The Founding of Tarrey Town
Hudson liked the little guy. Polite, quiet, dependable - much like himself. Perhaps that was why when the little guy found him he accepted his aid. After all, the project he had in mind was huge and would take years to accomplish by himself. While this guy might not stay for long, a little help wouldn't be a bad idea.
But even after he dragged dozens of tree logs to Hudson's campsite, they had long way to go.
After collecting enough wood for Hudson that could be cut into planks for the day, the little guy huffed and fell to the grass in a heap of limbs. His chest heaved from overexertion, as he had been chopping down trees since midday until past dusk.
Hudson could not help but feel gracious in spite the little progress truly made. "This is only the beginning for me," Hudson told him. "Can I have the wood?"
The boy lifted his hand into a thumbs up that shook then let it flop back down.
Having made enough progress on removing the stone for today, Hudson grabbed his water skin and knelt beside the boy. "Do you have anywhere to be soon?" He asked the little guy as he handed over the water skin.
The kid drank from it greedily dripping it on himself and sputtering from his laid out position. When he finished he wiped his mouth and shook his head.
"Good. We can make dinner."
Hudson didn't wait for his response before taking some sticks and branches still left on the hauled wood into a balanced pyramid and with flint and a knife he began sending sparks at the kindle. "I caught some fish just before you showed up to help. You prefer grilled or fried?"
Hudson left no room to decline the meal. And so the two stoked their little fire below the metal plate where their fish fried. The blonde pulled from his pack rice balls tucked away between leaves and offered one to Hudson.
The kid didn't talk much which was fine for Hudson. After all, he wasn't one to make much conversation, preferring to observe and accept what people asked of him. But it could get old, a reason for why Hudson decided to start his own project. As his own boss, however, he was expected - or, he guessed, expected of himself - to be efficient, meaning to know what materials he would need and when he would get them. With just himself, it meant if he didn't collect the metal and wood, he couldn't build anything that day.
Having this little guy sure was a big help, even if it was only one day.
When the kid got up and thanked him for the meal, Hudson suggested he stay.
"You'll get lost out in the dark."
And so they slept beside the fire.
When Hudson woke, he expected to find his newfound friend to have left. He was a seasoned traveler, obviously from the extensive gear, the type to follow the wind and twisting turns of a the river. His shoes would be well worn and gloves falling apart.
He wasn't in sight, but many of his things were still at the campsite, like his pack and shield. He didn't notice at first, but beside the fire, not far from his own belongings a plate of rice and eggs sat balanced on a stone. Beside it was a note that read "For Hudson."
Thoughtful kid.
With his breakfast in hand, Hudson drew himself to his feet fighting off the last of sleep, then dragged his feet to the edge of the cliff where his little Tarrey Town Project was based. He dug in to his meal and considered if even his mother could cook as well as this guy. The rice was seasoned with something he had never tasted before, a spicy but sweet coat around the grains of rice. Perhaps that was the Goron spice he had heard of, something rather rare outside of Death Mountain. It took sheer willpower to not scarf it down in one bite.
He owed the little guy his thanks and searched for him from the cliff side, eye the horizon until noticing the forest surrounding Akkala Lake - or rather, what had once been its forest.
The tree fell beside the boy and Hudson couldn't help but laugh.
Chopping down trees. At the crack of dawn. It was like a path of chaos. Everything behind the boy had been chopped down already leaving nothing but stumps and logs rolled onto the path ready to be lugged back up to the project area in the middle of Akkala Lake along with his efforts from the day before. Ahead of him were dozens upon dozens of trees, but knowing this boy's speed and strength, they would be no match.
Hudson decided he liked his new friend and coworker.
Sure the houses were being built but what was the point of no one knew of it? He imagined it would perish, a ghost town only told as legend. He still had a lot of work to do even with the little guy's help.
The little blonde worked fast and clean, his movements measured and his eyes focused as he cut wood into planks for floor boards.
"So I was thinking..."
The boy looked away from his work and tilted his head.
"These boulders are driving me nuts. . ." Hudson thought for a moment. "But we need someone of brute strength, more than myself."
