"A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing." –Laura Ingalls Wilder

Chapter 25

I woke up one bright and sunny morning to an odd problem: New Berk was filled with Hobgobblers. I stared at the scene before me, uncomprehending. Maybe I was still dreaming. I walked up to the fountain and stared at the little purple dragons.

"Brennda!" Skulder called as he jogged over to me.

"Skulder, do you know what's going on?" I asked.

Skulder shook his head. "It's like they appeared overnight, and I've never seen so many together at once. We're going to trip over them everywhere we go on this island!"

"There must be a logical explanation for this..."

"Some animals are prone to moving in groups. Still, this amount of herding into one area seems unnatural to me! I've heard that an abnormal amount of Hobgobblers is huddled together at the top of the hill overlooking the waterfalls. Can you check it out?"

"I suppose I might as well." I quickly fetched Bold, who also appeared bewildered at the situation. We flew to the hill to investigate the situation. "Hmm..." Those Hobgobblers looked an awfully lot like sheep. I had a feel this was not a spontaneous migration.

Bolt and I flew around some more, and we came across a group of Hobgobblers surrounding boxes of Hobgobbler bait. Now I knew what was going on. I darted around New Berk until I found Ruffnut. I hopped off Bolt and gave her a hard look. "Alright, fess up," I said. "Why did you bring all these Hobgobblers here?"

"How dare you insinuate that something so crude and inelegant could be done by me, the greatest prankster in the known world?" Ruff said indignantly. "It was Tuffnut."

"That was my second guess."

"It's all for a very noble purpose. Who do you think is the mastermind who can push Gobber over the edge? He's so scared of these Hobgobblers, and it's going to be hilarious when he loses his mind. Do you think he'll start gnawing on his wooden leg, like a baby? Gods, I hope so."

"Well..."

Trust me, I'm going to win this bet against Tuffnut. My sheep costumes were so much better than his stupid boxes. Can you do me a favor? We need an impartial judge. Can you talk to Gobber and see if he's going crazy?"

I stared at her. "If it will end this madness sooner..." I walked away, shaking my head.

I found Gobber in the center of town. He was running around like crazy, dodging all the Hobgobblers in his way. "It's not too late!" he cried. "Every Viking for themselves! Get out of New Berk before you fall into the grasp of the Hobgobbler!"

"Hobgobblers are dangerous?" I said.

Gobbler stopped and looked at me. "Well... No, you're not physically in danger. Still, everyone knows that Hobgobblers are a cursed omen! Only bad luck and horrifying disasters follow in their wake."

I blinked. "Right..."

Gobber's eyes widened as he looked at something behind me. "It's starting already! The little devils have Skulder surrounded. Get over there and save him!"

I turned around to confirm his claim. Sure enough, many Hobgobblers stood around Skulder in a circle. When he tried to move, one of them would attempt to nip at his heels. Holding in a sigh, I walked over to the dragons with my sword drawn.

"Alright, break it up," I said. I slashed my sword in front of the Hobgobblers. Eventually they got the idea and dispersed. All except one... and odd white dragon that stared at me with a blank expression.

"My word!" said Skulder. "Thank you for rescuing me from my plight! Whew... I need a break."

"How did you allow yourself to get surrounded like that?"

"It all happened so quickly. I dropped my backpack. A Hobgobbler sat on it, then another, and another and another and...I don't even know where they all came from!"

"That's the big mystery, isn't it?"

"Well! That was Gobber's biggest fear: being covered in Hobgobblers? That was nothing! I'm definitely not cursed. Can you talk to Gobber and reassure him?"

I smirked. "Yeah, I probably should." I started back to the place I left Gobber. I nearly reached him when a Hobgobbler got in my way. I stumbled and fell flat on the ground.

"Ah!" Gobber exclaimed. "My worst nightmare come to life, right before my eyes! Brennda, you're doomed! You need to act now or it will be too late for you. You need to follow these instructions to the letter! Odin, I hope it's not too late..."

I winced as I slowly stood up. "What are you talking about now?"

