Once you reach Chapter 4 of the main story in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, you will be able to start exploring the Junon region. If you wish to return to the Grasslands area, though, you will have to make the long trek back through the Mythril Mines, as you cannot fast travel to it. Thankfully, you do have the ability to unlock the fast travel, via the Stuck in a Rut Quest. This quest is available as soon as you have access to the Junon region and not only does it allow you to fast travel to the Grasslands, but it will also unlock the Chocobo for the area.

Where to Start the Stuck in a Rut Quest¶

Upon first arriving in the Junon region, after emerging out of the Mythril Mines, head down the hill. Go west a little bit from the bottom of the hill to find a Chocobo Stop, which is a good point of reference. From there, if you venture a little southwest, you will find Gabe’s Ranch. That is where you want to go, so head there and look for an older man standing in front of a house. Speak to him, his name being Gabe, to start the quest.

He is the owner of the ranch, and you get roped into helping him repair his cart. However, the person with the parts is high on the mountain and the only way to get there is via Chocobo. Of course, the Chocobo you got in the Grasslands won’t be able to help, since they aren’t able to climb up the walls in the area, so you will have to wrangle another one, named Belle. This Chocobo will be found west of the ranch, so it’s not too far. When you arrive at the spot, it’ll be time for another stealth section!

How to Wrangle Belle the Chocobo in Junon¶

First and foremost, none of the Chocobos in this section will be distracted by the rocks you throw, so don’t bother doing that at all. The whole gimmick behind getting Belle is to use the minecarts as cover, which you can move by hitting switches. Approach the first switch and hold Triangle to use it, causing the nearby cart to start moving. Stay on the left side of it, out of sight of the nearby Chocobo. You should avoid rolling, if possible, as it can sometimes go bad and get you caught. Don’t forget you can hold down R2 to move a little fast while crouching.

Once you make it past the first Chocobo, there will be another switch, as well as some rocks on the ground. Hit the switch to cause a second cart to move up to where the rocks are located. When the cart has stopped, move to the side and you should see a prompt to throw a rock at the switch. Doing this will allow you to trigger the switch remotely, giving you a chance to sneak past the next two Chocobos and get to some tall grass.

From here, things might get a little confusing, as Belle is off to the side, but if you try to go after her, the Chocobo in front of you will see you. In between the Chocobo in front of the cart, and the other one facing to the right, will be a switch a little further back. That is the one you will be hitting with a rock, causing the cart to start slowly moving to the right. This will go around the entire area with Belle and you will have to adjust your positioning to avoid being seen. Eventually, you’ll get behind Belle, where you can press Triangle to get on her and finally tame her for good. You’ll receive 2 Golden Plumes for getting Belle.

Where to Find the Dried Driftwood for Stuck in a Rut¶

With the Chocobo now in your possession, head to the northern side of the area with the ranch. There should be a wall with some markings on it that has arrows and a Chocobo drawing. Simply approach the wall while riding your Chocobo to instantly cling to the wall. Climb up the walls until you reach a fork, where you’ll want to take the one on the right. At the top, you’ll run into a Lifespring, as well as some stairs a little past that. Those stairs will lead to the Wainwright’s Hut.

Wake him up and he will tell you what you need to repair Gabe’s cart, with you receiving the Wainwright’s Note. If you’re familiar with the buried treasures you can find with your Chocobo, then you’ll be using that to find the items you need. You will have a map with you, which you can bring up with the left button on the D-Pad. If you wish to view it more closely, then you simply press L1 to do that. Go ahead and bring up that map before leaving the hut, so you can get a good idea of what you’re looking at here.

While viewing the map, you need to know that the buildings in the bottom right represent the ranch, which restricts your search to just the western half of the Junon region. That makes things a lot easier, especially when you pair that with the color of the Chocobo marker, while exploring. Normally, when your Chocobo detects an item in an area, you will see a blue circle above their head. For this quest, that circle will be orange. You also don’t need to climb any Chocobo walls, as they will all be on ground level.

Northern Dried Driftwood¶

Let’s take care of the one to the north first, which by the looks of the map, is by some structure. Check along the fence up north, until you reach a gap in it (not at the pipe you can go under, but that still works). Keep going west once you’re inside the fence until you can climb up some rocks to get to the area up there. You know you’re in the right spot if you see some enemies flying around, which is actually where the materials will be buried. Take out the two Fleetwings, then hop on your Chocobo to see the orange circle. Use its scent to find the spot to dig and grab your first Dried Driftwood.

Northwestern Dried Driftwood¶

For the second one on this list, head west and a little south of the first one above. You should see some ruined houses here and that should trigger the buried treasure icon above your Chocobo’s head. Follow the trail that the Chocobo’s scent lays out for you, which should bring you to the corner of a house next to a little rocky area. Dig it up with the Chocobo to get the second Dried Driftwood.

Western Dried Driftwood¶

The final piece is located south, and a little west, of the second one. If you just follow the path on that side, then you should run right into it, as it’s pretty much right on the trail. Sniff it out, then dig up the third Dried Driftwood.

Once you have all three items (or just one), you can fast travel back to the Wainwright’s Hut and hand them over to receive the goods. You can also go back to Gabe’s Ranch and hand in the items you just got to finish the quest.

How to Fast Travel Between Junon and Grasslands¶

Normally, if you wanted to travel between the Junon region and the Grasslands, you’d have to go through the Mythril Mine. However, upon completion of this quest, you will unlock a carriage at both Gabe’s Ranch and Bill’s Ranch. Speak to the NPC right outside of the gate, then pay a small fee (300 Gil) to fast travel to the other region without needing to use the Mythril Mine.

Stuck in a Rut - Rewards¶

The following table lists all of the rewards for the Stuck in a Rut quest. The rewards listed below are for getting all three Dried Driftwood pieces. If you only get a single one, you will still get the bangle, but not the other two items prior to it.