As Hilbert brushed his teeth, he failed to notice Hilda barge in the restroom. "Have you seen your weed hacker invention?"

"Well, it should be on the trunk of Mom's car. Why do you need it?"

"Ever since Frida and David have been helping me earn more badges a while ago, I want to return the favor by doing the same. With your inventions, earning badges for them would make it easier." Hilda looked up at the ceiling.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Isn't that cheating?"

"Well, if it involves something huge, it is still allowed for the Sparrow Scouts,"

Hilbert cleaned his mouth. "Look, just be careful with it. I haven't got the chance to increase its stability yet."

"That's fine, no need to worry. I'll return it when I'm done with it. Remember to check on Vivian today. She is expecting to help you out with finding her lost kite. I'll see you and Mom in three days!" Hilda walked out the door so she could meet up with her friends for the camping trip in the Forest of Nott.

Johanna was cleaning the dishes as Spark assisted her in doing so. "Hilbert, do you think your sister has been finicky lately?"

"What makes you say that?"

"She has been leaving the house more than often. She makes excuses whenever I try to do something as a family like a picnic," Johanna pointed out Hilda's actions. "You don't think she is ignoring us, do you?"

"Well, no. She might be trying to spend some time outside before Trolberg gets into some sort of containment that Safety Patrol might make." Hilbert sneezed.

This confused the mother. "Containment?"

"It's one of the many defenses Erik wants to make to keep Trolberg safe. Since Hilda encountered a troll in that cabin, he has been hellbent on keeping them out."

Johanna sighed. "That's one thing I'll agree with him. Trolls are dangerous creatures. Never associate with them. I want you to do me a favor, Hilbert. Can you tag along with your sister?"

Hilbert looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

"I just want you to keep an eye on her, in person. To make sure she does not get hurt out there,"

The boy sighed. "She's got David and Frida to back her up. Plus, the Sparrow Scouts have Raven Leader. No need to have me as the emergency option,"

"I still insist you go with Hilda. Plus, I already called Vivian to accompany you while you keep her on check,"

The door rang and in came Vivian. "I'm ready for our big day!"

Hilbert glared at his mother. "You dense motherfu-"

The two kids and mechanical pet were outside in the field leading where Hilda and her friends should be. Hilbert was still muttering to himself. "I couldn't even take the chance to read that letter…"

Vivian was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Remember that Safety Patrol troop I flew with Hilda? The captain and Deputy visited me one day and told me they were impressed with my skills. They were even surprised with my inventions working out!"

The girl was surprised. "That's a first time for everything," That earned her a punch in the shoulder.

"ANYWAY, they ended up giving me an envelope. I was about to have the chance to check it out until Mom told me to keep an eye on my sister. Ugh."

"She doesn't want Hilda to get arrested again for destruction of property, does she?" Spark asked.

"Well, it's more than that, since Hilda and the others will be camping for 3 days, we got to tag along to prevent her from getting hurt. Plus, Mom is taking a couple days to wind down and relax after all the craziness she and Hilda has gone through." Hilbert almost tripped. "And I'd be dammed that I wish those days can end fast!"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Wake up and smell the coffee, Hilbert. We're out here in Trolberg. You can do more than test those crappy inventions of yours!"

"She has a point," Spark beamed.

Suddenly, Hilbert's beret started to move. The three were surprised to see it was Alfur and Adeline flirting with each other.

"No, you're the cute elf!" Adeline smiled.

"No, you are!"

Hilbert cleared his throat, catching their attention. "May I ask why are you two stowing away in my beret?"

"Well, we decided to do a report on Hilda's latest adventure together. But we got too late to join since she left the house in a hurry." Alfur sheepishly answered.

Adeline popped out. "So, we stowed away with you to get some of the action. That is, if we can get any."

Hilbert groaned. "Fine. The more, the merrier."

"I can't wait to see the next creature Hilda will face! This is worth writing a report for!"

Vivian peeked in the beret. "Wow! Alfur, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"

This statement made the two blush. They tried to deny their feelings for each other, but the kids can tell they are fibbing.

