One of Fable II’s strongest points is that golden trail of “bread crumbs” that let’s Sparrow know exactly where to go. Never getting lost is nice and all, the more important aspect of the breadcrumbs is that it also let’s you know, admittedly by subtraction, where you can go without continuing the plot. When it comes to RPGs, I have an uncanny sense of where to go, even navigating dungeons with ease, which is frustrating when I want to wander around and search for secrets and treasures without walking in the plot trip-line.
Loitering on the Plot Path
Before pressing onward to Oakfield, I decided to guide Sparrow back to Bowerstone to explore Old Town some more and to check out the shops. While Sparrow was showing off her various emotes, she made enough people fall in love with her that Town Crier was willing to sell her the title of Dumpling for free. “Sparrow” was more of a title than a name. If she asked the Town Crier to address her as Dumpling, Sparrow would from then on be called “Dumpling” by everyone. The Town Crier was apparently just that damn good at spreading the word. Sparrow would remain “Sparrow” for a while longer.
At the Cow’s Corset pub and inn, the was a wandering gambler challenging people to a game of Keystone, a variation of roulette. It would be incredibly boring to describe how to play the game and instead move on to the result of Sparrow’s session at the gambling table. She won enough money to purchase the pie stall and the stalls set up on the bridge. Sparrow lowered the prices to 20% below standard as an act of Purity, but that generosity couldn’t hide the fact that she was slowly buying up the businesses of Bowerstone, which would eventually give her control over its economy. Devious.
A Stroll Along the Cemetery Road
Sparrow walked through Old Town Bowerstone and eventually came to a road leading to the cemetery of the city. The road first passed through a wooded area before bringing Sparrow to the familiar iron fences, tombstones, shrines, and mausoleums of typical, ancestral burial grounds. There was a Demon Door demanding meat to satisfy its hunger. It was almost Monkey D. Luffy-like in its insistence. There were a few chickens clucking around some graves, so Sparrow punted one at the door and it splattered on impact on the door’s face.
The Demon Door slid apart and revealed a swirling wormhole that led to a place called the Forgotten Keep. I expected some creatures to be waiting for Sparrow on the other side of the portal, but there was nothing expect a vine-covered chest full of Strength, Skill, and Will boosting potions. There was nothing else for Sparrow to accomplish in the Forgotten Keep, so Sparrow exited out the portal to leave the keep forgotten once more.
Further into the cemetery, there was an odd statue, like a metallic version of the posable, miniature mannequin that moved on its own. When Sparrow performed an expression in front of it, a shock wave emanated from its base and knocked her backward. When Sparrow mimicked the statue’s movement and performed the pelvic thrust expression, the statues face mask fell off and it fell limp. The doors of a nearby tomb opened and revealed a target.
When Sparrow shot the target, it flew further into the cemetery. She followed it through the crowd of visitors and continued striking or shooting it where ever it came to a rest. Along the way, Sparrow found a gargoyle that was mouthing off at her and taunting her to shoot it; so she did. Finding and shooting mouthy gargoyles was another side quest for Sparrow to contend with that would certainly lead to some sort of pay off. First Silver Keys for locked chests, then shooting gargoyles so that one day their treasure would be revealed.
Sparrow followed the attacked the target throughout the cemetery, and the chase eventually came to an end outside a large building. Its doors opened and there was a chest inside containing a fancy hat, a precious necklace, and a porcelain statue. It was almost not worth the effort. Sparrow returned to a second expression statue that opened a gate after Sparrow pointed and laughed. The gate opened the way to the Fairfax family mausoleum. The mausoleum contained a stairway that led to an underground catacomb. Benji was scared, but after some encouragement from Sparrow, he was ready to go on.
The catacombs under the cemetery led Sparrow to a grassy area with another building. It appeared that someone was living down there, or used to anyway. Inside the dwelling was a chest containing a book that explained how to play dead–a new rude expression for Sparrow and Benji. The tour of the Fairfax family tombed brought more questions than answers, but at least Sparrow could now scare the heck out of people, not that she would being a nice person and all, but the possibility was there.
