It was the night of exactly one week later and Jelin was feeling minorly stressed.  All the plans that he and the girls could come up with had massive holes if they could even fulfill all of the conditions.  It was very unfortunate but he was considering that he might have to leave the humans behind.  Any plans that included them were the most difficult ones.

He had been visiting the fox every other night to play their little game.  He intended for this to be the last night that they asked questions.  Things were moving quickly and he didn't want to wait until the last moment to put everything into action.  He still needed to figure out what that everything was as well.

<Hello.>

<Hello, human.>

<You, too, huh?>

<Oh?  What's that supposed to mean?>

<I'm not human.  My disguise is very good.  It took me dropping my disguise for the faerie to believe me as well.  Anyways, I thought we'd do one more question each tonight.  I, unfortunately, believe you're going to betray me but...well, you can go first with your question tonight if you want.>

<No.  I think I'll let you do yours.>

<Okay.  Do you want me to include you in my plans to escape?  Yes, that would include coming to an agreement.>

<Hm.  If it's an acceptable agreement, then yes.  If you believe that I will betray you, why do you continue?>

<Because.  Just believing something doesn't make it true.  Sometimes the rewards are worth the risks.  Hope can often betray us but it can also bring about a better future.  You will most likely betray me.  You will find a way to consider me too weak even if you can wait long enough to see me for myself or you will covet what I have created and have the rights to or will see me as a potential future threat to you or your sisters that must be taken care of early.

These are the most likely scenarios of your actions based off what I know of you.  However, I still hold on to hope and am willing to gamle on that hope.  Should you end up adhering to your word as much as I do to mine, at least with me, then there remains the possibility for a much better future for both of us as well as those we care about.  Even if you do betray me, I will only consider it as having risked my life for a chance to support my family better and for them I would risk it all over and over.>

<That was quite the passionate speech.  I doubt it will sway me when it comes time for me to judge but I will keep it in mind.>

<That's fine.  The ultimate reason you will likely betray me is for the same reasons as I just mentioned that I'm risking trusting you for.  You would also do anything to make sure those you care for are safe and have the best future possible.  My real hope is that you see my true intentions and the better possibilities instead of the surface actions and negative potential.

Instead of continuing this, though.  It's time to work on how to get you out of here safely.  Are there any other monsters in there that have even a similar size and appearance to you?  If not, then I must ask for your current size in order to produce a body.  Also, do you have a way to make this whole building burn?>

<You intend to burn this building and all inside while making it seem that I, too, perished in such a way?>

<That's part of the plan, yes.>

<It won't work, then.  My body, even were it a corpse, would not burn so easily.>

<Well, I know that and you know that, but how many humans know that?>

<...perhaps you have a point.  The man who seems to control this place is likely to know at least somewhat, however.>

<Hmm.  That makes it a little harder but not impossible.  I just have to make sure he also perishes.>

They continued talking for a while after that and Jelin let her in on some of the basics of his plans while getting the information he needed to try and make everything work.  Before heading back to the orphanage he stopped at a spot of the wall nearby and did what he could to erode parts of it away.  He had made sure that there was no magic set in this particular place and that it was at least slightly hidden.

His aim was to try and take away enough between the stones that they could be pulled loose and put back to look normal at will.  If the worst came to pass and he needed to break through quickly, then it would still help.  If everything went to plan, though, nobody would know about the escape.

The hardest part of the plan remained with how to bring the humans.  He would have to find a way to convince them to leave, to accept he was a monster, to accept living with other monsters in peace, to not bring the other useless and terrible humans, and more.  The worst was that that was just the preparatory work before actually sneaking them out in a way that wouldn't bring suspicion or call other humans to hunt after them.

He still had about a week.  If he was willing to risk the mental health of Ainselth, then he could stretch it to a little under three with each day increasing the risk.  No matter what, he was short on time.  Luckily, he had thought to have Wings start bringing their loot from her current spot to somewhere hidden in the hills area.  If they needed to move quickly back towards home then they could set a more direct course and collect it on the way.

He decided to use the week to make sure of his judgments of the orphanage.  Trying to get his point across with only one or two word sentences was difficult but painted him as stupid and allowed for misunderstandings, which helped.  In the end, he found his suspicions to be worse than he thought.  The youngest five, the oldest of which was probably not even 6 years old compared to the next youngest who was about 12 years old, were still believers in the greatness of Ainselth but were also suspicious of her now.

The rest of the children all believed that Ainselth was about to turn on all of them in some indeterminate way.  Most were even willing to kill her when it came to it.  The girls were all positive that helping the director would allow them to be sent somewhere that would make them more beautiful and wanted.  The boys were all in the midst of puberty and the director had directly appealed to that part of them while allowing them various freedoms to earn their near worship.

With that settled he figured one of the easiest ways was going to be to kill all of them.  He was sure that would damage Ainselth's mind almost as much as waiting too long as well, though.  All of the plans he tried to make just seemed to have some hole somewhere.  There was a chance that if he tried to play along a very fine line that he might be able to pull it off...

Not wanting to resort to that kind of thought just yet, he set it as Plan Z in his mind and continued to try and think of other things even as he worked on the things he could in order to escape.  He did call out to Conk and suggest that she aim for some telepathy and empathy before long to help with mental healing at some point as well.

It was about two days before his initial deadline that Wings finally gave him a lucky report.

<There's a whole of them over there, too.>

<Do you think you could trick them into launching an attack on the town somehow?>

<Um.  I don't know.  That would be a pretty big trick.  I've never even tried to trick a goblin, either, so I don't even know what will work.>

<Hm.  They like sadism, murder, cannibalism, and rape in between their hunting.  Maybe magically punch a few in the face and let them see you?  Harry them enough like that and eventually they'll start sending more and more after you.  If you can kill a few as well, then they might even just send an army in your general direction to try and get you.>

<I see.  Is this really worth it, though?>

<Maybe.  Not doing it will lose us and gain us nothing.  On the other hand...>

<You're taking a lot of risks recently.>

<I just hope it's not too many.  Only time will tell us, though.>

Now all he had to do was hope that everything worked out.  He thought about it for a bit more and came to the conclusion that he would likely have to walk the razor's edge after all.  Since he was going to do that anyways, now, it would be better to try and set up some insurance.  He had a quick chat with the girls and let them know his plans in as much detail as he could.

With almost everything set and most of it already in motion, he ticked off the remaining tasks he needed to complete and wanted to complete on his fingers.  Telling the fox would have to wait until nightfall, and he had about two days as a buffer for that.  That mostly just left the collection of loot.

There was the food he would need to get for the humans to eat until they could prepare their own.  Then there were plenty of materials and a few items he wanted to get for the girls.  He would also need a way to carry those items.  The hole in the wall was nearly done but it would need to be completed as well.

He moved getting clothes, bags, and some lasting food to the top of his list and started his chores.  It took a little while to run around and collect all the money he had hidden around for emergencies.  There wasn't enough to buy anything good but he intended to steal what he couldn't buy when he was done.