Weirder Things in Trolberg

by Cowboy Alchemist

A sequel to Weirder Things, we follow the story of Thomas Pines, son of Patrick and Wendy Pines. After graduating college, Thomas leaves his home of Gravity Falls and moves to Trolberg to begin his exploration into the strange and supernatural. It is here that he'll go on adventures with Hilda, fall in love with Johanna, and make a name for himself in the town. (Rated T to M.)

6. Chapter 6

I'm cowboyalchemist on Discord. Come on over if you want to chat and talk about ideas. If you want an invite to join my discord server, you only have to ask me.

So, without further ado, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.

---

Chapter Six:

The Lost Clan

Life had been treating Thomas great, especially after his first kiss with Johanna. A moment that had helped keep a smile on his face. One might think that the paranormal investigator would automatically go in and ask the woman of his dreams on a date. And while that was most definitely at the top of his list of things that needed to happen like yesterday, there was still one obstacle that needed to be overcome.

There was one person Thomas had to talk to. A special person who had the right to know what his intentions were.

After all, if Thomas wanted to date her mom, he wanted Hilda's blessing.

There was just one problem: Thomas didn't know how to ask Hilda. Despite being her friend for so long and being a father figure, Thomas was nervous about her reaction.

So, he enlisted the help of two friends.

"I don't know," Thomas said. "This just feels really weird."

"Come on, you can do it," Frida said.

"But what if she says no? I've known her for so long. I don't want to do anything that would hurt her or make her feel uncomfortable."

"That's why we're practicing with David," Frida said, placing a hand on David's shoulder. The three of them were standing outside of the apartment complex after Thomas picked them up and drove them over. Thomas then explained his intentions of finally asking out Johanna, but wanted Hilda's blessings. Leading to this awkward moment.

"Wait, what are we doing," David asked. Overhead. The clouds were beginning to roll over the sky.

"We're trying to help Thomas build some confidence," Frida said, pulling out the Sparrow Scout handbook. "According to the Sparrow Scout guide, practice builds confidence."

She closed the book and looked at her two male friends with an expectant smile. "Go on." She waved to Thomas.

Thinking that it couldn't get any weirder than it already was, and that it might help, Thomas took a deep breath and knelt down in front of David. "So, Hilda."

"Yes, Thomas," David asked in a girly voice.

"Don't make this weird."

"Sorry."

Thomas tried again. "As you know, I've been a part of your and your mom's lives for a few months now. And during that time, you've started to notice some things about your mom and me, about how close we've become, about how we may look at one another and hold hands," he said. Thomas then took a pause, working out what he would say next. "The fact of the matter is that…I am in love with your mother. I think she's a wonderful woman and a fantastic mom to have raised such a daughter like you, and I want to be a part of her life and possibly more of your life. Now I know how strange this must be for you, and that's why I wanted to talk to you. Because… I would like your permission to date your mother!"

"Filth!" The moment was cut by a cranky old woman who had walked by and witnessed the practice speech.

"It's not his mom I want to date!" Thomas yelled at her as she walked away in a huff. And then it started raining out of nowhere, pouring down on the group of three. He sighed and looked at the kids with a defeated look. "Let's just go upstairs."

---

Johanna was busy working on a difficult project, so Thomas didn't want to interrupt her. Instead, the young man and the three young kids took their meeting kitchen. There, Thomas, Hilda, and David stood together as Frida laid out the plan.

"To earn the Botany badge, we need to identify and collect samples of ten local plants," she said, handing each of her friends a folder. "Here are your itineraries." Frida pulled out one of the papers and read the first step of the plan. "Item One: Check the weather forecast. Hilda?"

"Roger that," Hilda said, turning the dial on a vintage radio. Sure, she had a phone that had a podcast app, but the young girl preferred to use older pieces of technology.

After adjusting the nub and placing the red line on the right channel, the group listened in on the weather lady, Victoria Van Gale. "This is Victoria Van Gale of the Greater Trolberg Meteorological Bureau. On the west side of the city, expect those showers to continue for approximately five seconds, followed by a return of clear skies for the weekend."

Hilda walked up to the window and smiled at the sky. "Three…two…one…"

And just as Van Gale predicted, the rain stopped pouring. A second later, the clouds parted, and the sun shined down on the two.

"That woman is amazingly accurate," Hilda commented.

Frida smiled and checked off the first item on her tablet. "Forecast acceptable! Shall we?"

Thomas nodded and looked at Johanna, who was hard at work on another project of hers. Only this one was proving to be more difficult than the last one, judging by how she ripped up her draft and looked ready to pull her hair out.

"Uh, hey, Johanna," Thomas called to her, snapping the mother out of her frustration as she looked at the man she loved. "We're gonna be heading out. I'll be sure to bring Hilda home on time…ish."

"Yes, that fills me with confidence." Johanna rolled her eyes. "Oh, before you go, I've got something for you." Standing up, Johanna walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bag filled with sandwiches. "I've packed you a bag of cucumber sandwiches for lunch."

"Awesome, thanks…" Thomas trailed off when he saw Johanna walking away and returning to her work. "Oh, okay. Alright, girls and David, let's get out of here."

---

It only took 5 minutes for Thomas to drive to the location Frida picked out. Putting the truck into park, the man and three kids jumped out of the vehicle and took off into the wilderness. "I chose this area for maximum efficiency," Frida told her friends. "All the plants we need to be in this half acre."

"All right, guys, spread out and start looking around," Thomas said, as the group of four spread out to find the plants required.

David walked around for only a second before seeing something that caught his eye. "I found crabgrass," he said, running over and picking the crabgrass out of the ground. The boy then saw more crabgrass and ran over to it. "And crabgrass!" He picked it up and saw more crabgrass. "And crabgrass!"

"I'm pretty sure one is good enough, David," Thomas said, plucking a pair of dandelions from the ground.

Hilda, however, was not having as much fun as she was expecting to have with the assignment. On her knees, she found herself only picking purple thistles. However, these were all plants she had seen over a million times in the woods. "Do we really have to pick these? They are all just weeds," the blue-haired girl said.

Frida pointed to her book. "They fulfilled the requirements. That's what's important."

Walking up to her, Thomas took the book from his young friend. "Come on, earning these badges isn't just about filling out paperwork," he said, going through pages as he looked for a plant that would really help get them their badge. "In my time with the Sparrow Scouts, the requirements we were given were merely just another step of an adventure. Sure, paperwork is required to get a badge, but it was all about the new experiences."

"He's right," said Hilda with a smile. "Why do we go look for one that'll give us a real adventure?"

Frida raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well…" Thomas looked at the plants the book had. "OK, we can either look for a petaled manivore, or a struggling snake vine, or… oh, here's one! What about a blue nettle?"

Turning the book around, Thomas showed the two girls a unique-looking nettle. It was primarily white, with jagged leaves that had red tips. The blue in its name comes from the blue flower heads growing from it.

"Because none of those are in the city, especially the blue nettle," Frida said to the paranormal investigator as she took back her Sparrow Scout's Guide. "It's very rare."

"That's not true."

The three of them turned their heads and saw that it was David who spoke up.

"I've seen one," he said with a casual voice.

"What?" Frida said in total disbelief. There was no way. He had to have misspoken or not have heard the conversation correctly. There couldn't be any way that David found a blue nettle. "T-That's…impossible."

"No, seriously. But Frida's right," David said, rubbing his left arm. "We should probably leave it alone."

Hilda raised an eyebrow. "Why," she asked, only to be given a haunted face by David.

"It's haunted."

Just like his daughter-figure, Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Really? You saw a ghost?"

"Yes. Well, no. I heard one. Several, really," set the young boy as he looked up at the sky, observing the clouds on the nice sunny day. "They were talking about the weather."

"That doesn't sound like something ghosts would normally do," Thomas said, having run into his fair share of ghosts in the past. However, the detail of the ghost having conversations piqued his interest. "Although they could be category one ghosts..."

Frida, however, still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that her friend was able to find the elusive nettle. "I don't believe it… David found something I couldn't… David of all people… and I can't find it…"

Of the four of them, Hilda was the most excited. "A rare flower, conversational ghosts," she said with great adventurous enthusiasm. This was the call to adventure she'd been waiting for all day. "Thomas, we have to investigate!"

"I don't know, blueberry," Thomas said, playfully smirking, "think you can handle this kind of adventure?"

Hilda scoffed. "I can handle anything."

"All right, then let's go get that blue nettle," Thomas said with excitement.

Frida, however, frowned and said, "Uh, we should really focus on earning the badge."

"We are," Thomas said, "But don't you wanna earn your badge with golden wings?" Knowing how to play the overachiever, the adult man pointed to one of Frida's badges, one that was pinned on her sash and had golden wings on it. Of course, there were the normal badges, but golden wing badges were given to scouts who completed the trial 100% or more.

Didn't even take two seconds for Frida to decide she wanted that golden wing badge. "All right, I'm in."