Return to Rookridge
I had my fill of putting off the inevitable, so I teleported Sparrow back to Rookridge to continue her journey to the Temple of Light. Sparrow fought through more bandits and eventually reached a bridge. Unfortunately, that bridge had been destroyed by the same bandits that were hanging around and taunting Sparrow to jump off the bridge. Theresa agreed with them–the waterway below would lead Sparrow to a cave that opened up on the other side. I will point out, though, that Theresa told Sparrow to jump off a bridge.
Sparrow swam along the waterway and reached a shore outside a cave with a man standing outside. The man had lost his son to the hobbes inside and feared that the creatures would turn his son into a hobbe. Ever the hero, Sparrow marched into the cave with the man in tow. Hobbes swarmed the cave, but Sparrow easily dispatched them. The man ran ahead and found his son turned hobbe, and was killed by him. Sparrow slew the newly born hobbe and escaped the cave.
Sparrow left the cave and arrived on the other side of the broken bridge. The bandits were no longer taunting when Sparrow rushed them. With the bandits killed, Sparrow continued down the road to Oakfield and arrived at a crossroad. One path led to a foreboding temple with no one around and the other took Sparrow closer to her destination.
Oakfield
Oakfield was a pleasant farming town with fields of flowers and crops, a mill, and several homesteads. While meeting the various residents of Oakfield, Sparrow met Natalie. They were of similar mind and spirit, and after Sparrow purchased her first home–outside of the Gypsy Camp–she and Natalie were wed. Much like in Fable 1, the wedding ceremony was glossed over with a steady zoom out sequence of a still painting. The final image was of two hands bonded by a ribbon, a traditional practice of medieval marriage ceremonies.
The reason I had Sparrow marry another woman is because while I was playing a female character, my own personal tastes remained the same. I often choose female avatars for the appearance and representation of a heroine. There are not a lot of pretty people in Fable II, but Natalie was cute, so I figured if I wanted to take part in the marriage and family aspect of the game, then I could at least hook Sparrow up with a cutie. And, yes, the screen was black during the good part.
Sparrow had gained renown and purity and good points for marrying Natalie, so it was obvious that the community accepted the union. If mindless, digital characters can find the strength and compassion to just leave a couple the hell alone . . . message!
The Temple of Light
Sparrow had started a new life, but she still had a past debt to pay, and the Temple of Light was the next step on her journey to Lucien. The Abbot was willing to see Sparrow, but after a few words, he was not impressed. The Abbot needed help, but Sparrow was not famous enough for his taste. The dick. He mentioned some bandit trouble in Rookridge, so Sparrow was pressured into running all of the way back to help the inn of Rookridge.
Sparrow skipped back to Rookridge and eventually found the Lucky Heather inn. Inside was a person from Sparrow’s past: Barnum, the photographer. Barnum had fallen on hard times, made all the more by a bandit named Dash. The bandit had destroyed his business, and Barnum was afraid that his life might be next on Dash’s hit list. Sparrow was sent to take out Dash and end his threat once and for all.
Dash was infamous for his speed, especially when running away. The whole action sequence which had Sparrow fighting dozens of strong bandits was a chase that ended at an area that looked like Stonehenge. Dash went down quicker than he ran, and Sparrow returned to Barnum to claim her rewards: Dash’s goggles as a trophy and Barnum’s famed thesaurus. Another side effect was that the bridge was rebuilt.
Am I Good Enough Now?
The Abbot finally accepted Sparrow as a hero worthy of helping him. It was nice to know that hubris was fine with the side of light. The Abbot explained that the Golden Tree was responsible for the prosperity of Oakfield and the surrounding region. Without it, the crops would fail and the land would become shrouded in darkness. Every few decades, the Temple of Light would plant a new tree in a secret grove and imbue the seed with the water from a blessed spring.
The head of the Temple of Light would send the strongest monk along with a chosen protector to the blessed grotto to fill a special jug with its waters for the Golden Tree seed. The Abbot wanted Sparrow to accompany Sister Hannah, the Temple of Light’s strongest monk, to the Wellspring Cave and ensure the continuing prosperity of the region. Theresa gave Sparrow another reason to help: Sister Hannah was the first hero of the three meant to join Sparrow against Lucien. Sparrow accepted the mission, and left to find Sister Hannah.
To be continued in Chronicle 06
[...] Here is Chronicle 05 [...]