‘Hornist’s Dramatic Escape’ quest steps in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

“The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” is one of the many side adventures in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. You’re tasked with rescuing Eustus, a member of The Stable Trotters who’s fallen inside a hole along with his wagon.

As you’re making your way through the Great Fairy Fountains questline, you’re bound to stumble upon this side adventure. This page covers an effective method to rescue Eustus from inside the hole and complete “The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom so you can quickly resume your ventures.

“The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” quest steps

“The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” is a side adventure that emerges from “Serenade to Mija,” one of the Great Fairy Fountain quests. The Stable Trotters are searching for Eustus, the troupe’s horn player.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

Eustus is stranded in the Tabantha Frontier at the coordinates (-3658, 0760, 0117), as he’s fallen into a hole along with his wagon. If you need a quick reference, the spot is between Nero Hill and the Rayne Highlands.

After you talk to him, you’ll begin the side adventure. The task here is to use the materials inside the cave to lift off the wagon with Eustus on it — Ultrahand will be of help here.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

How to rescue Eustus from the hole

Here are the steps to rescue Eustus from the hole in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom:

1. Place one of the square-shaped materials above the wagon, so it creates a roof — if you don’t, Eustus will complain that he has “nowhere to sit.”
2. Place the air balloon on top of the “roof” you just made, aligned to the center.
3. Place a flame emitter looking up (the dragon head that spits fire) inside the air balloon itself.
4. Using Ultrahand, move the wagon close to one of the inner walls of the hole.
5. Talk to Eustus, and say “Get in the wagon!” when prompted.
6. Once he’s on the wagon, hop on the roof, and hit the flame emitter for the balloon to take off.
7. Something I did here so Eustus doesn’t fly to outer space was to jump off from the roof, hang onto the wall, and climb outside the hole. Then, once the wagon was just outside the hole, I used Ultrahand to gently place Eustus on safe ground again.

Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon

That is all for “The Hornist’s Dramatic Escape” side adventure. Thankfully, you don’t need to take Eustus all the way back to the musical troupe; he’ll complete the trip on his own. For your troubles, he’ll give you three courser bee honey as a reward.

You can now return to Snowfield Stable at your convenience. Once you take Eustus and the rest of the band to the Great Fairy, it’s a wrap on the “Serenade to Mija” side adventure.