Sleeping rough was hardly a pleasant experience, but it was mildly more comfortable than the first time Chesty slept on Hyrulean soil. He still had to deal with waking up on and off again, but thankfully, no wild animals or bandits dared to approach him during the night. This made the knife he held in his right hand as he slept a security measure he did not have to resort to.
Chesty stretched out with a mighty yawn. He could not see the sky above, obscured as it was by the canopy above him. The tweeting of birds made it clear that it was well into the morning. As he sat up, he came to realize that the Sun had been in the sky for at least a few hours. By his estimation, it was around 8:30 or 9:00.
He woke up thirsty and hungry, so he took a healthy drink from his canteen, still full from being refilled the day prior at the fountain from the Sanidin Park Ruins. Chesty then brought out a spare apple and ate every viable bite he could take. Before breaking camp, he relieved himself near the base of Satori Mountain. Carefully putting the bedroll back together and gathering every piece of equipment he had, Chesty returned to the road.
The morning Sun was partially covered by scattered clouds. It was relatively cool, and the grass was drenched with dew. Chesty's tennis shoes became quite wet as he plodded back to the horse trail, but the barren path was thankfully dry, at least to the point that he could avoid the perils of athlete's foot.
Ahead, the road passed by open grassy plains on both sides. The great peak of Satori was slowly but steadily being left behind as the temperature rose once with the Sun. It became increasingly clear that the landscape had little to offer in terms of examination, so Chesty allowed his mind to wander.
'Back home. I wonder if all this time people have been frantically looking for me.'
His mother would undoubtedly have reacted to his vanishment the worst. Like any good mother, she had a close bond with Chesty and would be beside herself as to why he would disappear shortly after giving a text assuring her that he merely intended to spend the night at a place not even half a mile away from their home. Chesty's heart ached to conceive of her grief, praying that his return would set things right in her heart.
Such thoughts inevitably brought Chesty to consider how and why he had arrived in Hyrule. He distinctly remembered seeing a strange triangular symbol upon a pristine tree trunk in the woods not too far from the lake property that belonged to his late grandfather. Was it some trap, or perhaps a gateway to another portal made by some native tribe.
Both possibilities seemed utterly unlikely. For a trap, it was not exceptionally unpleasant. The worst that could be said was that the modern comforts of the twenty first century were no longer available. Chesty's military training and basic survival knowledge had allowed him to adapt reasonably enough. It also helped that people who could speak the same language existed to give him a paying occupation and a roof over his head.
If it were a trap, the people he met would have describe the land of Hyrule as such. That was contradicted by the words of old man Toffa, who described a bustling kingdom that fell to ruin by the power of some eldritch evil from a century ago. Hyrule was its own unique place, with a history, culture, and population that was not forcibly extricated from the world Chesty belonged to.
Back to the native carvings theorem, assuming that they were made by a shaman or magic man, that too seemed a little improbable. Magic did not exist. At least, that was what Chesty was previously certain of. Becoming lost on a foreign continent with pointy eared inhabitants was hardly something that could be explained by rational thought or scientific speculation.
All of this hindsight all came to nothing. It also did little to pass the time as the long road ahead continued to drag on.
"The things I'll do just to get home." Chesty complained.
At last, the road rose, and the grassland around became interrupted, with jarring protrusions of bumpy, brown stone popping up like warts or tumors from an otherwise uniform coat of greenery. Ahead, there was a bridge, even more rickety than that which he crossed over the river Regencia. With even greater caution, Chesty stepped towards the nearest side, careful to observe any structural damage. What he saw was not particularly assuring.
Jeddo Bridge stood at a far more tremendous height than the Manhala Bridge. Perhaps over fifty feet stood between a passerby and a very fatal fall into the dark, barely moving current of the Tamio River. The span did not stand flat and steady, instead, the middle most section of the bridge bowed slightly leaving the underside noticeably convex. This was hardly surprising, for the skeleton of the bridge necessary to maintain support had almost nothing to stand upon.
Whereas the Manhala Bridge had supporting posts that were in contact with the river bed over which the overpass spanned, the posts of Jeddo Bridge simply hung, like rotting teeth from a barren, fleshless jaw over the chasm below. Even the tallest of the posts were still over thirty feet short of reaching even the surface of the placid water beneath. Here, the chance of a fatal accident was greatest, and fear gripped Chesty's heart.
