As noted in a previous post, we love being a homeowner in Hateno. A place to cook where the fires never go out! A bed to sleep in free of charge! A place to hang our excess weapons and shields, once we had them! But buying a house for Link was (for Itzal, at least) a mere stepping stone to a better quest: building an entire town From the Ground Up.
We’re talking about Tarrey Town.
To recap the prerequisite: First, you must initiate the Hylian Homeowner quest and, at a minimum, buy Link’s new home. At that point, Bolson will dispatch one of his crew, Hudson – the guy with the furry cap who looks as if he’d be more at home in Siberia – north to the Akkala region. It appears that Bolson Construction is expanding, and Hudson’s been tapped to handle the latest development project. (As an aside, Hudson seems to be the hardest working member of the crew; Bolson and his sidekick spend a lot of time loitering outside Link’s campfire. Indeed, although you don’t need to finish furnishing and landscaping Link’s new home before completing Tarrey Town, there’s an advantage to finishing the homeowner quest first; Bolson and Karson won’t have to return to your house after – but wait, we get ahead of ourselves. )
The Road to (Soon to Be) Tarrey Town
There are two paths to the Tarrey Town site: one by land and the other by air. If you’ve opened the Akkala map, you may find the land route more to your liking; you’ll cross a rock bridge westward to a large island in the middle of Lake Akkala. (Stop along the bridge and follow a flower trail to claim a Korok seed.) Even if you haven’t opened up the Akkala map yet, you’ve likely found the Dah Hesho Shrine, however, if for no other reason than to have a jumping off spot to visit the Great Fairy Mija. Instead of sailing off the Dah Hesho hillside toward the fairyland east, paraglide instead more directly north from the shrine to reach the island in question.
There you’ll find the industrious Hudson hard at work, taking a pickaxe to boulders. Hudson shares the plans for the new development, which he dubs Tarrey Town. (Demelza would like to inquire why he chose Tarrey instead of Tarry, a decision that has caused her no-end of spellchecker and autocorrect issues.)
Building a Town From the Ground Up
No matter how hardworking Hudson may be, he still needs assistance building the fledgling settlement. First, he requires 10 bundles of wood, which Link is only too happy to provide. Next, he’ll need some residents, and not just any Hyrulean will do; Hudson seeks villagers who fill a particular need – someone who can help with construction, for example, or manage an inn. To complicate matters, each new resident must have a name ending in -son, in keeping with Bolson Construction’s directives.
As the quest progresses, you’ll visit four different towns to find the -sons you’re looking for. First up is Greyson, a burly Goron working at the Southern Mine. (By the way, he won’t talk to you until his shift is over – he’s a man after hard-working Hudson’s own heart.)
Once Greyson is persuaded to cast his lot in with Tarrey Town, return to speak to Hudson. This time, in addition to still more bundles of wood, he’ll ask for someone who has skills as a tailor. That will take you to the Kara Kara Bazaar, where you’ll find Rhondson. Rhondson is perturbed by the lack of males in Gerudo (and her mother has been harping on Rhondson to get hitched), so she gladly takes her needles and threads and departs for Tarrey Town.
More bundles of wood, and the next prospective villager is up: Fyson, who can be found in Rito Village. Fyson is tapped to carry on his family’s profession in retail – this time in the burgeoning enclave in Akkala.
More wood – fifty bundles, no less, which we mostly farmed from logs around the Rito Stable – and on to the next: A Zoran named Kapson, who will run the Tarrey Town Inn, and, by the way, will also officiate at the forthcoming nuptials of Rhondson and Hudson. (Perhaps Rhondson’s mother will now let up on her daughter.)
But wait, there’s more. It’s not enough that you’ve contributed countless bundles of wood and recruited townspeople. It’s not enough that you’ve found someone to perform a wedding. No, poor Link is also in charge of the guest list for the upcoming nuptials. In particular, Hudson asks him to invite Karson and Bolson, whom, not surprisingly, you’ll find still loitering around the campfire at home in Hateno.
The good news here is that they DO depart from Link’s yard. Indeed, they head to Tarrey Town straightaway, and they don’t return unless, as foreshadowed above, you failed to finish LInk’s house and you need them to return. (Demelza read on the Internet that if you later talk to Bolson in Tarrey Town, he and his cohort will return to stalk you in Hateno; we’ve been too nervous to verify that.) (Itzal bites his tongue about things being found on the Internet not always being true.)
Return once more to Tarrey Town, and – after some drama involving the naming of Rhondson’s and Hudson’s future progeny – there’s confetti and cake for all. The area around the goddess statue is decorated up a notch. And for Link, there’s now an inn where he can stay for free; a place where he can buy arrows and, better still, ancient gears for 120 rupees apiece, as long as they’re in stock.
There’s something truly satisfying about building a town from the ground up. Apart from the free inn and the shopping, we like to visit Tarrey Town in our role as town benefactor. When we do, we are tempted to sip a Manhattan and look down our noses at the locals. Well, Itzal is, anyhow. Demelza still has that thing about brown liquor. But she can look down her nose with the best of us.