---

"Now, I would never come here on my own," said David as he guided his friends along the wall. This section was further away from the city, unlike the place they chose for their garden. "But I was following this very interesting rabbit. And they should be…there!"

Thomas, Hilda, and Frida looked in the direction he was pointing at, and their eyes widened.

In a crack in the wall, surrounded by moss and rocks, grew the blue nettle.

"And listen," David instructed them.

Doing as he was told, Thomas closed his eyes and listened to the world around him. He heard the sound of the wind blowing past him, rustling the trees and leaves. He listened to the sound of his own breathing, as he inhaled and exhaled evenly.

Then, he heard voices chattering with one another, but their conversation was unclear. The others heard it as well.

"See? I told you," said David.

"Come on," Thomas said, walking toward the blue nettles.

David, as fearful as usual, hung back with a nervous smile. "I'll wait here," he said.

"That's nothing," Frida said, although she could not explain the voices. "It's probably just an…an echo."

"An echo?" Hilda gave her a confused expression as the two girls walked beside each other behind Thomas.

"Y-Yes. It happens all the time. For instance, I hear the neighbors—"

"Wait!" Thomas stopped and held his hand out, halting the girls. Hilda and Frida gasped in shock, but it was the blue-haired girl who saw what the paranormal investigator was looking at.

"What? What is it?" Frida asked, startled.

David crowarder. "Is it a ghost?!"

"An echo?"

"Neither," said Hilda. "It's elves."

Indeed, it was the elf settlement that was responsible for the sounds and voices coming from the blue nettle. These have settled themselves against the wall of Trolberg, on the ground, and on moss-covered rocks. Their houses were notably different from those seen in The Northern Counties. Instead of modern housing, they built huts that were carved into smooth brown rocks, and there were tiny ladders for houses that were higher up than the others.

Walking over for a closer look, both the redhead and the young girl saw the tiny people of Scandinavian. However, there was something different about these elves. They weren't like the usual elves Hilda and Thomas were used to. Physically, they looked like most other Elves, with one major difference: they had beards and mustaches, while usually elves lacked any facial hair. On a technological scale, they seem to be less advanced than other elves.

Not only were they hairier, but they were armed, too. Some had bows and arrows, while others were armed with spears. There were even two elves practicing to fight with their spears.

"I thought there were no elves in Trolberg," Thomas said.

Hilda looked at him with excitement. "Maybe we're the first humans to have ever found them."

As Thomas and Hilda looked at the elves with curiosity, Frida, who couldn't see them, bent over to see nothing but grass and rocks. "I don't see anything," she said.

"That's because you have to fill out the proper paperwork," Hilda said.

"Which is why we need to proceed with caution," Thomas told the girls. "These elves have never had any interaction with humans."

Normally, she would have agreed, but seeing the blue nettles were only a few feet away from her, Frida grew impatient. "We came all this way," she said firmly and started walking towards the blue nettles. "I'm not going to let tiny, invisible men stop me."

"Wait, Frida, don't!" Thomas tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

Suddenly, there was a loud horn blaring by the leader of the elves. Thomas was able to tell he was the leader, mainly because he had the biggest beard, was older looking, and, well, the horn.

The moment the other elves heard that horn blasting, they growled at the humans and pulled out their weapons. Archers formed a line and aimed their arrows. They prepared the catapults and the ballistas. Whatever weapons they had to defend their village, they were going to use them to fight the giants.

"Oh boy," Thomas groaned.

Frida looked back at him with a nervous look on her face. "What was that?"

"ATTACK!" The leader of the elves shouted, then all hell broke loose.

The tiny catapults threw their rocks, and the ballistas fired their tiny bolts while tiny arrows were fired at the black girl.

"Frida!" Thomas ran to the girl and pulled her behind him with his back turned to the elves. This resulted in him being hit in the back by rocks, arrows, and bolts, with the latter two stabbing through his jacket and into his back. "AH!"

"Thomas!" Hilda screamed. She tried running to him, but the elves turned their attention to her and launched rocks at her. "Ow!"

"I'm fine!" Thomas yelled, feeling like he had just gotten a really bad acupuncture treatment. "OW! My ass!"

Things would only get worse when Thomas looked up at the trees. Perched on the branches was a legion of elves riding on the backs of pigeons. Each bird was holding a rock while their rider had a bow.

"Defend the clan to your last breath!" One of the elves yelled, before he and the other bird-riders dive-bombed the humans. Birds hovered over their heads and released their rocks down on their heads.

Of course, since they were pigeons, the rocks weren't that big and only hurt a little.

"Run!" Thomas shouted. The group of friends quickly took off, running away from the elves and their pigeons as more rocks were thrown at them.

However, they didn't get far when a group of elves tripped them over with a piece of rope. Sending them falling down on the ground with a thud. Hilda groaned as she picked herself up and saw a rabbit sitting a few feet away from her and her friends, squeaking cutely.

David saw it and smiled. "Oh, hey. It's the rabbit I saw."

The moment didn't even last a second before an elf with a rope appeared from behind the rabbit's head. "CHARGE!" He yelled before he and more elves on rabbits hopped toward the humans.

---

Johanna took a swig from her wine glass before leaning back in her chair and letting out a sigh. At long last, she'd finally found the perfect composition for her new art piece, and it only took two hours. She decided to take a short break to clear her mind and motivate herself to continue drawing.

Though, as she got up from her chair and walked around the room, her thoughts began to shift to a certain man. Thomas had been plaguing her mind for quite some time after the first time she kissed him.

So much so that he's invaded her dreams in…certain terms.

"What are you doing to me, darling," she asked dreamingly.

The woman snapped out of her thoughts when her phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, Johanna smiled when she saw it was Erika, David's mother, whom she met at the parent-teacher conference.

"Erika, hi!"

"Hi Johanna. I'm just calling to check up on David."

"He's with Hilda and Frida," Johanna said. "Thomas is watching over them, looking for flowers for the next Sparrows Scout badge."

"Uh, is that really OK? I mean, don't get me wrong, Thomas is a nice man, but are you sure that our kids will be safe being around him?"

Johanna said, "Of course. Why wouldn't they be?"

"Uh…"

"Is this because of the gnome incident?"

"Yeah."

"Erika," Johanna smiled, "I can assure you that Thomas will not let anything happen to those kids. And even if they did run into trouble, I'm sure Thomas is more than capable of handling it."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Johanna said, confident in the skills of the man she loved. "If any of them were in trouble, he'd be running in with his hatchet yelling..."

---

"…RETREAT!" Thomas shouted.

He and the girls got off the ground and tried running away from the bunnies. David, however, was not among them. He couldn't see the elves, and the idea of running away from some cute bunnies seemed silly. This would, however, come to bite him as the elves targeted him.

They threw their ropes at the boy, making him cry out in shock as they looped onto his right arm. David tried pulling them off, but more ropes were thrown at his left arm. Helpless, he could do nothing as the rabbit circled around him like a bunny merry-go-round. Twisting and tying the rope around him.

"Oh, cruddlesticks," he said before being pulled down on his back. Now, he was alone, tied up, surrounded by rope-slinging rabbits (from his perspective).

Meanwhile, Thomas, still in pain from the arrows and bolts in his back, pulled Hilda behind a large boulder. Frida joined the two. Now safe for the moment, the three of them panted and leaned against the rock.

"We should have…just stuck…to crabgrass," Frida said between labored breaths.

Thomas collapsed on his hands and knees, panting in exhaustion, and tried to pull out the bolt from his butt. "OW!" He yelped. Looking up, he was about to ask one of the kids to help him when he realized that they were missing one. "Wait! Where's David?"

Hilda's eyes opened as she fearfully looked for the boy. "Oh no!"

"We have to go back for him!" 'Frida exclaimed, equally fearfully as the blue-haired girl.

She ran out from behind the boulder, only to be hit by multiple tiny arrows. "Ow!" Frida quickly turned back and ducked behind the rock again.

"Frida, it's no use," Hilda said, pulling out the arrows and bolts from Thomas's back. "You can't even see them."

Frida sucked in a breath of air through her teeth as she pulled out an arrow from her arm. "Can't you do something, Thomas," she asked. "You're big and strong."

"Yeah, but the last thing I want is to start another war with a bunch of elves," Thomas said as Hilda pulled out the last bloodied bolt from his back.

"Then what do we do," asked Hilda

Now released from pain, yet still very sore, the man stood up and thought for a moment to figure out how to get David back. "If there's one thing that elves value above anything else in the world, it's paperwork…" Thomas mused.

That's when Hilda's eyes widened, and she got an idea. "You're gonna need to fill out some forms," she said to Frida, who looked at her with a confused expression.

---

"Okay, this isn't going to hurt," Johanna told Thomas, pouring a few drops of disinfectant into a cotton ball.

