In the first Fable game, the village of Oakvale is the home of the game’s hero. It’s a small but lively town with all the amenities any family might need. One fateful date, the village was ransacked by bandits, and only a few residents survived, including a young boy who would go on to shape the events of the game.  It took a decade for Oakvale to grace Albion’s landscape again; it was rebuilt, expanded, and the town and its townspeople thrived.

Five centuries later, a new hero sets out across Albion to quell a new threat to the land. In their travels, they end up crossing a swamp called Wraithmarsh. Considering that the spot is home to zombie-like “hollow men,” screaming banshees, and deadly trolls, the name fits. Wraithmarsh is not necessarily scary, but it contains plenty of eerie elements, as abandoned, water-logged buildings pepper the grim and twisted landscape. The place is perpetually gray and foggy, and plenty of creepy surprises lurk in its shadows.

In returning to Wraithmarsh during my playthrough of the game, I had completely forgotten that it contains a rather spooky, and dreadful, bit of lore that tied it to the original Fable – that of the sad fate of Oakvale. In this clip, the seer Theresa tells its story. (The transcription follows.)

Theresa: This used to be Oakvale, though it has changed radically since I saw it last. And that was a long time ago. It has seen many a cruel deed. Six hundred years ago, bandits attacked the village and burned it to the ground. The survivors rebuilt their lives…only to have them destroyed a second and final time. A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow, who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends everyone he loved. And now, the marsh has engulfed the village, and Oakvale is nothing but a bitter memory.

It’s heart wrenching enough seeing Oakvale taken over by swampy surroundings, left only as forgotten, flooded ruins. But! That’s not the end of the town’s creepy tale. Though we’re centuries away from Oakvale as it once was in Fable II, that young villager still lives! His name, it turns out, is Reaver. Yes, that third companion out new hero has to seek out hides a terrible secret, one that’s revealed once the two meet. You see, Reaver has been flourishing thanks to the regular human sacrifices that he makes to the Shadow Court, which is hidden away in Wraithmarsh. Before Reaver will join our hero, he demands that they pay the court a visit to, well, do what he needs to done to continue living. Doing what they’re told, the hero brings a sacrifice before the shadows, only to find that they have a choice. Do they sacrifice the person they escorted, or, do they sacrifice their own vitality?  

With our Spooktober theme in mind, “the horror that surrounds,” it follows that the history of Wraithmarsh in Fable II is far creepier than the place itself. Its lore, which connects a small, centuries-old pastoral village to Reaver and his wicked deal, say more than decrepit, dank scenery any day. That said, I wouldn’t want to set up a vacation home in Wraithmarsh. Neighboring with banshees isn’t really my cup of tea.

Lede image captured by author during Xbox gameplay of Fable II (©Lionhead Studios).