"Should we get going?" Spark asked.

"Yeah, let's catch up with Hilda. She might have one of those near-death experiences again," Hilbert let the two elves ride his hair before the group started locating the three kids and deerfox.

Speaking of which, the group of four were traveling to the path of the Screaming Stones. David ended up slowing them down due to his anxiety and fear. Eventually, they got near their location, but it was too dark out to head on further. David felt guilty and blamed himself for making the group arrive late, even if Hilda and Frida did not mind.

"Guess we got to set up the tent for the night,"

"Makes sense, Frida. David, do you want some marshmallows?" Hilda pulled out the snacks.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry," The boy began to listen to lite rock as he walked from the tent the others were in. Way to go, jackass. You slowed them down all because you are a pathetic weakling. Next thing you know, you'll cause someone to lose their head.

Twig noticed David feeling down and started nuzzling on his leg. The boy felt motivated after looking at his friends telling scary stories. "You know what? I can be brave. I'm not going to be some wimp for the rest of my life!"

Unfortunately, this caused the boy to fall off the edge. He screamed as he kept falling from the mountain until he hit a tree.

Somewhere in the forest, there were a group of Vikings walking around. Some were eating steak, carrying weapons and torches, cutting their clothes, and using gunpowder.

"Reggie, you think that's too much ammo?" one man asked.

"Nah, the more ammo, the more prepared you will be. Like you should when we go to that feast, Nathan!"

The leader of the men halted when he noticed some chattering abound. He peeked around the corner to see two kids talking to each other. What were they doing walking around a forest with no adult supervision? He decided to find out.

"Then I told Hilda that she is a brat. And you know what she called me?"

Vivian wondered. "What?"

"A smartass!"

Vivian couldn't help but laugh. Adeline even struggled to stop cackling. "No wonder why Alfur calls you an egghead!"

The boy ended up bumping into the man. "Oh, sorry about that!"

"It's fine. I should have given you the heads up,"

Vivian was fascinated by their getup. "Who are you people? You look like barbarians!"

The group of men were astonished and took it as a compliment.

The leader settled them down. "The name is Torgund. How come you children are wandering around here alone?"

"I was told by my mom to keep an eye on my sister. She loves going on adventures, and sometimes they even lead to death," Hilbert groaned. "Don't get me started on the number of trolls that she has caused to chase us with."

"Trolls, you say. They are divine beasts! Hard as rocks!"

Vivian had to know more. "So, what do you guys do?"

"We usually fight our rivals so we can seek a strange medallion. Rumor has it that it would make us better warriors by getting rid of our fears," Torgund looked around. "It is powerful, so we have to be on our guard."

Everyone heard some rustling on their tracks.

"What the hell was that?" Spark asked.

Upon walking to a moving shrub, they were surprised to see that it was Twig digging on the ground.

"A deerfox?" Torgund was confused.

"Twig!" Hilbert cried. "What is it, boy? What's wrong?"

Twig pointed at the direction he was digging at. When everyone helped remove the dirt, they could not believe their sight. It was David! He has some cuts on his leg and forehead.

"Damn," Alfur commented. "He has seen some better days."

Vivian checked the boy's pulse. "Thankfully, David is still alive. We might need to heal him."

"Let's bring this mate to our cave. We should rest up before the battle," Torgund suggested.

Hilbert twisted Spark's nose and turned him into a wagon. Everyone was surprised even when one of the men helped place the unconscious David on it.

"My word!" Adeline cried. "This is something the elves should know about!"

"We can worry about that later," Alfur placed a hand on her shoulder. "Right now, we got to take care of David."

The group entered a cave. As the men sat around a table, Hilbert and Vivian placed their friend on a bed that Torgund made.

"You think he will be able to recover well?" Adeline looked at David's body.

"I hope so," Hilbert frowned. "I get the feeling Hilda might blame this one on me."

"Nonsense! She's your sister. She will understand that it was an accident!"

The others gave her looks of doubt. "You think?"