When Thomas and the girls got back to the apartment, Johanna was instantly worried when they explained what happened. Hilda then grabbed the first aid kit of Thomas, who got hurt the most. Her mum sent her to her room to get Frida's papers signed and tell Alfur about the elves. Johanna then had Thomas roll up his shirt and lay down on the couch.

Trying hard not to stare with a deep blush on her face, Johanna applied the disinfectant to Thomas's wounded back, making him yell out in pain. "Those lying bastards at Johnson and Johnson," he shouted.

"Sorry!" Johanna paused for a moment, lightly applying some more. "Just be glad that they're tiny arrows."

Thomas sighed softly. "I know," he said, enjoying the nursing treatment he was getting from Johanna.

After a few seconds, Johanna finished up with her treatment. Thankfully, the wounds were only skin deep, and what little blood there was quickly dried up during the car ride. "Alright, all good," she said, backing away as Thomas stood up and rolled his shirt down. "Let's go check on the girls."

Together, the two adults walked down the hallway and entered Hilda's bedroom. There, they saw Hilda standing next to Frida, who was kneeling in front of the bed with a magnifying glass and a pencil. Twig was with them, too, curious about what his owner and best friend were doing.

"Sign there, and there, and there," Hilda said, pointing to each of the three lines that had to be signed.

"Oh, smudged it," Frida murmured.

Alfur, who had been standing on a book on Hilda's desk, asked the girl, "And you're sure that it was elves?"

"Positive," Thomas said, scratching his back. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the tiny arrows he was shot with. "Even got the arrow to prove it."

He handed it to the little elf, who took it and explained it. "It's definitely elvish. But that seems impossible. I'm the only elf in Trolberg," Alfur said. However, glancing at the arrow again, taking note of the design of the arrowhead. "Unless…"

"Unless what?" Frida turned to the voice. However, after signing the contract, the black girl was finally able to see Alfur. "Oh, hello. There you are," she greeted the elf, who waved at her. "That's what kidnapped David?"

"Sort of," Hilda said. "they were hairier."

Johanna held up her hand. "Hold on, Alfur. You said 'unless'. Do you know these elves?"

"Oh, these are more than just any elves," Alfur said with growing excitement and joy. "Your daughter and her friends might have discovered the Lost Clan of the Northern Counties! Oh, this is fantastic news!"

"It is," Thomas asked, watching as Alfur jumped and grabbed onto the line of Christmas lights that hung on the top shelf over Hilda's desk.

Alfur made it to the bottom shelf and jumped off. "Finally, the contracts can be signed," he jovially said as he ran into his home away from home, a wooden birdhouse with a clock door.

"Finally!" Hilda said with a sigh of relief.

Frida looked at her with curiosity. "Wait, what's he talking about?"

"…I'm not actually sure."

Curious as well, Thomas asked the elf, "Uh, Alfur, what contract?"

Alfur popped out of the birdhouse. "Oh, it is a thrilling tale," he told the human before ducking back into his home.

The two adults and two children glance at one another. "Alfur, I'm sure it is, but in case you forgot, these elves kidnapped a child," Johanna said with urgency. "I think that's more important than some paperwork."

The birdhouse door opened, and the elf came out with a contact and a satchel. "Johanna, this contract is one of the most important pieces of paperwork in all of elf history. And at long last, the agreement can be reached," he said with such passion.

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Uh, okay, but do you mind telling us on the drive over," he asked, holding his hand up to the shelf.

"Oh, of course," said Alfur as he jumped onto the hand. " I don't want to deprive you of the drama."

"I'm sure it'll be a tale from the ages," Thomas quipped, placing his friend on his shoulder. "Alright, everyone, in the truck! I just hope they're not doing anything horrible to David."

---

As it turned out, they weren't. However, The Lost Clan in question was in a bit of a pickle. They scared off the other three humans and captured one of them, taking David as their prisoner.

The question now was what would they do with him.

The leader of the clan and a few of his warriors stood around David as he continued to look at the sky on his back. "What do we do now," asked a warrior standing beside him.

"Uh, I-I don't know," the clan leader said. "We've never taken a human person before."

The two elves looked back at David. They noticed a ladybug crawling on his hair.

"Do you think he knows there's a bug in his hair?"

---

Thomas closed the door and turned on the truck. He turned around and looked at Hilda and Frida in the back. "Everyone got seatbelts on?"

"Yes sir," both girls said, with Twig sitting in Hilda's lap. The deer fox barked, ready to go on the rescue mission.

"You sure you want to come with us," Thomas asked Johanna, who was in the passenger seat next to him.

"Oh, I'm coming with you, mister," she said with a teasing smirk. "The last thing I need is to tell Erika that her son was kidnapped because you couldn't handle tiny invisible men."

"Hehe, okay, then don't ask me to pull arrows out of your back," Thomas joked right back at her. He shifted the truck into drive and drove away down the road.

"So, Alfur," Johanna said, looking at her tiny friend, who was sitting on the edge of the truck's center console. "What's this contract business about?"

"I'm so glad you asked," Alfur said, and thus he began the story of the Lost Clan of the Northern Counties. "Our tail begins in the time of the first elves. A long, long time ago, two elf families met at dawn on an ancient plot of land. Their purpose: to execute a real estate contract."

Frida interrupted to ask, "Wait, is this a story about paperwork?"

"Oh, yes. Most elf legends are," Alfur said with a chuckle before continuing the story. "The Aldric family wished to buy a parcel of their land, and the Bragga family, well, they wished to sell it. This was one of the oldest and most valuable plots of land in all of elf-dom. The revisions were fierce. Clauses were included, terms were terminated. The amendments took an entire day."

The way he was describing it, Alfur made it seem like it was the elf equivalent of a great medieval battle. Though, it likely wasn't as epic or, being tiny people, as big.

"Finally, many drafts later, it was finished. A masterwork of mutual obligation. Both families signed in triplicates and took it to the king for his approval," Alfur said, and that's when the tale took a dramatic turn for the worse. "Then, disaster struck! The king realized the Braggas, the sellers, had only signed twice!"

Que the moment everyone was supposed to gasp in horror at the grave mistake that the Bragga family had made. However, no one in the truck did. "Uh, this is the moment you're supposed to gasp," Alfur told them.

Hilda gasped.

"Oh my Lord," Johanna gasped too.

Thomas chimed in and gasped, "Egads, not twice!"

Alfur sighed. "Never mind."

It was mindless fun, and they weren't being serious. They were just being silly. Frida, however, wasn't playing along and looked at Alfur incredulously. "Really? That's it," she asked. "All this trouble because of unfinished paperwork."

"You don't understand," said Alfur. "In those ancient days, to bring an unfinished document to the king was considered high treason."

"Yes, because we all know that unfinished paperwork is on the same level as trying to overthrow the king and mass murder," Thomas said as he brought the truck off the side of the road and put it into park. Now, all they had to do was walk the rest of the way to the Braggas and David.

"Oh no," said Alfur, "those would have definitely gotten you hung, drawn, and quartered."

"Oh my goodness!" Johanna gasped. Never in her imagination had she thought the elves would be that brutal.

"What's that," Hilda asked, being the first time she's heard of the execution method.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Thomas said, hoping that she didn't use the internet to find out. He grabbed Alfur and brought him up to his shoulder and then unbuckled himself. "So…what happened to the Braggas?"

The four humans and the deer fox jumped out of the truck and closed the doors. They started walking alongside the walls as Alfur continued the story. "He exiled the family on the spot. With the contract technically unfinished, the king declared the plot No Elf's Land! It remains untouched, neither bought nor sold, to this very day," he said, bringing the tale of the Lost Clan to an end. "The laws are much fairer now, of course. If a Bragga signs this contract, their exile will be over."

"Okay, so why do you have the contract," Thomas asked, finding it odd that the elf would have it on him.

This made the elf's eyes widen. "W-Well, it's always been a dream of mine to find the Bragga family and put an end to the feud," Alfur told Thomas, though he said it with a little bit of nervousness. "Unfortunately, no one's been able to find them for generations."

"And it's going to stay that way."

The group stopped, looked ahead, and saw the Bragga family. Their leader was standing on a rock in front of them, while the bunny riders and the pigeon riders were stationed around David, who sat on the log. Thankfully, he was unharmed. However, seeing him tied up with spears pointed at him put everyone on edge.

Twig instantly became defensive as he growled at the elves. "You were right," Frida said. "They are hairier."

Thomas glared at the tiny men and pulled out his hatchet. However, Alfur quickly said, "Wait! Let me talk to them."

The paranormal investigator looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then nodded and knelt down on one knee. "You better know what you're doing," he said to the elf, allowing Alfur to hop down and approach the other elves.

"Hello!" Alfur eagerly greeted the leader, waving his arm at him. The young elf then took a bow and said, "I am Alfur of the Northern Counties. Are you the Lost Clan?"