"Do I even want to run the risk?" He decided to examine the map he had purchased.
Glancing over the region he was in, he saw that the Regencia River kept much of central Hyrule separated from the region just west of it. His eyes passed over every mile that he had walked, and he saw the next bridge across the river would require him to retrace his steps, heading back south past the Outskirt Stable and then east over a new stretch of road. After taking a left and heading north again, the western road in central Hyrule would allow him to make his way to Carok Bridge, which was north and east of his position.
Any idea of going to central Hyrule on his journey seemed like a grave mistake. The words of Glendo stood in his mind. The central region was exceptionally dangerous, even for those who knew the land well. Chesty had never seen a Guardian on his journey, but the idea of a mechanical beast out of "War of the Worlds" attacking him put the fear of death in his heart even more so than the sight of the ramshackle bridge in front of him.
Chesty's gaze passed back over a possible western pass around Tamio River. There was nothing promising on that end, for there was no path which went around the western tail of the watercourse. The land that was present rose as part of the foothills of a mighty series of plateaus inscribed as the Gerudo Highlands. Although not knowledgeable of every hazard that might exist in the wild, he knew all too well that taking any detour away from a noted path was a recipe for disaster. In the wild, there was no chance of receiving help, and the beasts of the land would have been in greater abundance. The deer he had observed paled in comparison to the likely probability of carnivorous beasts and monsters akin to the Bokoblin he had slain weeks before.
He rolled up the parchment of roadways and names with a sober expression. There was little other choice if he wanted to get to the Great Fairy Fountain in the not doing distant region of Tabantha. Jeddo Bridge and all of its treacherous nature would have to be crossed.
With the map put away, Chesty swallowed thickly. "If it does fall beneath my feet, at least I can hope for a swift death."
His heart thundering in his chest, Chesty slowly crossed Jeddo bridge. He walked lightly, and kept an ear out for the sign of breaking timber or groaning wood. Either way, he would likely have mere moments to run either across or back again. The chance of survival was doubtless slim if the worst came to pass, but Chesty tried not to dwell as he traversed the overpass.
It took a severe testing of his discipline to keep himself from hyperventilating as he neared the middle of the bridge. Not only was the weight of the scaffolding likely the heaviest at this point, but Chesty could now see the damage to Jeddo Bridge was more severe than he though. At two places further along the walkway, it appeared that a giant had taken shallow bites out of the sides.
"Why can't this bridge be shorter?!" Chesty whispered frantically.
As he passed over the middle most portion, the young man finally heard a subtle groan beneath his feet. Unwilling to take any chances, he picked up the pace, practically speed walking to the other side. Chesty's teeth clenched and his heart threatened to bruise his ribs from stress as he quickly finished the final third of the crossing. The crashing of wood that he feared might happen, to his great relief, did not come. Instead, Chesty's feet touched the soothing texture of firm ground, and he did not feel any ignominy in collapsing to his knees in joy.
The most terrifying leg of the journey was over in less than two minutes, and Chesty laughed almost maniacally with happiness that it was over.
"Thank God for that!" He wiped his eyes of tears as he prepared to get back up. "Jesus Christ! And I thought Manhala Bridge was in rough shape!"
Standing up, Chesty brushed off his knees. He did not immediately continue on until his heart calmed, and his breathing eased. For good measure, he took a much needed sip from his canteen. At last, he felt refreshed enough to continue.
The landscape to the north of Jeddo Bridge was surprisingly distinct from that of the land south of the decaying overpass. Instead of relatively flat grassland, the land was irregular with roaming hills and significant rock formations. The latter element was particularly conspicuous, for Chesty could see circular rings sprouting from the exposed stone like a gray wreath or petal-less flower.
Again, the horse trail elevated, forcing Chesty to trudge uphill again. This hike proved significantly when compared to the trek over Safula Hill, and the elevation was created in about five minutes. Several trees dotted the immediate area, much more on the left side of the path than on the right. Chesty could also see that just west of the road, massive boulders and other such monoliths rose like the breaching snouts of whales. On closer examination, some of the boulders that he saw were not natural; instead, they were the remains of some human structure, likely the remnants of some gate, given the positions of the jagged pieces of ruined stone masonry. Turning to face the road again, Chesty stopped in his tracks, taking in the somewhat inspiring sight before him.
