Ben (U6)

"Big" Ben Hurleson is a lumberjack working near Yew during Ultima VI.

Description
Big Ben was a giant of a man working in the Deep Forest outside of the City of Justice. A gruff and solitary individual, Ben largely kept to himself, having grown to distrust the Britannian government after Lord British had tried to recruit him to the military following his victory in a wood chopping competition. After refusing, Ben remained fearful that the sovereign would nevertheless attempt to draft him, and to this end the lumberman was wary of the Avatar, fearing that the hero was sent for him.

Eventually, in the course of the Avatar's adventures, the hero had need of Ben's services to buck them a yew log, which was then used to craft a set of panpipes, that the hero might be able to join Minoc's Artisan's Guild.

Ben later became well known for a novelization of his personal diaries, known as Trees and Then Some! which chronicled the woodsman's daily life in the forests. This document provides early records of the harvest of the Silverleaf tree, which in later years would become popular as a source of gourmet food, and whose harvest would eventually prove an imminent threat to the habitat of the race known as the Emps.

The Ultima 6 Project
In the Ultima 6 Project, Ben supplied five more yew logs to the Avatar, this time for repairs to Jimmy's ship. While doing so, he also revealed that he knew Strom personally.

Trivia

 * Another Yewish logger named Ben appears in Ultima VII, who claims that he is part of a long line of woodcutters. It is possible that this man is "Big Ben's" descendant.