This aroused commotion within the ranks of the Lost Clan's warriors. They started shouting, irked by the title their family had been given. That was until their leader held up his hand, prompting them to stand down and lower their weapons. "Some call us that, yes," the leader said. "I am Bartell, leader of the Bragga family."

Seeing that the peace talks were going off to a good start, Thomas holstered his hatchet in his belt while Hilda then reached down and petted Twig's head.

"It's right, boy," she said.

"Really? Oh, then I have fantastic news," Alfur said with relief and joy in his voice. "Your exile is finally over!"

The elves of the Bragga family gasped, surprised by this news. After being an exile for so long, cut off from the rest of elf society, and made to fend for themselves, they were now being welcomed back to the counties they were forced out of. While it did not result in thunderous cheers and applause, the elves were nonetheless pleased by this great news.

"All you have to do is sign this contract," Alfur told Bartell as he pulled out the contract that would free his clan from their exile and lift the family's shame.

But that was where things went downhill.

"No!" Bartell hit the end of his spear on the rock he stood on.

His refusal took Alfur aback. "I…I'm sorry?"

"After being exiled, our family swore off paperwork forever. A Bragga will never sign another document, not even a receipt." All the Bragga family members shouted in agreement and raised their weapons. Making their disdain for all paperwork known to the paper-oriented elf.

"Well, this isn't good," Johanna said, becoming nervous.

Meanwhile, Alfur's brain could not fathom what he'd just heard. "N-No paperwork?" he exclaimed. An elf not wanting to do paperwork? Such a question was the same as a fish not wanting to swim. "But…But how do you keep track of everything? Of offers, of acceptance, of…of terms?"

"Well, it's simple. We keep our word, and when we don't, we enter combat!" Bartell roared as he jumped down from his rock and landed in front of Alfur, spear in hand. The members of his family cheered for him. They wanted to see their leader take that contact and rip it into pieces.

"Aw! Adorable." Frida gushed over the tiny men. "Yet fearsome."

"She's right, Thomas," Johanna said, becoming increasingly fearful of the escalating situation. "I don't think Alfur is going to be able to handle this."

"It's not like he can make the situation any worse," Thomas told her.

"Please, it's…it's just one signature," Alfur said, cowering in the face of an opponent he had no chance of beating in a fight. If you gave him a battle to make it the best contract, he was your man. But a fight with weapons? He was helpless against Bartell, who had years of experience in training.

Glaring at the younger elf, Bartell marched up to Alfur. Towering over him, the older man looked into his opponent's fear-stricken eyes. There was something familiar about this boy. Having lived a long life, Bartell has come to know many faces, and rarely does he forget one. Alfur, however, stood on the fine line between being familiar and being unfamiliar.

"What's your interest here?" The leader of the Bragga family asked, circling around Alfur. Cutting him off from his escape route to the humans.

"Oh, I'm just a good Samaritan, trying to help where I can," Alfur nervously said with a chuckle.

"No. It's more than that," Bartell said, stroking his bread.

However, that's when the old elf caught a whiff of a familiar scent. Leaning in as Alfur became rigid, Bartell took a sniff. His nose instantly filled with the scent of lavender and hazelnut. The smell took him by surprise as he looked at Alfur in total shock.

"You…" He gasped and then looked at Alfur with pure hate. He leaned in close to his face and picked him in the chest. "You're an Aldric, aren't you?!"

Alfur gulped the birdseed-sized lump in his throat (because, you know, tiny throat).

"Uh…yes. Yes, I am," he ultimately confirmed, sparking outrage from the Bragga Family, realizing that a member of their greatest enemy was now at their doorstep. They raised their weapons and shouted at the young elf.

"Me and my big mouth," Thomas groaned as he, Johanna, and Hilda walked over to the two elves.

"Alfur, your family tried to buy No Elf's Land?" Hilda asked her friend in complete shock.

"Why didn't you tell us you're an Aldric?" Johanna placed her hands on her hips.

"Please, don't think I was lying to you," Alfur pleaded with the Lindquist family.

"You withheld important information from us, man." Thomas pointed at him.

"I know, but please understand. I knew that if I revealed that I was an Aldric, you wouldn't have allowed me to come," Alfur explained. "All I want to do is right the wrongs of the past and end this feud."

"A feud that started because of your family," Bartell yelled. "The Aldrics are responsible for our exile!"

Alfur said, "Well, that's hardly a fair interpretation."

Thomas face-palmed. "Oh, you stupid idiot."

"You must suffer for your family's crimes," Bartell told Alfur as he grasped his spear with both hands. "THERE MUST BE COMBAT!"

Ten rabbit warriors shouted battle cries as their rabbits hopped around the two of them. The cute little bunnies merely stared at Alfur. The warriors that rode them pointed their spears at him, ready to pierce his heart.

"You will not leave this land until you have taken on all 10 of our rabbit warriors," said Bartell, "including Agnes."

Alfur looked to see a woman elf standing on the back of one rabbit, and she was the fierce-looking woman that he and his human companions had ever seen. With a fur cape hanging from her back and secured by a skull pen, Agnes had gray hair, an eyepatch over her left eye, and an X-shaped scar on her left cheek.

The elves snorted, spat, and then let out a mighty roar, and she lifted her spear over her head, only to snap it in two with her bare hands.

And she didn't even have hands.

Alfur whimpered. "I don't even know how to write a rabbit." He then waved at the warrior woman. "Hi Agnes."

"You're not fighting Agnes." Thomas declared as he reached down and picked up Alfur.

"That's right! Not without us!" Hilda said as she put her fists up. Twig was instantly at her side and growled at the elves. "Bring it on, you bunnies."

"No, I mean, no one is fighting anyone! We didn't come here for a fight," Thomas told the girl and the elves. As Hilda and Twig calmed down, the paranormal investigator began talking to the Bragga family. "Look, you don't want to sign a contract. I get it. Contracts are the worst. Alfur wants you to sign the contract because it will be the only official way your exile will end. I, on the other hand, don't care about your exile. All I want is the boy. So why do we come to some kind of beneficial agreement?"

"Like what?" Bartell narrowed his eyes.

"Uh…"

"Like a loophole!" Frida pointed out. She walked over to the two parties and began to explain her reasoning. "Every contract has a loop, right?"

Johanna, pondering for a moment, began to understand where Frida was taking this idea. "Frida's correct," she said with a smile. "Perhaps looking over the contract will reveal an alternative to signing the paper."

"Exactly!" Frida got down on the ground to be closer to the elf leader's height. "Give us a day, and let us see if we can find a solution that will make everyone happy."

Bartell considered the offer for a moment before giving his answer. "Your offer is acceptable," he said. "If you are able to find a way to free us from our exile—without paperwork, we'll let the boy go."

"Also, if we succeed, we want the blue nettle," Frida quickly added.

Thomas said, "Frida…"

"Just…Just a clipping, but we mostly want David."

The elf looked back at the nettles that had grown from the wall. They called home. "Fine," he said.

Thomas nodded and looked at David. "Sorry, David, it looks like you're gonna have to stay here for a little bit. But don't worry, once we find a solution, we'll come right back."

"Works for me," the young boy replied. "I imagine it'll be safer staying here than whatever you end up getting into. I'll just stay here with the invisible ant men."

"We are not ant men!" Bartell yelled.

Alfur said from Thomas's shoulder. "Um, if you want, I can make you visible to him." He pulled out a contract. "It just takes a little paperwork."

"NO!" The rabbit warriors yelled and pointed their weapons at him.

"Never mind." Alfur laughed nervously and stuffed the contract back into his satchel.

---

Beginning their new quest to bring an end to the Bragga family's exile, get David back, and get a blue nettle, the team arrived back at the apartment. The first step in breaking the deadlock was to review the contract for any loopholes that would null and void the contract. In order to do that, Thomas had Johanna, Frida, Twig, and Alfur go upstairs to the mother's apartment while he scanned the paperwork into his tablet. Hilda stayed with him, wanting to help with the scanning.

Finally, on the final page, Thomas snapped the picture on his iPad, and the app instantly scanned the paper. Now, he had all the pages needed to look for the loophole.

"Alright, we're all set," Thomas said to Hilda with a smile.

Hilda smiled back. "Great, let's go," she said, turning to leave.

"Hilda, wait a minute," Thomas quickly said, getting her to stop. The young girl turned around and looked up at him with her big eyes. "I…I wanted to talk to you in private."

"Yeah," the blue-haired girl asked, wondering why the young man wanted to talk to her.

Thomas took a deep breath and knelt before her on one knee. This was the moment he had been wanting to have with her all day. He wasn't sure why he picked this moment. Maybe it was because they were alone in a space that Thomas was comfortable with, or perhaps because they were going to be going on an adventure where he might not have another chance until the day was over. All Thomas knew was that he was done waiting to talk to his blueberry.

"So, remember the parent-teacher conference? Where you pretended that I was your stepdad."

