was really delicious."

" Which bridge to the kids?", Matilda is all business.

Ben:

“So the plan is to get an audience with Granny Nightshade by talking to Chucklehead.  That will happen in the parlor; then when the distraction starts, we make for the workshop. I remember the kitchen, the mill, and the workshop on the map—where is the parlor in relation to them?” asks Ben before they split off.

"Well the parlor is, uh next to the workshop, which... which connects to the tin soldier barracks, I think. Or the sewing room, I forget. Anyway, I'll go through the kitchen and through the next room and up into the mill to rescue you those kids. You worry about the kids in the workshop."

"So kids are over the left bridge, but you should go right to talk to Chucklehead and meet Granny and distract her."

He stops and lowers his voice. "That one." He points.

Ahead, a wide, gnarled bridge formed by tangled tree roots spans a rocky, dried-up riverbed.

"We go this way," he whispers, and points into the brush to the left. He gestures his gang to follow him into the shrubbery. "We'll meet you back at Little Oak," he whispers.

Matilda just nods.....meeting with another Hag was not part of the plan in her head....they were definitely going to die this time.

She headed over the bridge with a sigh....

"Right bridge, got it," Titaani says, following Matilda. Noticing her friend's forlorn attitude, she awkwardly pats her on the shoulder. "Hey, we'll be alright. We're stronger now, remember?"