Must Love Dogs

The Pooch Pamperer: Play fetch with your dog, or see another Hero's dog play.

The Romantic: Take a villager on a perfect date, or tag along to one. Location and expressions are all-important.

Sparrow loved Bowerstone Market. It was so vibrant and full of life, with its vocal town crier, varied shops and stalls, and an inn which served excellent ale. She also had a soft spot for the local signs on the shops, including the sign for The Cow and Corset inn, which depicted, well, a cow in a corset.

It was also full of bridges, which was good for playing fetch.

Sparrow threw a little, red ball for Fru Fru the Auroran Shepherd. Fru Fru fetched it, golden tail waggling happily. He was fierce … and adorable.

Sparrow rinsed and repeated the action. It was kinda fun.

Fru Fru thought so, too.

Then, Sparrow decided it was time to meet Alex.

Sparrow had never met Alex. All she knew that he was a man, and that he had failed to turn up to his own wedding. She knew this because a vengeful ghost in the Rookridge region, who had been engaged to Alex when she was alive, had sent Sparrow on a quest to exact revenge from the inconstant man.

Sparrow's Hero senses were sparkling as they lead her to a seemingly nice young man. He wasn't, like the ghost had told her, the most handsome man in town, but he wasn't hideous, either.

He didn't seem to be the ghost's type, though. Whereas the ghost was clearly a noblewoman, Alex seemed middle class, if not a bit poor. Strange.

He was standing on the bridge, watching happy couples walking to and fro.

'Oh,' said Alex, realising that he was being watched, 'I didn't see you there. Isn't it amazing. All these people; they look so happy, don't they? I'm sorry, don't mind me. My name's Alex. I'm … I'm sure you're a really nice person, but … I'm not really much of a talker these days.'

Fortunately, Sparrow was not much of a talker, either, and Alex needed a listener.

'Ok, slow and steady wins the race', thought Sparrow. True love is hard to develop, after all. It takes finesse, time, and that special something.

Thanks to the ghost, Sparrow knew that Alex's favourite place in the whole world, (not including places he had never been), was the Bowerstone clock tower. She liked it herself. All those gears, the day and night symbol, the stonework … So steampunk! So chic! So interesting!

He immediately told her, 'I love this spot! It's so … romantic.'

He was suddenly in a talking mood.

Sparrow laid on the seduction moves, memorised from the book the ghost had given her. He reacted with a happy, 'I love that!'

'Ok, Sparrow, reel him in.'

She handed him a bunch of freshly cut flowers.

'So far so-'

'I'm the luckiest man in the world. I never thought I'd find happiness again. I never thought I'd deserve it. I … there's something I never told you.'

'That was creepily quick,' thought Sparrow. Then, she realised, 'Oh sod. I'm going to have to marry him, aren't I?'
She suddenly regretted not thinking this whole quest through.

Fru Fru finished digging up a wedding ring nearby. He felt very pleased with himself.

Somewhere out there, Theresa chuckled.

Sparrow realised that Alex didn't even know what her voice sounded like. It seemed that love was more easy to find than she'd thought.

'Darn you, ghost. And darn my sense of duty.'