"The Curse of the Hobgobbler has consumed many a brave Viking over the years. It's their way of torturing good people, for their own twisted pleasure! There's only one documented way of releasing the curse, Brennda. Are you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"First, you have to venture to the fires of Outpost Island. Then, at the highest summit, you must turn in a circle three times, throwing salt over opposite shoulders on each rotation. Spit on the ground in front of you and rub it into the dirt with your boot, and..."

And that was about enough I could take of that. I left Gobbler rambling to himself and decided to search for Tuffnut. I soon found him wheeling a cart full of Hobgobblers. I stopped in front of him, blocking his path. "We need to talk," I said.

Tuff frowned. "Here to spoil my fun, are you? It's all in the name of-"

"No, I just thought you might want to know that Gobber kind of lost it after I tripped on a Hobgobbler and became 'cursed.' It would have been amusing if he wasn't so serious about it."

Tuff appeared surprised at the news. "Wait, you're telling me that you made Gobber flip his lid? You mean you won our bet? I can't believe it. Ruffnut is going to be so mad. Well! Helmet off to you, prank thief. You've won this round."

I smirked. "Thanks. Does this mean we can clean up the mess now?"

"Astrid's already made me promise to get rid of all these Hobgobblers from our home. I've been sorta shoving all of them down this hole Ruffnut found. Do you wanna see them?"

I stared at him. "You've been doing... what? Yes, show me!"

Tuff emptied the cart of Hobgobblers at the top of a hill, causing them to roll. We followed them all the way down and watched as the ended up in a cave. Well, that was not too bad.

"Yessir-ry, this cave can hold dozens of Hobgobblers," Tuff said. "We've rolled forty dragons down this tunnel, and it doesn't even look close to being full." He peered inside the cave and frowned. "Hmm... Where'd they go? I don't see any dragons..."

"I guess I'll go in there and look for them," I said.

"Wait!" Skulder called, jogging over to me. "Brennda, give me a moment!"

I turned to him. "What is it?"

"I missed out on your adventures last time, and as much as I hate to admit it, you've given me a taste of the daring-do. Will you allow me to join you? Let's explore this tunnel cave!"

I smiled. "Sure." I glanced in the cave once more. "Maybe we should get our dragons first..."

"Excellent idea!"

Once we rounded up Bolt and Muddie, we entered the cave. What we found inside surprised me. It looked very familiar. "This is just like the Hidden World Annex!" I said. "Which means..."

"This... must be the land that Hiccup and Astrid found with Stormfly," Skulder said. "The Hidden World. The home of dragons."

"Exactly." And there was an entrance at New Berk? This was just crazy.

"My word. Beautiful. Let's spread out and explore this place, yes?"

I nodded. I got on Bolt's back, and we took off. Skulder and Muddie flew beside me. It was not long before we found a pack of Hobgobblers gathered in the cave. We landed to investigate.

"Look!" Skulder said. "There are nearly as many Hobgobblers here as there were in New Berk. I believe that we've found where they've all been going!"

"That explains why they were all able to fit."

"The dragon homeland is fascinating, don't you think? This place is so different from where we live. We can figure out how this strange place could be the natural habitat of Hobgobblers. For example, if we take a closer look at that cave wall, maybe we can figure out more about dragons!"

His enthusiasm put me in a better mood despite the weird start to my morning. We flew around together, and I listened to him excitedly explain everything he saw.

"The strangest thing about being in the Hidden World, for me, is that it doesn't feel like we're underground!" Skulder said. "It's so humid and full of water. We're dealing with a whole different beast altogether, my friend."

"Yes, it is very different," I noted.

"I wonder if the humidity is the reason for the gorgeous fauna. Let's examine the coral!"

A small smirk formed on my face. "You know, I bet Phlegma would enjoy seeing all of this. You should take her here on a date."

Skulder flushed. "R-Really? You think so?"

"Oh yeah! It would be great."