Hilda looked away from embarrassment. "Yeah…"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about… certain developments that have come up recently. Developments that are mostly related to your mother and I," Thomas said, trying to come up with the best possible explanation for her. "As you know, I like you, Hilda. You're an amazing kid with a good heart and a good head on her shoulders."

Hearing that brought a smile to her face. "Aw, thanks—"

"Wait, hold on, let me finish. It's not just you that I like a lot. It's your mother. Your mother, Johanna, is an absolutely amazing woman who I am extremely lucky to have as a friend, as much as I am to have you as a friend," Thomas explained to the daughter of the woman he loved. And now came the threshold he must cross. "But… the thing is… What I feel for your mom goes much further than just friendship."

"What do you mean?" Hilda became fearful and worried. "Do you not like her?"

"Hilda. I'm…" Thomas took a pause. "I'm kind of in love with her."

In that instant, all of Hilda's worries were washed away as she looked at the red-haired man with sparkling eyes and a slightly gaping mouth.

"Look, Hilda, I know this is really weird for you. I mean, I'm your best friend, who is in love with your mom. However, that is the truth. I…I like Johanna a lot. I have for a while, and I intend to ask her to be my girlfriend. However, before I do so, I just thought I'd let you know what's happening and maybe have your blessing to date your mom—"

Thomas was suddenly interrupted by Hilda rushing in and hugging him. The young man looked at her in surprise as she hugged him tightly around his chest. "It's okay. I trust you with Mum," Hilda said with a happy smile. "Does that mean that you'll be my new dad?!"

"Whoa, blueberry. She hasn't even said yes to a date yet." Thomas then looked at his friend in surprise. "Wait, what do you mean about being your new dad?"

Hilda blushed with embarrassment. "Well…Frida said that if you and Mum get together, that would mean you'd be my new dad. Is…that not how it works?"

A giant blush appeared on Thomas's face. "Uh, well, first, it's way too soon for that kind of stuff. I mean, we haven't even started to date yet," Thomas said. He then looked down at his young friend with wide eyes. "But are you really okay with that? What about your real dad?"

The happiness on Hilda's face faded as she pulled away from Thomas and stood in front of him. For a moment, Thomas started to regret asking. He knew next to nothing about Hilda's birth father, only that he wasn't in the picture and that Johanna felt bitterness about their separation.

"Actually…. I don't really remember my father," she said, looking down sadly while tugging on her uniform. "Mom said that one day he had visited a few times a long time ago. Then he just stopped. Now I can't even remember his face…"

"Oh, Hilda," Thomas whispered softly, genuinely disheartened that her father would leave Hilda and Johanna.

Despite revealing that her father didn't stick around, Hilda's spirits lifted as she looked up at Thomas. "But then you came along. And being around you reminded me of all those movies we would watch together. I didn't realize it at first, but I started to realize that you were like the dad I had never had. I always imagined what my dad would've been like, and, as time went on, you became that dad that I've wanted." Hilda then came back and gave Thomas another hug. "Just…promise me you won't leave me and Mum."

Thomas continued to look at Hilda with a shocked expression for about a second, before a tender smile crawled on his lips. "Never in a million years," he said, gently hugging her back.

After pulling away, Hilda looked up at Thomas with a big smile. "So, are you going to ask out Mum now," she asked with excitement.

"Let's get through this adventure, and then I'll ask her out," Thomas said, standing up.

"When will the wedding be?"

"…Uh…I'll get back to you on that later," he said, blushing.

They walked out of his apartment room and up the stairs. Entering Hilda's apartment, the two of them saw Frida and Johanna sitting together at the table, with Alfur sitting on the sugar bowl.

"Alright, we've got the pages scanned in," Thomas said as he placed the iPad on the table. "You elves are definitely thorough."

Alfur shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea how you end up in these situations," Johanna said, exacerbated, as she cracked open a can of soda. "First, you are looking for plants, and now you're trying to end a family feud with a contract."

The redhead sat down at the table and shrugged. "That's the Gravity Falls curse for you," Thomas said.

Hilda looked at him curiously. "What kind of curse is that?"

"It's not so much a curse but more like… yeah, it's a curse," Thomas said, giving up easily. There was no other way to describe it. "Basically, my family, the Pines, we are a magnet for weird things. And wherever weirdness is, mystery and adventure is sure to follow."

"That explains why my life got weirder when you showed up," Frida said with a sarcastic smile. Johanna nodded in agreement.

"You mean it became fun," Hilda said, smirking.

"All right, that's enough," Johanna said with a smile as she pointed to the iPad. "Let's get David back, and then we can talk about family curses."

Thomas turned on the iPad, and the first page of the tiny contract filled the whole screen. Allow the four humans to see everything without the need for a magnifying glass. Together, the two adults, two girls, and the tiny elf carefully examined each line of the contract. Thomas gently and slowly scrolled down the pages of the contract as they read through it.

"Oh, go back!" Frida reached out and scrolled the page back up to see the line she said. "Right there! 'An elf contract can be null and void by destroying it in the fire of a lindworm.'"

The moment Johanna heard lindworm, her eyes widened, and she became anxious. "Uh, lindworm? Isn't that another word for dragon?"

"Technically, they're dragons without any wings, snake-like bodies, and only have arms." Thomas pointed out.

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

Hilda said, "So all we need to do is find a lindworm."

"Again, we're talking about a dragon," Johanna said. "A giant fire-breathing lizard that will incinerate us in seconds!"

"All part of the adventure!"

"Oh, Hilda…" Johanna sighed exasperatedly.

"How are we going to convince a dragon to burn a contract," Thomas asked. He understood the concern that Johanna was expressing, but the situation called for a lindworm to burn the contract.

"Why do you think they put that clause in every contract?" Alfur told the human man. "It doesn't actually mean anything. Lindworms are very rare and very paperwork-averse. It's like saying 'when cows fly'."

"You mean when pigs fly." Hilda tried correcting him.

"Oh, no. That happens with some regularity."

"Do we have any better ideas?" Thomas looked around the table with a raised eyebrow. Alfur shook his head, Hilda and Frida shrugged, and Johanna looked uncertain. With no other ideas on how to break the contract, their best option was the lindworm. "So, where do we start looking for a lindworm?"

Hearing that, Johanna perked up and stood up. "I know just the place."

---

The Trolberg Library was a big building on the outside but massive on the inside. It had two floors, both of them filled with dozens of cabinets with books about every conceivable subject one could think of, including astrology, paleontology, ghosts, kids' books, best-sellers, and the history of the town. In the center, there is a large open section with a ceiling window.

"I kind of hoped we'd be setting out into a deep, dark forest," Hilda said to her mom standing beside her. Both Lindquists were staring up at the towering bookshelf in front of her.

"The library is a forest for the imagination," Alfur said at the card catalog.

"And research is the greatest adventure of them all," Frid said, sitting at a table with a book picked out. "Oh, I like him."

Setting back a book he'd picked out, Thomas walked over to the stairs by the printer. "I'm going to go upstairs to see if I can find anything.

Reaching the second floor, Thomas took a left turn and started looking at the first bookshelf. He started scanning through the titles on the book spines when he noticed the floor under him.

There was a metal track embedded in the floor. The same kind that would allow a heavy object to slide freely. Turning his head to the right, Thomas saw that the bookshelf next to the one he was looking at was protruding from the wall more than the others.

Curious about what could be behind it, Thomas grabbed the bookshelf and began to pull. The bookshelf slid easily on the metal track, allowing him to see an empty, dark space behind it. Thanks to the light from the room behind him, the paranormal investigator was able to see a flight of stairs before his feet.

Luckily, there was a light switch for him to click on.

As soon as the lights came on, Thomas was greeted by the sight of a large room filled with thousands upon thousands of books. Bookshelves covered every wall of the room, including the wall of the flight of stairs. There were also pagan symbols on the shelves and carpet,

"Whoa, this must be where they keep the good stuff," Thomas said, descending the stairs. Looking around, he spotted a card catalog and walked over to it.

Opening the category with the letter L, Thomas ran his fingers through the card tabs as he looked for a book that would help him and the others.

"Oh, here we are. Lindworms: Habitats and Hideout. Well, let's see where you—Whoa!" Thomas yelped in surprise when he turned around.

Standing there in front of him was a very beautiful, slender young woman who looked to be the same age as him. She was wearing a gray sweater vest, a white blouse, gray leggings, and a black skirt with a black cloak across her shoulders. Around her neck was a pair of black and gray headphones attached to a portable media player.

Her hair was the most striking part of her. It was shoulder length, black, but purple towards the tips, which matched her purple eyes glaring at him.

"Who are you? What do you think of doing down here?" The woman demanded with a glare and a Nordic accent. In her hand was a wand, which she pointed at him. "How do you find this room?"

Thomas stared at the woman in front of him for a moment, whose beauty could be comparable to Johanna's. He'd seen this woman before. She is a librarian, mysterious at that. They passed each other a few times whenever Thomas came to the library to do research for a job. The librarian would somehow know the books that he would need and just place them on his desk.