To the north, what looked to be an unusual forest stood over what looked like a floodplain. The trees in question were unlike anything he has ever seen. They were massive in size, although guessing the height of the alien plant life would be impossible from the distance he was standing at. All of the trees were shaped like the tees one would use on a golf course, with flat crowns that at times spanned great circumferences.
Further afield, he could see two different mountain ranges. The nearest slopes were relatively indistinguishable from any other he might have seen in a travel book. This range had a considerable number of conifers that could be seen, but it had a bland, clay-like complexion which was not appealing to the eye. In Chesty's mind, they paled in comparison to the silvery peaks further to the north west.
One mountain in particular outshone all others, sending a veritable chill of amazement through Chesty's being. It glistened not unlike a tooth belonging to some great canid. The shape of this faraway summit was peculiar, for it looked as though a westerly slope that had once existed had been excavated away by a drill of titanic proportions. A somewhat circular delineation in this disfiguration to the mountain could be observed very clearly.
This pause was a sound opportunity to check his map again. Chesty found the likely spot where he stood in a timely manner. He discovered that the unusual floodplain ahead was divided into two sections. The area directly north was called Ludfo's Bog, an ugly name that appeared to match the messy waters that stood beneath the strange trees that called it home. Just west of the bog was a drier ecosystem with notably larger trees called the Seres Scablands.
"Well, I can't deny the... creativity of that name." Moving on from the unusual landmarks, he saw a trail heading directly westwards from a fork that was just ahead. It dipped like the curvature of a spoon before rising slightly northwards and arriving at another spot of civilization: the Tabantha Bridge Stable.
"Perfect." Chesty said with a smile. The upcoming stable would be an ideal place to rest and have a proper meal. Furthermore, he could gain much needed intelligence on any upcoming hazards before he crossed the Great Tabantha Bridge and looked for the Great Fairy Fountain just across from Tanagar Canyon.
Putting the map away, Chesty marched with excitement down the hill, ready to complete this leg of his journey. A grumble in his stomach made him stop, albeit briefly.
"Maybe a quick snack before I move on."
Chesty sat down at the the bottom of the hill he had passed. He was mere feet away from the fork in the road, the western road leading in the direction of where he needed to go. An apple was in his hand, and every chomp into the fruit helped to ease his hunger. The lack of diversity in food choice was mildly disappointing, but Chesty knew better than to gripe on inconveniences.
Across the way, looking to the east, his eyes latched onto a downward slope. The road passed down in a narrow valley, over which pointed formations of pale rock jutted out like the teeth of a tigerfish.
"So many strange things to see in Hyrule." Chesty mused aloud, his voice muffled with chunks of masticated fruit. He swallowed his mouthful, and looked down at the core of the apple he had just consumed. Without another thought, he tossed the remains of his treat behind him.
"It's almost a shame I'll never explore all of it. But, there's no place like home." Chesty did not mind having an adventure, but he much preferred a planned excursion, not being dragged into a wild land without any warning.
He rose to his feet, and immediately took to the western road. The land around the path became rough and elevated, especially to the north. There, Chesty saw mesas of pale rock around which snaked numerous gulleys and arroyos. Situated between these dried creek beds were islands of grass where the unusual and large, golf tee shaped trees stood.
On the opposite end, the terrain was lush and rising steadily towards a great hill. In the distance, more conventional trees dotted the eminence. Yet some formations of exposed stone could be seen, exactly the same color as the mesas just north of the path. This gave a badlands-like appearance to the scene, although it lacked an arid climate.
A new variety of animals could be seen. Strutting over ponds away from the trail were pale herons that sported pink feathers on the tips of their wings, tails, and the tops of their heads. Up above, more birds circled over the unique plant life, using the enormous crowns of the trees as platforms for nesting.
Half an hour along the road, the landscape became much rockier. The path remained comfortable enough to walk, but a sense of constraint by nature was becoming more apparent to Chesty. It was not a mystery as to why bandits might have frequented this trail. He became more observant of the landscape and for any shady characters that might be on the road. Even as the path rounded northwards, Chesty remained pinned between the rocky hills to his left, and the uneven terrain of the Seres Scablands to his right.
The young man's only company, for the next hour of walking, were the buzzing dragonflies and the distant sedges of herons that were picking about for insects and other morsels. Thankfully, such lifeforms were harmless, and not even a horse could be seen, indicating that, on this day at least, the threat of predation by criminals or Bokoblins was unlikely.
