Chapter 4: The Valley Road

Burland Castle was located at the southern end of the country of Burland, nestled against the end of a large valley. Protected by the large mountain ranges surrounding it, the only access to the large castle was from the north. Obviously, this created some trading problems for ships from countries like Bonmalmo and Santeem that couldn't reach it. Therefore, many of the merchants traveled to the ocean side at the northern part of the country and set up trading towns all along the shore. The most prominent of these villages was Izmit as it had grown in size of late.

A large river divided the country into a northern half and a southern half and the river was usually much too rapid to fjord and too wide to build a sturdy bridge over top. So, to keep trade fluid, King Burnard VIII had an underground tunnel built. People at first thought he was a lunatic but, amazingly, it worked, and Burland was able to prosper.

In the early days of Burland's history, when caravans traveled the broad valley road to the castle, bands of beetle-men would occasionally attack the caravans. The royal soldiers of old eventually routed the creatures to the mountains and caravans were able to travel without incident.

Ragnar, who had been walking for most of the day, took a break by the side of the road. As he ate his rations, he looked around. The soldier rarely ventured further than the farming communities surrounding Burland Castle so he never had much of a chance to enjoy the scenery his country had to offer. The valley really was a sight to see. Beyond the broad road lay a deep forest thick with firs that climbed up the mountains as far as the eye could see. Snow still capped most of the mountaintops but the spring was bringing its warmth and most of it would probably be melted away in a couple of months.

The sun was beginning to disappear over the mountaintops but Ragnar wasn't worried about it. The sun always set early in the valley. Actual twilight wouldn't be for another couple of hours after and he had plenty of time to make the tunnel before the nighttime monsters would be active.

Ragnar put his food back into the pack and pulled out some water. He took a long gulp and just listened to the birds chirping for a moment. Un-expectantly, he heard something else, a sort of rustling from the nearby brush. Ragnar quickly put down the water and grabbed his copper sword from his side. It was possible that it was nothing but an animal or even just the wind but the soldier was never one to take a risk.

Clasping his hand tightly on the hilt of his sword, Ragnar wished his King would allow the soldiers to upgrade their equipment to something a little stronger than copper swords but the weapons were very economical for a small country. Besides, their light weight made them effective one-handed weapons against slimes and healers, the only kind of monsters the Royal Soldiers had had to deal with for the last hundred years.

Ragnar had no idea how they would stand up to beetle-men.

Slowly, Ragnar moved towards the bush. He strained to hear any more movement. Every so often, he heard the bush rustle again. It was definitely something larger than a slime or healer. The soldier stopped, ducked behind a large boulder, and waited.

Moments later, two beetle-like creatures burst from the bushes. They stood not more than three feet tall but had mandibles a foot long that could probably chomp through Ragnar's leg if they were inclined to do so. A strange, clicking sound came from their maws and they looked at each other quizzically with beady, blue eyes. Were it not for their menacing jaws, the soldier figured Mary would find the monsters rather cute.

Cute or not, their sudden appearance meant they had intended to ambush him. The soldier figured it would be best to kill the monsters quickly so they wouldn't be able to alarm more of their kin. An efficient tactic formed and he waited for the moment to implement it. As the beetle-men rushed by Ragnar without even noticing him behind the boulder, the soldier saw his chance.

Ragnar jumped out from his hiding spot. He towered over the monsters by more than three feet so the soldier kicked the closest one. The stunned beetle-man went flying and smashed up against a rock.

The other beetle-man quickly turned and charged Ragnar, its mandibles barred forward for a deep bite. Ragnar side-stepped and caught the monster's jaws with his sword, managing to throw the beetle-man to the ground. He then brought his foot down onto the monster's back and crushed its spine as his boot cracked through its tough exoskeleton. The beetle-man let out a high-pitched screech of pain before it died.

The other beetle-man finally got up and charged Ragnar. The soldier crouched down and stuck his blade forward just as the monster reached him. The blade pierced the monster's hard skin and its heart.

Grimly, Ragnar pulled his sword free of the corpse, something that was not too easy because of the exoskeleton. Not so dangerous after all, he thought but recalled what King Burnard had mentioned at the meeting. These beetle-men were only scouts, most often fodder for an army.