"Oh, sorry, I was just looking for information," Thomas said, realizing that he had been quiet for a long second. "Was I not supposed to be down here?"

The Librarian shrugged and lowered her wand. "I guess I'll help you out. But these books are not for circulation. Reference only," she said, taking the card from Thomas. The woman then pointed threateningly at him. "And leave the reshelving to me, got it?"

Thomas gulped. "Got it."

"Now, let's see if we can find you the book you're looking for," she said, looking at the card. "Lindworms, huh?" The Librarian looked at Thomas with a raised brow. "So, you're the famous paranormal investigator in town?"

Thomas said with a smirk. "Yep, that's me. If you've got anything that's out of the ordinary, I'm your guy."

"No thanks, I've got my own ways," the Librarian said, crossing her arms. "You're Patrick Pines's son, aren't you?

Thomas's eyes widened as he looked at the woman in a mixture of shock and caution. "You…You knew my dad?"

"Not personally. He bumped into me in the Crawlspace when he was still 16. That was before everyone in the paranormal world knew the Pines as the family who stopped Weirdmageddon," the young woman said as she walked up to the man. Then she smirked at him flirtatiously. "I must say, you definitely inherited his handsomeness."

Despite blushing with embarrassment, Thomas said, "But…that was thirty years ago! How did you…"

Thomas's voice came to a halt when the Librarian waved her wand, and the tip of it glowed purple. From the top shelf of a bookshelf, a book glowed with a purple aura surrounding it before pulling itself out and floating down into the Librarian's hand.

"I believe you'll find your lindworm in this book," she said with a proud smile, handing over the book to Thomas.

Completely stunned, Thomas took the book, staring at the woman in amazement and realization.

"You're a witch," he said.

"Expecting more," the librarian asked, crossing her arms and looking at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Kind of if, I guess," Thomas said, rubbing his head. "Maybe, I don't know, magic fingers, pointy ears. Stuff like that."

The librarian rolled her eyes. "We're not those kinds of witches. Those are from another world, where the laws of magic are much more complex than those of this world. Plus, those witches are a different species. I'm still human."

"Well, thanks." Thomas held out his hand. He had no idea what she was talking about regarding the other witches from the other world. Likely best not to push the matter. "I'm Thomas."

The librarian glanced at his hand, considering whether or not to take it and trust him with her name. "…Kaisa," she said, shaking his hand. "Tell anyone what I told you, and I will turn you into a toucan. Got it?"

"I do not wish to be a toucan, so I got it."

Satisfied, Kaisa nodded and led the redhead up the stairs. Once they exited the secret room, the witch closed the shelf and made sure to lock it this time. "When you're done, bring it back to me, and only me," Kaisa instructed the young man.

Thomas nodded before walking down the stairs to the first floor. He saw the others sitting at a table, looking through stacks of books they pulled about monsters and cryptids.

"There you are," Johanna greeted him upon his arrival. "Where have you been?"

"Talking with a very interesting and strange librarian. But I got the book," Thomas said, placing the book on the table. The other came over, and the young man opened the book, only to unleash a cloud of dust from the pages that made the five of them cough. "Whoa, okay, no one's opened this book for a while."

Looking at the page he had open, Frida read from the book. "'Lindworms are notoriously antisocial creatures, and most fled during the construction of the city. According to last reports, only one layer remained in all of Trolberg.'"

"Well, where is it?" Hilda wondered.

Frida flipped the page. Stopping at a large map of the body of water outside of the city. "According to the key, the layer should be right here," she said, her finger pointing to an empty spot in the ocean.

"The lindworm lives underwater," Hilda asked.

"Not quite," Alfur said, trying to pick up a magnifying glass with his tiny arms. Thankfully, Johanna got it for him. "Oh, thanks. Please place it right here."

Johanna set the magnifying glass on the page where the elf pointed. Revealing a tiny island on the map.

---

The sun was beginning to fall on the horizon when the group made it to the beach. As the sky started changing colors, they looked out at the ocean and saw the small island the lindworm called home. Of course, just like on the map, it was miles and miles away from the shore.

"We could swim it," Hilda said.

"Can we?" Johanna looked at her with a smirk.

That's when Alfur got an idea. "Wait, I may have a solution," he said before running across the sand and rocks to the edge of the beach, inches away from the water. "I need a conch shell and a tide chart."

"Here," Frida said, placing her Sparrow Scout's Guide on the ground, opening to the page with the tide chart. "There's one right here in the guide."

Twig came over to the elf with a conch shell in his mouth. He placed it down on the open book and sat down.

Alfur looked at the book. "Okay, let's see…high tide at dusk! Very good!" He then hopped onto the book and went to the end-pointed end of the shell.

Picking up the shell, Alfur cleared his throat, inhaled deeply, and blew into the shell….

…or, at least, he tried. All that came out of the shell was sputtering, broken trumpet sounds.

He tried a second time, only to get the same results.

"Would…would you mind," he asked Thomas. "Sorry. Tiny lungs."

Thomas took the shell. "Any particular tone I should play?"

"Give it kind of a," Alfur said, "OOO-EEE-WHAH."

Figuring why not, Thomas inhaled deeply and blew into the conch shell. Unlike Alfur, the human male had much more success, with the horn blaring loudly across the beach and water.

When he stopped, Johanna looked at the shell. "What are we looking for, exactly?"

Suddenly, a large column of water shot out of the water, splashing a wave onto Thomas and Johanna, whom the redhead grabbed to protect from the splash. Hilda and Frida were caught in the wave, including poor Twig, whose fur became completely soaked. As Thomas pulled away from Johanna, both adults looked at one another with big blushes. However, the older woman looked over Thomas's shoulder and gasped in amazement. The man turned around and saw that it was a towering water spirit.

With its glowing yellow eyes, it looked around to see who had summoned it. Then, the spirit looked down and saw the four humans.

"Whoa!" The humans said in wonder.

"It's a water spirit!" Hilda spread her arms out.

Alfur cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the spirit. "Uh, hello," he said. "We were hoping you could give us a ride to that island out there."

At first, the water spirit remained silent, then it twirled around, swirling the water of its body until forming spiraling stairs for the humans to climb on.

Both Thomas and Hilda smiled when they glanced at each other. Then, the young man took a cautious step on the spirit's stairs. Thankfully, it was as solid as earth.

"Alright," he said, "watch your step."

Frida placed Alfur on her head and placed her guide back in her backpack before following Hilda and Thomas up the water spirit. She tapped the first step with extreme caution until she was sure it wouldn't give way and send her into the water. Afterward, Frida climbed the stairs.

Up next were Johanna and Twig.

The deer fox wanted to follow. However, whimpered and backed away from the water spirit. Looking up sadly at his best friend, he sat on the beach.

Feeling sorry for the family pet, Johanna got on one knee and stroked his back. "I'll stay here with Twig," she said to Thomas. "Please don't get yourself eaten."

"Don't worry," Thomas said, "We'll be back before you know it!"

With the humans that were going on its head, the spirit turned and took off across the ocean. Neither swimming nor floating, its body was about of the water, making it appear as though it was shifting itself through the water.

From where she sat down, Johanna smiled warmly as Thomas placed Hilda on his shoulders, and her daughter spread out her arms. Catching the wind in her face, no doubt with a giant grin across her face.

Twig whimpered next to her.

"I know, Twig," Johanna said, petting his head with a motherly smile. "I'm worried for them too. But Thomas will protect her. I just hope David is doing alright."

---

As it turned out, David was doing just fine. Not having to go on the adventure, he could just sit on his log as the sun went down. Next to him sat Bartell. Neither of them said anything, with the exception of David sighing. Wishing that his arms weren't tied up.

"So, tell me," Bartell said, "what do you…What do–What do you usually do when you're a hostage, eh?"

"This is actually my first time," David told him.

"Oh, ours too. Ours too," Bartell said, seeing that David wasn't looking at him. "Also, I'm over here."

David turned his head in the elf's direction, not realizing that the ladybug was back.

"Eh, did you know there's a bug in your hair?

---

In no time, the water spirit carrying the humans made it to the island. Just like before, it spun around, only this time, it made a slide for Thomas, Alfur, and the girls to go down. Which they did with big smiles.

The water spirit then turned and disappeared back into the water.

On the shore of the rocky island, Frida pulled out her phone, which she used to take pictures of vital pages, because Kaisa wouldn't allow them to take the book out of the library. Thankfully, the group had technology on their side. "Okay, so, according to the book," she said, "signs of a lindworm lair include disturbed foliage, overturned earth…

"And high plumes of smoke," asked Hilda, having climbed onto a large rock behind Frida and Thomas, with Alfur on her head.

Thomas turned around, and his eyes widened while Frida was still looking down at her phone. "Yes, exactly. How did you…?" She trailed off when Thomas turned her head around. "Oh."