Mid afternoon came, but the Seres Scablands still stretched on from the east. More grass could be seen in the general area, but there also a significant presence of plateaus, one of which stood just off the road. Chesty had become bored with the general state of things, but kept his ears sharp and his eyes wary. This was just as well, for a stallion with a brown coat and white splotches was trotting down the road from the north west. It's rider looked to be armed, though the stranger did not change pace as he and Chesty grew nearer.
Not taking a chance, Chesty drew his compound bow and an arrow from his quiver. This startled the armed man, who hastily drew up a patterned wooden shield, its circumference enforced by a single, riveted ring of iron. The horse beneath him stopped with a stress whinny, and a standoff began.
"Whoa!" Cried the man. "Are you another bandit, come to threaten passersby?!"
The voice was not especially threatening, although it could be determined that in terms of equipment, the stranger was in better shape than the bandits he fought back at the Outskirt Stable. For one thing, this man had a helmet atop his head, as well as the shield in his grasp and the sword sheathed behind his back.
At the same time, this was no professional fighter or guard. The fear in his eyes was easily seen from a distance, and the defensive posture taken told Chesty that he was hardly a cold blooded killer. Unless the man was feigning shock, he was clearly not one to resort to lethal force.
'I cannot be too careful. He might be a good actor for all I know.' Chesty knew that the shield was an obstacle that could not be so easily done away with in a worst case scenario. He decided to converse with the horse bound warrior. It would allow him to better measure the stranger if he should have to fight once more.
"I could ask the same of you." He answered, raising his voice to be well heard. "I was warned by a fellow traveler that bandits frequent this trail."
The stranger peaked carefully over his shield. "What's your name stranger?"
"Chesty." Came the terse reply. "Is the Tabantha Bridge Stable just ahead?"
"Yes." The man jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Another half hour by foot, and you'll get there in good time. Why do you ask?"
"I need a bed for the night, and a chance to get a hot meal for a change. I've been on the road for a day and a half."
The stranger lowered his shield, still keeping it in his hands. "My name is Savelle. You could say I patrol the trail along the highlands. I'm not much for violence, but having an eye present for monsters and crooks and such can be pretty useful."
Chesty gave the words some thought, then lowered his bow. "You'll have to forgive my reaction. There was trouble at Outskirt Stable to the south a few days ago. I had to fight a trio of bandits at the time. Add to that the warning from another traveler, and I can't take many chances."
"That sounds wise." Savelle answered. "What proof do you have of your words?"
Chesty thought back to the Epona Company emblem he had in his possession. Although he was loath to show it to a relative stranger, the loss of such an item was not a devastating one. He would rather not fight someone who had a horse and armor to their name when he had to get to the nearest stable.
Searching through his pack, he produced the emblem and cautiously approached Sevelle, ready to duck away from a potential attack. The self anointed guard briefly inspected the token, his eyes widening. "Where did you get this?"
"Embry, the operator of the Outskirt Stable, gave it to me as thanks for defeating the bandits that threatened him and his family. He told me to show the people of the Tabantha Bridge Stable so they can give me aid for my journey."
"Embry?" Sevelle whispered to himself. Then his face lit up with recognition. "Oh! Embry! Dark haired fellow with a wife and child. Yes, I know him. Not personally, mind you, but I have taken rest at the Outskirt Stable before, when he first started out anyway."
Sevelle handed the token back, his posture completely relaxed. "Very well then, Mr. Chesty. Just continue along the road. The stable will be on your left. Can't miss it unless the goddesses cursed you with blindness."
"Thank you."
The two men departed without further incident, and Chesty moved with greater haste to finally reach the Tabantha Bridge Stable. He was now moving northwards, being on the western edge of the Seres Scablands. Currently, the path had taken him into a valley situated between two large plateaus which dwarfed the mesas that Chesty had previously seen.
Then, his eyes saw a familiar shape in the distance, just over a hill which flanked the trail. It was a man-made horse head in the familiar style of the Epona Company.
Chesty's heart was filled with utter satisfaction. He had reached the border of the Tabantha Region.
The Tabantha Bridge Stable stood just across from a small settlement that lived in the shadow of Mount Rhoam. Called unimaginatively as Rhoam Village, it had a population no bigger than thirty people, composed of some seven families all together. They relied on the Tabantha Stable for Mail, trade, and a degree of security. The Epona company regularly hired independent mercenaries and men at arms to guard and patrol the nearby paths, and this safety trickled over to the nearby town.