The boy nodded.
"But the company's got strict rules. People with 'Son' in their name only. . . We need a help removing this stone."
And it was as if Hylia herself had shone his light on him.
"Maybe you can find a Goron."
He knew the guy was light on his feet and his horse to be stronger and faster than most. If he didn't know better, he would say it was the same horse told in legends, one that accompanied the Hero that once stood beside the late Princess' side. It was said to be natural born, raised and nurtured by an unforgiving land but having the sharp-mindedness of a man and the gentleness to her rider as a mother.
And even with such skills and tools at his disposal, Hudson did not expect the little guy to accomplish his goal in two short days.
Greyson of the Goron and his son Pelison (a fine name) arrived far earlier than he expected. More talkative than himself, Hudson preferred to listen to the older Goron's tales of Death Mountain (not a fine name) and its intense heat and peculiar travelers.
"A tin man for a Hylian comes in and asks if I'm looking for work then says he's gonna talk to Chief. Wonder if Chief knows him. He looked familiar."
"He is certainly a seasoned traveler."
"'Course. I just hope this place will be good for Pelison. He needs a place he can call home."
Hudson considered his words and answered truthfully. "We have a long way to go."
"Dunno, that kid is fast and easy to like. If he could bring in some business owners, this place could be up and running in only weeks."
"The Bolson Construction Company rules are strict. Finding someone with 'Son' in their name who are interested is like finding a needle in a haystack."
"You doubt him?"
Hudson laughed at that. "No, if anyone can get this job done, it'll be him."
"Who knows, maybe he will find Pelison a new mother. Or perhaps a Mrs. Hudson."
And once more Hudson was laughing, enjoying the simple chatter. This kid sure had a knack for finding good people.
"You're always looking at that thing."
The boy perked up at Hudson's words, looking away from the tablet.
"What does it do?"
He watched him bite his lip and get lost in thought as he always did with Hudson. For sure the kid was quick on his feet against the monsters surrounding Akkala, but in times of peace, he took his time processing, indulging in the small luxury few have the chance to. It was in these moments he seemed most at peace, calm, safe, and Hudson was gleeful to have won such trust.
The boy tapped the tablet and a blue light shimmered across it, the hue of ancient technology, like the crystal eye of the guardians. He handed it to Hudson.
"Oh! Are you sure?" Even when the guy left his belongings at camp, the tablet was not one of those belongings. He had never seen it not in his hands or attached at his hip.
He only smiled and handed it to Hudson who awkwardly held it, unsure of how to hold such technology. The kid lent on Hudson to see the screen and tapped a green icon, and the screen changed to . . .
"Pictures."
Hudson had not seen such a tool in his lifetime, but his mother had told him about them. The Sheikah, before their seclusion, could capture scenery with only a click, with details greater than any painting.
The grass of a picture was lush, almost soft, like he could brush his fingers through it.
The boy leans over and swipes the picture away and a new one appeared, one of molten rock and stone with licks of flames surrounding. At the center stood a Goron who wore a handkerchief of Hylian royalty blue around his neck and beside him stood a statue of metal and rubber? There were slots at the face plate and between the slots-
"That is you! I didn't recognize you!" His laugh bellowed, shaking his stomach and beside him the boy smiled warmly. He swiped to another picture, one of the young man with a silver haired child on a night of the Blood Moon. He held the child above his head and the child cupped his hands around the Blood Moon, as if the Blood Moon was nothing more than a luminescent stone in her hands.
"Amazing. May I see more?"
Nodding his head, the boy took Hudson's finger and swiped the screen, showing how to sort through the different photos. Another appeared of Hateno, while Karson and himself worked on the new house the young man had bought. Then another when the boy had just left the dye shop. "Those colors suit you," Hudson complimented offhandedly. Another image must have been taken in the Gerudo Desert based off of the golden sand that seemed to sparkle with the angle of the sun that had half set in the West. The sky had changed to a purplish hue, then orange around the sun, then a golden yellow much like the sand at the sun's core.
