It did not seem like too long before I was able to return to Champs Les Sims. Us adventurous types can't stay away for long. I had finished school and had got a job with the SVPD. From an early age, I had the wish to be a Forensic Specialist and a Dynamic DNA Profiler in particular. I reckon that's what comes from watching too much "CSI:San Andreas". However, it was not going to be so straightforward a return to France that I had hoped for. Some school newspaper thing said Samantha needed to interview someone from France. As completion would be good for her grades, our mummies said I had to take her with me.

As I had managed to do quite well on my own before when I was still a teenager, I left Sammi to her own devices. She chose to interview Adele Durrand so I chose to head straight to the gallery. I intended to continue where I left off. Through the secret door that I had found the last time were cloisters surrounding the courtyard of the Gallerie D'Art until it reached a staircase that went down into the catacombs. I followed it, disabled the traps and solved the puzzles that lay ahead of me. One of them did take me some time. One trigger opened a door I needed to get through but before I could get to the door, I somehow set off another trigger that shut it. It took some time but I did find another way of getting to it.

Anyway, the haunting of the museum was caused by the spirit of the old curator who had got trapped in a sarcophagus in the basement and died. His last wish was to have his remains placed in his family crypt at the Eastern Hills Cemetery. Quite an eerie place, but I'm yet to find any cemetery at night that isn't. Once this was done, I reported to Adele that her art gallery was now cleared of the supernatural. She was very pleased. After that, it was back to the base camp for a good night's sleep.

On the second day of our adventure, I checked the board to see what other work was in store for adventurers. This time, it involved getting to know someone well enough and then interview them about history of nectar-making in the area. I then had to give my findings to Edith Morel, who was the Special Merchant for the town. She then assigned me to find some papers about Jean Nectaux that could only be found in the library at Chateau Du Landgraab. I was given a key but I strangely got the impression that it was not going to be easy as it sounded.

And where was Samantha all of this time? While I was about to possibly risk life and limb finding out the history of nectar making, she was up at the Champs Les Sims Nectary sampling a few bottles of the stuff herself. Following that, she chose to go into the nectary's vineyards and orchards and harvest what fruit that she could in order to make her own.

I got to the Chateau Du Landgraab at about 9pm. The front door was locked so I worked my way around the back. It was when I was confronted by a row of metal holes and vents on the back porch that could be nothing else but a trap that I realised my gut feeling about this being not so easy a task was correct. After some inspection, I found that it was an electrical trap and one false move and I would be energised by the Parisian Municipal Electric Company. Fortunately, I knew that brown is live and blue is neutral and I was able to deactivate it. I only hoped I would be as successful the next time.

As I worked my way inside the house, I was repeatedly being confronted with electricity traps. The legendary Admiral Landgraab who lived here seemed to be somewhat paranoid about security and despite the technology being old, most of the other traps I came up against were beyond my disarming skills. I therefore used a more brute force approach and short-circuited it by pushing a statue on top of it. Job done.

The keystone I had been given slotted easily into a lock that was on the other side of the staircase. Once again, it had that freaky glowing effect. A neon sign would have done the job just as well. The door to what I assumed was the library opened. However, I made sure to read a plaques on the wall, which read "Music soothes the savage beast". Despite there being another freaky glow coming from a treasure chest, I opted to turn the stereo on first. Two electricity traps suddenly appeared and fizzled out. I was then able to retrieve the papers and continue searching the chateau at my leisure.

At the end of the second day - or actually the start of the third - I had set up the tent in one of the hallways at the chateau. Sam had gone back to the base camp and was sleeping there. I don't know if she intended to go back to the nectary but she did have almost 20 apples, 8 limes and about two dozen bunches of grapes of different types in her inventory. I think that she may have abused the hospitality of the Nectary somewhat. However, she might be better prepared than could have been expected to begin some nectar making of her own.

While Samantha took her third day easy idly exploring the town and enjoying a meal of frogs legs, the third day for me was quite an ordeal for me as I tackled one of the towers on the chateau only to get a burst of electricity through me. I nevertheless persevered and was able to get across the traps. I don't believe that I found any long term reward to it, just satisfaction in a job well done. I finished the day heading to see Edith Morel to hand over the papers thinking that my work was done. It wasn't.

The papers were in a code, but Adele Durrand at Alexis's Relics was able to decode it and prove that Jean Nectaux created the first Nectar in Champs Les Sims several centuries ago. Another adventure completed ... but I get the feeling I have not heard the last of nectar and Jean Nectaux in Champs Les Sims.

The following day, I sat in my room at the base camp reading a few chapters of "Jimmy Sprocket and the Chalice of Nectar". Sammi was in the town square playing chess and chatting with some of the locals. However, as her mission was complete and she was getting tired of not having much to do, she wanted to go home. I still had things to do, however, and wanted to make the most of my last few days. Whether an adventure sent me there or not, I wanted to visit the Nectary for myself.

Samantha finally got around to booking her return. Instead of a taxi coming to pick her up, she just disappeared riding off into the sunset riding on a Kenspa. I got down to finding another adventure to do for my last day, which was fortuitous as it involved collecting some cherimola blan grapes to deliver to Andre Lefebvre. I was yet to understand the difference between grapes. To me, they were green or dark purple but I suppose telling that to a Frenchman is like telling inuits that there is only one word for snow.

Author's Note - I thank my daughter Lauren for bringing to my attention that various sims can go home early without spoiling the world adventure for anyone else.

Samantha had left all of the fruits and grapes in her inventory but there were not enough for what Daniel wanted. I headed off to the nectary to see if I could harvest some more. I was in luck. I pretty much harvested the entire vineyard but delivered the required amount of grapes to Daniel, who actually worked there. I couldn't understand why he could not just ask someone visiting or go and do it himself. Lazy so-and-so. Anyway, by the time it was done, it was late and I chose to spend the night at the Nectary.

I only had time for a nap as I wanted to make the most of my last day. I put the cherimola blan grapes into the trough, squished into a pulp with my feet, put them into the machine, fired it up, read a book for an hour or two and then collected the finished bottles and gave them to Daniel. He was pleased but gave me more fruit and recommend I experiment and deliver some bottles of "nice or better" quality to him.

But that will be for another visit.