For the last leg of the journey, Chesty cut across the glade which stood between him and the stable. Otherwise, he would have had to round his way north and west to reach the stable entrance. The area before the stable's front side was a small forest of the strange trees that grew in abundance in Ludfo's Bog and the Seres Scablands. The tallest of them all stood right in the heart of the valley, its height eclipsing even the topmost portion of the stable's "head."
There was considerable activity at the stable, much more so than the Outskirt Stable he had previously worked in. The stalls where the horses were kept were divided into two sections instead of one. Multiple people were passing between the stable and the village situated to the north. A goat's pen was situated to the south side of the stable, providing a ready source of milk and cheese.
Everything was on a larger scale, due in no small part to the demands of the region and its distance from the veritable wasteland that was central Hyrule.
Approaching the front desk, Chesty was met with the serene face of a man who looked to be a decade older than Embry. His face was pale, if a bit red from wind burns, and his eyes were a soft, comforting blue. Like Embry, his gray hair was braided into two lengthy bangs that hung from each side of his face.
"Welcome! Do you want to register a horse or take one for a ride?"
Chesty removed the Epona Company token from his pocket, and placed it on the counter. "I just need a bed and a hot meal for the night, sir."
The man examined the emblem, then his eyes widened similarly to Sevelle's less than an hour ago. "I see. If you don't mind me asking, how did you come by this token."
"Embry of the Outskirt Stable gave it to me. He told me that if I showed it to the folks in charge of this stable, that they would give me a discount on services."
"That is correct, sir."
"Call me Chesty."
"Then my name is Dabi." The man extended a hand to shake, which Chesty instantly returned. "I imagine there is quite the tale to be told of how you earned this gift. But perhaps not now. You are tired from journeying on foot, are you not?"
"That I am." Chesty admitted with a weary smile.
"Then, with the discount, I'll ask for ten rupees."
Chesty handed over a red rupee. Dabi swiftly pocketed the gem and handed a yellow rupee in exchange.
"One of my workers will show you to a good bed." Dabi instructed. "You can rest and clean up. Dinner won't be too far off, and I imagine a meal would do you wonders, sir."
"That it would." Chesty replied. "Perhaps when dinner comes around I can tell you my story. For now, my feet need rest. The road was long, heading north from Outskirt Stable."
"Then I won't keep you any longer." Dabi turned around and walked down the corridor that was the stable desk area and called out. "Heton! We have another guest. Could you please show him to his bed? One of the soft ones that is."
A blonde haired young man with bright eyes came out one of the right entryway and beckoned Chesty inside with a smile. Heton led him to a spare bed that had a frame draped with a cloth that sported a silver horseshoe: the indication that it was indeed a higher quality of bed than its contemporary.
Chesty gave his courtesy to Heton and deposited his belongings underneath the bed for safe keeping. Without any concern for looking foolish, he collapsed on to the bed, sighing through his nose as he laid atop the mattress. One day sleeping rough, even in a bed roll, was enough for him.
That evening, the supper provided was a humble meat stew. A single bowl was more than enough to satisfy Chesty's hunger. As he sat at a campfire, sitting alongside the stable's laborers and Dabi's family, he gave a general tale of how he had saved Embry and his family. As Dabi's children insisted on listening, he omitted any details that might describe the level of violence that happened on that day.
When he finished the story, Dabi and his young wife gave their thanks for Chesty's courage. The young man simply nodded, not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer than was necessary. Chesty did not hesitate to sleep early. He needed to make up for lost time in terms of rest, and tomorrow was to be the day he went across the Tabantha Great Bridge to find the Great Fairy.
"Never will I take a good mattress for granted ever again." These were his last thought before falling asleep.
For those curious, I will be doing some expansion of the areas where NPCs dwell. Locations like stables will be like new centers for Hyruleans to live near, not just Hateno Village and the like. Similarly, I will try to expand the various civilizations within Hyrule. Given that the non-Hylian races largely went by unscathed from the Calamity, it makes sense that their dwellings would be larger/more numerous than what we see in the original game. Obviously, the game could only have so much data on console, so I thought this to be a means to enrich the already impressive world of BOTW.
As always, thank you for your continued following and liking of my work. I'll be seeing you all next time.