The Name's Oliver - Ben Oliver. Ch. 159: Duty vs Ethics, Pt. II

[Playalot]

Wow Schipperke! I have just spent nearly the entire day  reading all of Ben's adventures.  Your stories are so funny and entertaining. I really have enjoyed every single chapter. What an amazing story teller you are and your pictures and posing etc are fantastic!! I just wanted to say thank you for making a very wet and miserable (stuck at home with nothing to do) day one of the best! My husband kept wanting to know what I was giggling about! lol.
I can't wait to see what happens next...  *arghh, the suspense*

[Schipperke]

Wow Schipperke! I have just spent nearly the entire day  reading all of Ben's adventures.  Your stories are so funny and entertaining. I really have enjoyed every single chapter. What an amazing story teller you are and your pictures and posing etc are fantastic!! I just wanted to say thank you for making a very wet and miserable (stuck at home with nothing to do) day one of the best! My husband kept wanting to know what I was giggling about! lol.
I can't wait to see what happens next...  *arghh, the suspense*

Thank you very much, Playalot!  When you said you had spent almost all day reading Ben's story, I realized that this is probably the longest story I've ever written.  I think at this point, Ben's story is even longer than my dynasty story.  I have to confess that when I have a good book on hand, there's nothing I like more than a wet and miserable day so I have a good excuse to curl up and read all day.  It never occurred to me that one of my stories might be someone's rainy day entertainment, and I'm very honoured!  Thanks for the comment.

I hope that the abbot can be trusted... 

Good point, Raia.  Here comes the next installment, so let's see if we can get a better idea what this abbot is like.  Thanks for the comment! 

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part XII

Diary Entry

Would the abbot grant my request for sanctuary in the monastery?  If he didn't, surely Princess Elaine and I were doomed.  We were both too tired to travel further today, and Mordred must be hot on our trail.  I waited for the abbot to reply.



He said,  “Once there were many monasteries in this land.  Then the old King – King Mordred's father – decided that all lands should belong to the Crown, and had the monasteries disbanded.  This monastery was the only one to be spared because of the intercession of the Queen, who was very fond of the life fruit nectar we produce.



“Thanks to the Queen, we were spared in the purge, but we can never forget that we owe our very existence to the Royal House.  If we were to give you sanctuary, King Mordred would simply send in his soldiers.  The monastery would be shut down, the monks executed, and you and Princess Elaine would suffer Mordred's revenge.



“I'm sorry,” the abbot said regretfully, “but I am responsible for the safety of the brothers in this small community.  I cannot endanger their lives for a futile gesture that wouldn't really help you and Princess Elaine.  I can't offer you sanctuary here.”



“I understand,” I said dully.  And I did understand his position.  But what could we do?  Was there really no way for us to escape?

The abbot was regarding me intently.  “Where exactly are you from?” he asked.



How on earth could I explain a time machine to someone in this time period?  “It is a place not accessible with normal methods of transport,” I said.  “I don't know how else to explain it.”

“Ye-es,” the abbot said thoughtfully.  He studied me for several long moments, and I wondered what he was thinking.  Maybe, like Princess Elaine, he had decided I was a bit touched in the head.  Then the abbot seemed to reach a decision.  “Come with me,” he said, “to the cellars where we make our nectar.”

I wasn't particularly interested in seeing their nectar-making operation, but I was too tired to object.  I followed the abbot as he led the way down the stairs.

[sunshine_2406]

I'm intrigued to see what the abbot has to show Ben, I hope it will help him to get back home where he belongs. I have every faith in him to make it back though

[RainBeau]

I have just caught up on Ben's latest adventure. It is certainly a most fascinating one! I can't wait to see what is hiding in the cellar! I have my suspicions but I will keep mum. 

[Playalot]

Ohhhh... now that I'm reading as you post the suspense is a KILLER! Great update. What has the abbot got in his celler?

