Caves of Kismet

The waterfall that hides the caves

The inside of the caves

The Caves of Kismet are a series of caves hidden behind a waterfall near Hilda's house in the Wilderness. In one of these cave, the Elf Prime Minister and his parliament reside.

The caves appear in the graphic novels ("Hilda and the Midnight Giant"), the animated series ("Chapter 1: The Hidden People") and the Hilda Tie-In Series ("Hilda and the Hidden People"), but are first mentioned by name in the tie-in novel, in which they are more prominently featured than in the other two incarnations. They are also mentioned on a map seen in "Hilda's World: A guide to Trolberg, the wilderness, and beyond".

Background

Graphic novels and animated series

In both the graphic novels and the animated series, Hilda briefly visits the cave to talk to the Prime Minister in hopes to end the conflict between her and the Elves. The only obstacle she has to overcome to reach the caves is the Prime Minister's cavalry, whom Twig easily drives off.

Tie-in novels

In the tie-in novel, Alfur warns Hilda that the caves are dangerous through a rhyme his grandmother taught him:

"You want to get to the Caves of Kismet?

You'll have to face three terrible tests:

The test of courage, the Test of Skill,

and the Test of Exceptional Braininess.

What happens if you fail a test?

Prepare yourself for certain death".

Hilda indeed faces all three tests:

The Water Spirits from the Test of Exceptional Braininess

• The test of courage: This test involves her having to get past the Prime Minister's cavalry in a scene identical to the graphic novel and the animated series.
• The test of skill: Hilda has to get into the caves by following an elf path, which for a human like her is extremely narrow. The water from the waterfall also makes the path very slippery. Hilda almost falls off the ledge, but is able to save herself by grabbing hold of some scurvy grass. She eventually manages to navigate the path by using troll saliva (which her sketch book is still covered in due to her encounter with a Troll earlier) as makeshift glue to secure herself.
• the Test of Exceptional Braininess: Hilda is given this test by a Jester elf. There are two caves, guarded by two Water Spirits. One cave is where the Prime Minister lives, the other supposedly contains a flesh eating troll. Hilda can ask the water spirits one question only to find out which is the right cave, with the added twist that one spirit will answer truthfully while the other will lie. Hilda's solution is to ask the spirits what the other spirit would say if she asks him if the prime minister lives in the cave she is about to choose. They answer "no", which for Hilda is enough a sign that she picked the right cave.

After the tests, Hilda meets the prime minister, but like in the graphic novel and animated series finds out he can't help her.