The Ballad of Adler Young, Canto 2.5

>Adler: Hold on a moment. A wonderfully devious scheme is forming in your head. Bonsai's troops, if you were to use the Ixies as agents to subtly plant (pun intended) some information, events may roll in your favor. Perhaps if, say, you spread such information that the gap makes the only route to reach you go through lowfolk land, and that you have an interest in Percysthorpe (which is true), and that a lowfolk named Jerry Shoemaker is in your service (also true, as he went on an errand by your bidding) the Shrubs might take action. Perhaps they would be moved to travel through the lowfolk lands and stop to investigate Percysthorpe, wherein they would take Jerry into custody for questioning (and probably be none too gentle), and discover the Duchess's sinister machinations. Regardless of what the shrubs think of you, once they see what she has cooking, they will be honor bound to interfere. Then the outcome will either be the Duchess being driven from the city and the Shrubs suffering enough losses that they must postpone attacking you, or the Duchess wipes them all out to the last twig but suffers enough damage to her schemes that it will take ages for her to recover. There is no possible outcome that would not benefit you. It's brilliant, Brilliant, BRILLIANT!
>Adler: The dark unseelie laugh comes back. You do it well.
>Ixie: Be simultaneously impressed and unnerved. He does it a little too well...
>Adler: Can you not simply reach the thingy in the hole with the shovel? You technically wouldn't be leaving the circle, the shovel would.
>Ethel: *SIGH!* He's dumber than a sack of exceptionally moronic hammers, but he is trying, emphasis on *trying*, to solve your problem. It won't do to have him starve before the job is done. Better take him a sandwich so he doesn't keel over. Just make sure to only use the stale bread.