As Hilda pointed, they saw plumes of smoke coming from the other side of the rocky hill.

Together, the three humans climbed to the top and stared down. The rock formation of the island formed a bowl, and inside that bowl was a large garden. Neatly kept and organized, the ecosystem had a large variety of trees, flowers, weeds, and many more types of plants.

"It's a garden," Hilda said in awe.

Thomas scowled with determination. "Let's do this," he said, beginning his climb down into the bowl.

Soon, they touched down on the ground, carefully entered the garden, and began to search the area.

"Whoa! Look at the flora!" Frida said, walking over to an assortment of what appeared to be bushes. But something was odd about it, as they grew one what appeared to be a very long, wavey vine that was as thick as a log.

"Whoa, I think this might be a petaled manivore," Hilda said, looking at the plant she found with a smile.

However, from where he stood at his height, Thomas saw that something wasn't quite right with the "vine" and started following to the end. Most of it was covered in a strange texture that wasn't like any plant he'd seen. And the bushes didn't look like bushes. They were flat and looked almost like bone or carpus.

That's when Thomas saw a plume of smoke coming from behind some tall plants. Walking over, the paranormal investigator knelt down and pulled back the flora, coming face to face with a pair of smoke-spewing nostrils.

"Whoa," Thomas said, reaching for his ax. However, the lindworm did not attack. It snored with its eyes closed and just continued sleeping. Seeing that he wasn't in danger, Thomas examined the beast.

Just as in legends, the dragon had a long, snakelike body with two front legs but no hindlegs. What the kids thought were bushes were, in reality, the dorsal fins. It had a long snout, with antlers on its head.

"That's a lindworm?" Frida whispered in shock as she and Hilda came over. Now, she realized that the 'giant vine' she'd been walking around was the creature's long snake body.

"What were you expecting," Hilda asked.

"A worm."

"Mum said it was a dragon."

"Yeah, but there are small dragons," Frida said, "right?"

"Rarely," Thomas said. The conversation was cut when a puff of blue fire was expelled out of the nostrils of the dragon, making Thomas quickly jump to the side to avoid getting his legs burnt.

"This is perfect," Hilda said. "We don't even have to wake it up. We can just hold the contract in front of its nose, and then, poof, problem solved."

"Do you really think this is a good idea," Alfur asked nervously. "It feels a tad dangerous."

"He's right," Thomas said with a frown. He then held his hand out to Alfur. "Which is why I'm going to get the contract burnt, and you three stay behind me."

"But, Thomas," Hilda began to protest.

Thomas knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. Like you said, it'll be quick, and we won't have to get it to wake up."

Hilda looked up at the elf on her head. In the end, Alfur pulled out the contract and held it out.

"For No Elf's Land," he said.

Pinching the forms between his fingers, Thomas stood up and turned to the lindworm. The beast continued its peaceful slumber. Taking a deep breath, Thomas began walking towards the creature. As he got closer, he reached his arm out to its nostrils.

"Almost there," he whispered with anticipation. Only a few more inches away.

And then, it happened.

Thomas stepped on a stick, breaking it with a loud snap.

Suddenly, the lindworm opened its eyes and saw the human in front of it, standing in its territory.

Thomas yelled as he jumped back. The girls screamed as well, and Alfur whimpered and held his satchel in front of himself. The four friends could only watch as the dragon rose up from the ground, growling and snarling in anger.

The dragon roared. "Why did you sneak up on me in my slumber," she questioned the humans and elf. Her nostrils flaring with blue flame.

Thomas gulped in fear as the girls quickly got behind him. "Uh…hi. We're sorry for all the sneaking around, but we were just—"

The words in his throat died as the lindworm leaned in for a closer look. That's when she saw the elf and became even angrier. "Oh, of course, another elf looking to get out of a contract," she said. The beast leaned back and towered over the group, looking at them in annoyance. "What is it this time? Short-term lease? Non-disclosure agreement?"

"Please, we only need just one puff of fire," Thomas said, holding his hands and waving them. Trying in vain to get the dragon to calm down.

The dragon snorted out some fire in anger. "Well, I'm tired of giving away my God-given talents for free," the lindworm said. "Maybe, if I devoured you lot, everyone will finally get the message."

She opened her jaws, ready to chomp down on the humans and elf. Thomas gasped and pulled out his ax, prepared to protect the girls and to his last breath.

However, the Lindworm stopped just a few meters from eating the young man. Opening her eyes, the Lindworm retracted herself. "Wait a minute," she said, sniffing the air. "That smell, I haven't smelt this scent for a long time. Where is it coming from?"

The long-bodied creature turned her attention to Thomas, went up to him, and did a couple of sniffs.

"You, you have the blood of Veronica Pines."

This surprised the young man. "Wait, you knew my great-grandmother," Thomas asked.

"Great-grandmother," the Lindworm asked, surprised. "Has it been that long?"

Seeing that the dragon wasn't going to attack, Alfur used this as an opportunity. "Uh, who said anything about free?"

"Excuse me?" The Lindworm says, turning to the small elf.

"We're not here to mooch," he said, frantically waving his arms. "In fact, we are very eager to draw up an arrangement that'll be acceptable to both parties."

The Lindworm looked at Thomas, raising an eyebrow, and looked back at Alfur. "And what can you possibly have that'll be of interest to me?"

"Ah... well... uh... Thomas?"

"What? Why are you asking me?" Thomas said incredulously.

"Well, you are the leader, and she seems to know you." Alfur reasoned.

"Are you kidding me?" Thomas made a gesture as if to grab the elf and wrangle him. "She knows my great-grandmother, not me."

As the two talked, Hilda looked over to Frida's backpack, spotting the plants she and the others had collected. It was at that moment that Hilda got an idea.

"Plants!" Hilda said.

"I'm sorry?" The Lindworm leaned back.

"I-I gathered you have a bit of a—excuse the joke—green thumb," Hilda said as she walked up to the dragon.

The Lindworm said, "It's true. I'm not interested in the googaws the younger, flashier dragon crowd goes in for." She leaned in closer to Hilda with a smile. "I prefer the real treasures of the Earth."

Thomas, getting what Hilda's going for, stepped up and said, "Well, lucky for you, we happen to have some unique and very exciting samples. Isn't that right, Frida?"

They all turned to the black girl, as she remained as far as possible from the dragon. "'Exciting' is a strong word," she said with a raised eyebrow of confusion.

"Frida, show her the plants!" Thomas insisted through gritted teeth.

Now seeing what the two were trying to do, Frida took out the plants from her backpack. She then slowly walked up and placed them on the ground.

The Lindworm looked at them with intrigue. "Crabgrass? Dandelions? Purple Thistle?"

The group began to get nervous, thinking that she was outraged, until...

"I've been trying to get my hands on some good urban flora for years now," the Lindworm said, making Thomas sigh with relief. "Unfortunately, I haven't mustered up the energy to go back into the city. My social anxiety is just awful. Would you part with these exquisite specimens? I'd be more than willing to burn your contract in return."

"Oh, of course, they're all yours," Thomas said, then added. "And if it's not too much trouble, maybe you can not eat us?"

The Lindworm rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I suppose."

"Can we get that in writing?" Alfur nervously asked.

---

It took only a few seconds and a blank piece of sketch paper to write a quick contract. Was it necessary? If they wanted to leave this place alive, then yes.

The dragon dipped her sharp claw into a bottle of ink and brought her finger to the contract. "Sign here," Alfur said, pointing to the first of three lines at the bottom, "and here, and here."

The Lindworm signed on all three lines.

"Very nice. Thank you," said Alfur.

With the contract signed and made, Hilda and Thomas approached the Lindworm with the tiny contract they came to burn. Being the tallest, Thomas held up the paper with a small piece of cloth in the other hand. The Lindworm leaned in and let out a short puff of blue fire, burning the paper until it was nothing but glowing blue ashes.

Smiling, Thomas dropped the ashes onto the cloth and then tied it up in a sack. He then turned to Hilda, who had Alfur still on her head, and handed the sack to the little elf.

"Right! We're all set," he said. "See? All the best legends involve paperwork.

Before the group left, though, Thomas turned to the Lindworm and asked, "Before we leave, I need to know, how do you know Veronica?"

"Well, back when I was a wee dragon, a group of agents from the OPI came, hoping to find me and conduct some interviews," Lindworm answered. "But, due to my anxiety and being wary of humans, I hid. Your great-grandmother managed to find me, but instead of turning me in, she kept me a secret, visiting me whenever she got the chance. In fact, almost half of this beautiful garden came from her bringing me samples. We would discuss about gardening, I would ask about her, and she would ask about me. She was someone I considered to be my best friend."

Thomas looked at the Lindworm sadly, "But she had to leave, didn't she?"