[Magz from Oz]

I'm hoping that abbot has something in his basement that will help Ben other than nectar.

[RaiaDraconis]

I'm hoping that abbot has something in his basement that will help Ben other than nectar.

Though nectar probably would make dealing with Mordred a bit less painful.

[Schipperke]

Though nectar probably would make dealing with Mordred a bit less painful.

Yes!  As I was writing that chapter, it occurred to me that Nameless would have been quite happy to drown his sorrows in a nectar cellar.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), Nameless was never faced with this particular situation.  But I do think running off with a Princess, with her royal fiance in hot pursuit, is much more an Oliver-type situation.  Isn't there a saying about Sims getting what they deserve in life? If there isn't such a saying, there should be, because I do think this story would have evolved quite differently if Ben had chosen different traits for himself.

Thanks very much for the comments, everyone!

And if anyone is wondering who on earth Nameless is, he was the main character in my Mission Highly Unlikely story.

[simaholic^]

I can't wait to see what is down there. I hope it is something that will help Ben.

[Schipperke]

I can't wait to see what is down there. I hope it is something that will help Ben.

Thanks for the comment, simaholic!  And here's what Ben found in the basement, coming right up. 

[Schipperke]

Lost!, Part XIII

Diary Entry

No doubt the abbot was accustomed to visitors coming to view the nectar-making operation and sample the nectar.  Didn't he understand the urgency of my situation?  I really didn't have time for this.  And then it occurred to me – maybe there were catacombs in the basement, old tunnels I could use to escape?  For a moment, I felt hopeful again.  I looked around the cellar ...



... and saw a large space with nectar storage racks, barrels and quite modern-looking nectar-making machines.  No tunnels. 

“Why did you bring me down here?” I asked him.  “I'm sorry, but I really don't have time for a tour of your nectary.  I must flee!”



The abbot responded calmly, “'Hasten slowly, and without losing heart,'* my impatient young friend.  Do notice our nectar-making machines.  They are a very advanced type, not available at any of the other local nectaries.”

I sighed.  This abbot was either the most serene or the most dense fellow I'd ever met.  He really didn't seem to understand.  Or maybe he just didn't care.

He continued, “Do you see over there in the far corner?  Behind those walls is a tiny chamber reputed to be haunted.”



Ghost stories now?  I groaned inwardly.

The abbot said, “Legend has it that the monastery stands where a very old burial ground once was.  The walled-off chamber appears to be a sort of conduit to the spirits who inhabited the burial ground.  Strange noises – groans, tapping – have on occasion been heard emanating from that chamber.”

Despite my impatience to be gone, the abbot's story was strangely compelling.  I asked him how the legend of the chamber being haunted got started.

“I started the story,” he informed me. 



“I was greatly helped,” he continued, “by the reports of a novice monk with an over-active imagination who was prone to interpret the sighing of the wind as spirit noises.”  For the first time, the abbot grinned at me.

“But why?” I asked him.  “Why would you want people to think the chamber was haunted?”

“Why, to keep people out, of course,” replied the abbot matter-of-factly.  “I have the only key, but the rumours of hauntings and restless spirits do wonders in discouraging the curiosity of young monks.” 



His face turned serious.  “No-one has ever been in that chamber except me and the old abbot before me,” he said.  “When the old abbot was dying, he made me promise to never reveal the secret of that chamber to anyone except my successor.  And I am about to break that promise for the first time,” he said uneasily.  “But in the circumstances, I'm sure the Watcher will forgive me.  I hope.”  He gestured to me to follow him as he extracted a large key from beneath his robe and unlocked the door.  We walked together into the “haunted chamber.”



Diary Entry Ends.

*Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, 1674

And if any of you clever readers believe you know what may be behind the door in the haunted chamber, please keep your suspicions to yourself for now! 

[Playalot]

     lol
Great characterization of the monk. 

[simaholic^]

Ohh very interesting...

[Danielle Haydis]

You are a master of mystery, Schipperke