Hudson was awestruck at such beauty at his fingertips. These were sights he had only dreamed of, something he wished the Bolson Construction Company would make him travel to see for himself. "Incredible."
He turned to ask the young man about the context of the picture, but he quickly shut his mouth holding back a fond smile.
Beside him, head rested on Hudson's arm, the boy slept.
Similarly to Greyson, Fyson arrived much quicker than Hudson expected. Fyson was younger too, leaving the "nest" for the first time in hopes of making a name for himself, not so different from Hudson who left home young when Bolson first found him. But as he listened to the young man's desire to start his own shop, Hudson couldn't help but take him under his "wing."
Then Rhondson.
Rhondson, a Gerudo who had left home in search of work with little success until the little guy stumbled upon her. How she wasn't employed was beyond him. Her skill was beyond anything he had seen before, her silks the finest, softest, and strong. Even in metal work to create the necessary buckles and pins, Rhondson's hands were steady and strong, soft yet sturdy.
Finding a treasure such as her, one who cared for him with the same strength and gentleness, the same love and admiration, he thought only existed in stories.
And it was thanks to the little guy that he stood before his wife to be in the middle of Tarrey Town in front of Hylia's statue, being blessed by a Zoran priest with Rito and Goron and Hylian friends wishing them the best. Flower petals fluttered down around them, a tradition of a Hylian wedding that represents endless love.
Such a variety of races, who when Calamity struck had hid away in their territories afraid that it was the Hylians who brought on such destruction, now all share the same space giving a Hylian and Gerudo their blessings. It was a sign of healing, that Hyrule wasn't destroyed by Ganon, only set back, and it would heal, just like a burn on the skin. The grass grew back where fire had scorched and collapsed homes and wedding altars. While it took time, homes can be rebuilt, and people can cherish each other without fear.
Hudson could never thank his friend enough for what he did for him. If not for his companionship, Hudson would have likely gone mad. The project would have taken years just to build, let alone to bring in people who would stay. Sure, there was still work to be done, but his aid put them on the map. Brought in traders and citizens, shopkeepers of all trades.
He brought him his beloved Rhonson.
And so he couldn't thank the little guy enough for all his work. And so with much thought, he decided it be important that the little guy's name be a part in Tarrey Town's founding.
"Tarrey Town. Founded by Hudson and Link." The sign hung inside the inn, a golden plaque that would engrave them in history.
Plus, being married to a seamstress meant his friend often had his equipment repaired, especially his shoes and gloves.
Tarrey Town had its normal bustling of travelers and traders the day Calamity was vanquished. Word spread from the travelers who had seen the castle from a distance.
"The Princess may finally rest," a traveler had told Hudson. "The Hero has returned."
Funny that Hudson had never considered his friend, the one who aided in building an entire town and wanted nothing in return, who brought him his beloved Rhondson, would also be the Hero to stop Calamity Ganon. Nor did he believe the lost princess would be alive, only in a slumber similarly to her knight's as she did not age.
Link hadn't been around in some time when the first villages cheered for the princess and knight's return.
Nonetheless, Hudson still stood as Link's best man at his and the Princess' wedding, one that took place not on the castle steps as her father's had, but rather at the center of a little trade town, one caressed by Lake Akkala and blessed by Hylia herself, as Hudson would say, as petals fluttered in the wind as a promise for the years to come.
It was a step away from tradition, much like the princess herself, who asked to take up sword and travel with her knight as a scholar, who discarded dresses for hiking gear and spoke to her subjects as equals.
Yes, she was untraditional for one of royal blood. And perhaps that wasn't a bad thing.
You don't understand. I love Hudson. I love Tarrey Town. I love what it stands for as a sign that Hyrule can heal and will. I avoided using Link's name due to the fact that to Hudson Link is not "Link the lost hero of time," but rather he was this peculiar guy who came out of nowhere who decided to help him build an entire town. I like the idea of Link being more than just a story of legend, but a person, a friend to the people he's helped.
Thank you for reading! If you like reading about the different sidequest and NPCs, check out "Visitor of Kakariko Village."
Also, what was your favorite quest in Breath of the Wild?