The dragon hung her head in sorrow. "She had to return home, since the OPI reassigned their agents. She did visit me one last time when she was much older, but afterward, she didn't come back. Oh, how I hoped to see her again, but judging by your age, and being her great-grandson, I assume she has... passed on?"

The redhead looked at the dragon with sympathy. He's heard the story of Veronica's involvement with his Great-Great Uncle Ford's portal and how she spent years trying to cover it up and help Stan turn it back on. She'd sacrificed so much, including a close relationship with her daughter, Thomas's grandmother, Nora. From what his father, Patrick, told him, after that first trip, Veronica was no longer able to travel again. Meaning she couldn't come back to Trolberg ever again.

"...Yeah, I'm sorry." The sad creature shedded a couple of tears for her dear friend. "But, if you want, I can come back and bring you more plants."

This surprised the Lindworm, but seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she smiled and said, "That would be lovely. Thank you, young Pines."

---

The sun had already settled, and the moon began to rise. Thomas, Hilda, Johanna, Frida, Alfur, and Twig rushed back to the Bragga family's village. "David, we're back!" Hilda said in relief upon seeing her friend. "I'm so sorry it took so long."

"Whoa," Thomas said, bringing the group to a stop as they all saw what had become of the young boy. "Uh…kid? What's going on with…all that?"

As it turned out, David had his hair tied up in three ways on his head.

"Bartell did it," he said with a smile. The Bragga family leader was standing on his left shoulder. "It's to keep the bugs out."

"You know, David is quite the young man," Bartell said, praising the boy he kidnapped. "He has set the bar very high for future hostages."

Thomas and Johanna glanced at one another. "Uh…" the mother began.

"Hm? Oh, right!" Bartell jumped down from David's shoulder and landed on the ground. His rabbit warriors were waiting to begin combat. "So, let me guess. You have failed to break the contract and have returned for COMBAT!"

"No!" Alfur quickly said. "Very much the opposite."

The little elf jumped down from Hilda and approached the older elf. Pulling out the sack that Thomas gave him, Alfur untied the rope. The cloth came undone, and the glowing blue ash was revealed to Bartell, who stared at it with wide eyes.

"That glow…" he gasped. "Lindworm flame?"

Alfur nodded. "The contract is broken," he said. "Your exile is over!"

The other elves erupted into cheers and applause. At long last, they were no longer exiled, and the family feud that had lasted for generations came to an end.

"You can finally leave this place and move into No Elf's Land!"

Bartell, however, did not cheer. "Oh."

"Oh?" Alfur stammered. "What do you mean, 'oh'?"

"Well, uh, we were so angry about being exiled, we never thought about actually leaving this place," Bartell said, looking at the home his family had built since leaving the Northern Counties. "The wall is our home."

Hilda walked over and asked, "But what about No Elf's Land?"

That question gave Bartell a moment of pause as he pondered what to do with the land. "I don't know," he said. Then he looked to Alfur. "Do you still want it?"

"Really," the young Aldric asked. "You cede your ownership rights just like that? No contract, no lease, no anything?"

"Well, we have our own way of sealing dealings," Bartell told the young elf, making Alfur nervous and anxious.

"Oh," he gulped, "good."

---

As it turned out, it didn't involve combat.

Instead of a bloody fight to the death, the elves threw a grand party with tiny food and tiny music, as tiny friendships between the Bragga family and Alfur were made.

"You're right, Bartel," said Hilda with a smile as an elf-size pie was placed on the table Alfur and the leader were sitting at. The blue-haired girl and her friends sat together on the same log that David was sitting on. "This is way better than paperwork."

"It's quite the spectacle," Alfur said with a smile.

Frida looked at the blue nettle that was gifted to her by the Bragga family. "Looks like we'll have to recollect all new samples tomorrow," she said.

"At least they wouldn't be guarded by a bunch of invisible people," Hilda joked.

Meanwhile, Thomas and Johanna sat together on the ground next to the log. Just like the kids, they enjoyed watching the celebrations from the sidelines with their legs crossed and eating the tiny food served by the elves.

Johanna stared at the party and said, "I still have no idea how you get in these situations?"

Thomas shrugged. "Sounds like a normal day for me," he said in a joking manner.

However, Johanna didn't seem to take it lightly as he did. "A normal day in which you, my daughter, and her friends were attacked by elves, carried by a water spirit, and almost eaten by a dragon?"

This made Thomas feel worried.

That was until Johanna giggled. "Yeah, I guess it would be, Thomas Pines."

The two adults laughed together and then turned back to the party, watching as they held a jostling match between Agnes and another elf. Thomas was sure that woman could only speak in spits and roars.

As he sat next to Johanna, Thomas glanced down at her hand by his side. Doing the only thing he could, he laid his hand over her and gently held it. Johanna was brought out of her thoughts and looked at Thomas. The look on her face immediately shifted into a gentle, warm smile. Thomas gave her a reassuring smile in return.

Feeling his heart rate increase as he stared up into Johanna's beautiful face and her eyes. Thomas knew that now was the time to ask her what he had on his mind for the past week.

"Johanna … uh…" he paused as he rubbed his neck and looked away embarrassingly. "Uh… are you… doing anything on Saturday? Art projects? Anything?"

The mother gazed at him, her eyes widening slightly. She inwardly hoped that he was going to ask her what she'd been hoping for. "Uh… n-no, I'm free." She answered a little anxiously.

"Well…" Thomas gulped. He had fought monsters, gnomes, humans, and demons. Why was asking the woman of his dreams making him so nervous? "I was hoping you and I could get together for a nice, romantic date?"

'H-he…he's asking me out! I-I don't believe it. YES!' the older woman inwardly cheered. She paused, immediately realizing she was squealing in excitement in her mind, which was completely out of left field for her.

Looking away from the younger man, she caught a glimpse of Hilda watching the two adults. The young girl stared at her mother and, as if knowing what they were talking about, gave her mum a supportive smile and nodded. Silently tell her to go for it and be with the man she loved.

"Johanna, you still there?" Thomas asked.

Johanna blushed deeply. She realized she hadn't given him a proper answer yet. "Uh… y-yeah… I'd love to." She stuttered.

Thomas gasped, and his eyes sparkled. "Y-Yeah?"

"Of course, darling." The nervousness then faded away to a warm, calming feeling. "But for now…" She leaned in and kissed Thomas on the cheek again, causing his face to turn tomato red. "Let's just enjoy the moment."

Thomas smirked. He couldn't agree more. With his hand on top of hers, the two lovers leaned on each other, gazing at the elf party as they celebrated the end of the long feud.

Bartell stood up from the table and held up his mug of mead. "Alfur, a toast!"

Alfur happily held up his mug. "To contracts!"

The music and chattering came to a halt. Noticing this, the young Aldric opened his eyes and became nervous and scared to see the other elves glaring at him and the bunnies staring at him, wondering if they were going to eat him.

Alfur shrank down in his seat until Bartell stood up. "To contracts!"

"To contracts!" The other warriors and family members cheered their toasts.

Seeing an opportunity, Hilda reached down and grabbed one of the mugs. "To love!" She shouted with a giant grin, raising her hand to Thomas and Johanna. This surprised the two of them, but everyone, including Frida and David, followed the toast.

"To love!" They all shouted.

Both partners looked at one another with big blushes on their faces before they smiled. They were happy for their newfound relationship, the support from the woman's daughter and her friends, and the future to come.

---

AN: And that was Lost Clan, one of my favorite episodes of season one, mostly because it has everything that makes Hilda an incredible show. Great animation, funny moments, friendship, and how not all the monsters act like monsters but just normal people going about their day and living their lives. And now Thomas got to be a part of the adventure.

I know that I said we'd see a lemon in this chapter. However, I wanted to do something different. That being to have Thomas tell Hilda about his wishes to date her mother and for her blessing to date her. It sounds strange, but it definitely makes sense, considering how close Thomas and Hilda are. It's also an inversion of the stepparent trope, where the couple is already dating and having to talk with the kid about it being okay after the fact.

Yes, unlike in the show, Anders wasn't a part of Hilda's life in any way. Not only does it make it easier for her to accept Thomas and Johanna's relationship and bring them closer as father and daughter, but it opens up a redemption arc for Anders as well. And I've already started planning that arc.

And then, we have the introduction of Kaisa, who will be a more prominent character in this story. From what I was able to find out, she was left out of most of season one's adventures because the show's creators had no idea what to do with her. They didn't even decide she'd be a witch until season two. However, now that we do know much about her, I can write her in more of the story.

And yes, Kaisa did, in fact, meet Patrick in Weirder Things. In Chapter 36, Patrick bumped into her in the Crawlspace. It was a small cameo, but one I didn't forget. The reason she still looks so young is because it's implied that, while looking 20, she might be over 40 years old. Being a witch, she might have used a spell to make herself look young or slow down her aging.

The next chapter is intended to be an original chapter about Thomas and Johanna's date, which, in true Pines Family fashion, goes very wrong.

Until that chapter comes out, farwell.