He appeared a little floundered after that, but he recovered when we reached the coral."Coral may look like rock formations, but they're actually living creatures! Coral are invertebrates that generally live underwater. They form the reefs that line the bottom of oceans. The humidity and the water here at the Hidden World must be enough for them to thrive. Amazing! Gods, I'm so excited! I can't feel my fingers. Is this normal?"

I laughed. "I think you're fine, Skulder."

"You have the patience of a hero to follow this scatterbrain all across this cavern. Still, I can't help myself! I feel like I could spend a thousand years down here and I would still uncover a mind blowing scientific discovery every morning!"

"Well, you'll never get bored!"

We landed on a ledge and examined some interesting crystals. Then Skulder looked to the ground in surprise." Oh! Speaking of amazing finds: this little guy has the same striations as the one you found at New Berk. Do you think it's the same dragon?"

I stared at the white Hobgobbler. "Yep, he has that same look about him."

"I can't believe he's followed you all the way here. Why don't you reach out with your hand and touch top of his head? I'm so excited to see how a Hobgobbler reacts to someone he truly likes!"

I shrugged. "Here it goes." I bent down and pat the Hobgobbler's head. The dragon did not seem to react but looked around aimlessly. I blinked. "That's odd. I've never had that reaction before."

"That's... underwhelming. Perhaps I was mistaken?"

"Or he's just out to bother me."

"Well! Never mind. In the immortal words of Berkian generals long past: mission accomplished. We can head back to New Berk, aglow with victory. Onward and forward, my good friend!"

Luckily, we remembered our way back to the entrance of the cave. We arrived at New Berk in time to see another group of Hobgobblers landing in town. It appeared the problem had not gotten any better despite the twins' efforts.

"My word!" said Skulder. "Is it just me or are there more here than ever? Hiccup must know what to do!"

"I'll go talk to him." I landed near the fountain where Hiccup appeared to be taking in the situation. "Hey, I'm guessing you're all caught up?"

"I've got the gist of it," Hiccup said. "The Hobgobblers left for a little bit especially when you followed them into the cave... but they came right back. Something is drawing them here to New Berk. Back to the drawing board!"

"Well, you did want this to be a haven for dragons."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "The twins have really done it this time! Ugh. We need to figure this out before we're all overrun with Hobgobblers. There's Heather! Can you see what she recommends we do?"

I made my way around the fountain where Heather stood appearing thoughtful. "Heather," I said, "got any ideas on how to deal with our little problem?"

Heather nodded. "I have a few ideas that I want to explore, but first: I think this little guy was waiting for you to return. Do you know him?"

I followed her gaze to the white Hobgobbler. "Yeah, he's kind of stalking me. He keeps following me everywhere I go today."

Heather smiled. "He must have imprinted on you! Sometimes, animals can learn that a specific animal or person is worth its trust."

I smirked. "Like Harald."

Heather chuckled. "You could say that. We don't know how or why animals imprint on humans, but this guy must have locked on you. Will you reach your hand out and touch the Hobgobbler?"

"I'll do it, but this isn't the first time I've tried." Once again, I pat the Hobgobbler's head. He sat there and croaked.

Heather furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Oh, okay..."

"I apologize to interrupt you two," Skulder said as he approached, "but Gobber has a 'cornered prey' look in his eyes. (I know it very well, considering how often I felt that way around all these scary dragons before you helped me!) No one is more qualified to talk to him than you, Brennda. Can you see if you can talk him down from the ledge?"

I sighed. "Where is he?" I followed Skulder to the smithy, where Gobber appeared to be losing it do to the multiplying Hobgobblers.

"Where do they come from?!" Gobber cried. "I swear they just blink into life!"

"Maybe they're breeding?" I suggested.

Gobber didn't seem to hear me. "These little devils must come from Hel itself from the way that they poof into being and just multiply. They're not normal, I tell you! Valka needs to know about their abilities, so she can fix this. Go! Go!"

"Alright then!" I scurried out of there before he did something drastic. If the Hobgobblers didn't drive everyone crazy, Gobber certainly would. I dodged the little dragons until I reached Valka.

"It's so interesting to have all these Hobgobblers here in one place, isn't it?" Valka said. "From what I hear, New Berk isn't the only place. They're appearing everywhere around the archipelago."

"Oh, really? That could be a problem..."

"I'll speak to Astrid and see where else these lovely rascals have been spotted. Can you talk to Fishlegs and find out what he believes about the situation?"

"Sure." By this time, everyone appeared aware of the situation. Vikings uneasily walked through New Berk, interrupted by the intruders. Thankfully, I managed to find Fishlegs among the chaos. "Hey Fishlegs, do you have any idea why these dragons are multiplying so quickly... and apparently across many islands?" If this didn't stop, they would take over the world! Maybe they were a curse.

"The Hobgobblers are able to spread so quickly around the archipelago because they have evolved to have increased fertility," Fishlegs said. "They hatch more eggs, so that Hobgobblers maximize the possibility that their young will survive to reproduce themselves. All animals are different, but as a general rule, bigger animals tend to reproduce less than smaller ones."

"Ah, that makes sense." They were the rabbits of the dragon world.

"I wish that we could keep all the dragons safe here, but there's just too many of them! They're starting to annoy the other dragons, too. Fishmeat nearly snarled at one, and I don't want him to pick up bad habits! Wait - what are they doing over there at the fountain?"

I turned to see the fountain swarming with Hobgobblers. "It looks like they're relaxing."

"I can't tell if they're taking over or if they just don't care we're here. Speaking of Fishmeat, have you seen him anywhere? Oh gosh, what if he's gotten into trouble? Please find him for me!"

Not again... I held in a sigh and looked around for the baby dragon. I smiled when I spotted him cheerfully playing with a Hobgobbler. "Aww... He's fine. He's made a new friend."

"And so have you."

I spun around and came face to face with the white Hobgobbler again. "Yeah..." Suddenly, a purple dragon flew down and landed next to him. Except, this was not a Hobgobbler. "Leopold? What are you doing here?" The Terrible Terror merely chirped and nudged my leg. "Hmm... No note? Sloppy." I turned to Fishlegs. "Who do you think would win in a battle of Hobgobblers and pirates?"

Fishlegs frowned. "They're appearing on Auction Island too? You better get over there before Stormheart decides to murder them all."

"Yeah, I doubt even she has that power." But now there was a second dragon that would not leave me alone until I followed him. I retrieved Bolt, and the four of us set off for Auction Island.

Along the way, I encountered packs of Hobgobblers flying all over the place. And, indeed, they seemed to have taken over Auction Island. I watched in mild amusement as pirates and dragon hunters attempted to swat away the pesky dragons. Leopold led me to the forest, where I found Harald surrounded by Hobgobblers.

Harald appeared relieved when his eyes met mine. "Brennda!" he said. "Are you responsible for this?"

I smirked. "No, that would be the twins. They started something they could not contain." I pushed away the little dragons in order to get to him.

"You need to fix this. Now." Harald shooed a Hobgobbler that landed on his head.

"Leopold doesn't seem to mind." I watched the Terrible Terror chase a Hobgobbler around our legs.

"Yes, but rumors are spreading about some ridiculous curse. There will be riots if this doesn't stop soon."

"Okay, I'll figure something out."

A Hobgobbler latched onto Harald's boot, and he jumped back. "This is madness!"

I laughed. "You're outdone by a group of little dragons?"

Harald gave me a look. "Sometimes size doesn't matter."

I shrugged. "True enough."

"Why is that one staring at you?"

I glanced at the white Hobgobbler. "He's obsessed with me for some reason. He follows me around but refuses to interact with me. He kind of reminds me of you, actually. I think I'll call him 'Harald Junior.'"

Harald narrowed his eyes at me. "You are not naming him after me."

I smirked. "He'll be 'Junior' for short."

"Just go back to solving the problem!"

I laughed as I made my departure. I did quite enjoy seeing him riled up like that. Perhaps these Hobgobblers were not so bad after all.