Dragon Warrior IV/Chapter 1: The Royal Soldiers

Burland
Our story begins in the castle town of Burland. After a small village has been cursed with the disappearance of many children, the King decides to send Burland's finest out to find the kids. You play as Ragnar, one of the soldiers, who specializes in strong physical attacks, but doesn't have any magic.

Before going out to find the missing children, spend some time wandering around the castle to speak with some of the people here. You might get some valuable information. Before you leave the castle, head into the southeast room on the first floor. Search the fourth drawer from the left-hand wall to find a  Herb. There are other treasures to collect, but they are inaccessible...for now. Time to leave the castle.

In the castle town, there are plenty of people to talk to. One man suggests traveling to, a village across the river. One young woman, named, says her husband left town and never came back. Keep her tale in mind. All of the shops sell some good equipment and items, but Ragnar is fairly well equipped to begin with. If you need to buy anything, you should at least purchase a couple of Herbs. They're inexpensive and restore 30 HP, so stock up!

Time to head to ! Leave town and head northeast until you reach the.

Cave of Izmit (Cave of Strathbaile)
One thing to keep in mind is that the enemies in the are slightly harder than the enemies you encountered around Burland, but they can be easily taken down. The one enemy to definitely watch out for is the. These slimes can heal themselves and their allies, making them very annoying pests. Make them your first target if you fight them alongside other enemies.

From your starting position, follow the path until you reach a fork in the road. The north fork leads to a dead-end, so go east and follow the path. When you get to the second fork, go right again. Follow this new path to find a treasure chest containing a  Herb. Return to the fork. Head north and you'll arrive at a small pond. Speak with the soldier here if you want. At this pond there are two paths: one to the north and one to the west. Both lead to the exit, but the western path also has a chest containing 40 gold pieces. The choice is pretty obvious here.

After emerging from the stairs, head east and a bit north to find the village of.

Izmit (Strathbaile)
Right when you get into town, a few things to note is that both the Weapon and Armour shops sell new equipment that is much more expensive than anything you could afford without grinding. As you walk around and talk to the townsfolk, a few things they'll mention is that there is a thief asking to be let out of prison and claiming they are a child, as well as a little girl walking around the well saying the guy in jail used to be from Burland. Drop down this well to net yourself 25 Gold Coins.

Go inside the school to learn that one of the disappearing children is, the innkeeper's son. The rumor is that they are flying away like angels. Check the left cupboard for a  Herb. The right barrel next to the item shop has 4 gold coins, and inside the inn you can find a set of Plain Clothes in the left drawer.

Where is this jail you heard about? If you look behind the, you will see a set of stairs. Go down and you'll find it. Talk to the man inside the prison and you will find out this is none other than, the missing husband of the girl in Burland! He seems to be acting childish. Check the right barrel for a  Herb. Make sure to come back at night and talk to again, and then return back to Burland to find. Upon being told of where her husband is, she'll ask that you escort her to so she may see him again, and she'll temporarily join you (although she won't participate in battle). Upon reuniting with her husband, she'll restore him to his old self, and will direct you to the  Well, a "playground" known only to the children that contains a way to reach the Loch, where the children are being held.

The Old Well (Auld Well)
There are three floors in this dungeon. Moreover, a voice will guide you at the forks. Feel free to explore the corridors that the voice says "not that way", knowing that they are dead ends, but could hold some treasure (in particular, falling down a pit left of the entrance, heading up a staircase and inspecting the pots will yield a  Herb and ). The bottom 3rd floor is actually just a corridor connecting two ends of a corridor on floor 2. On the second floor, head down and then right to meet Healie, a friendly who will join you for this chapter as a useful source of healing.

Healie the Kind Monster
 * Level: N/A
 * Max HP: 35
 * Max MP: 30
 * Strength:
 * Agility:
 * Resilience:
 * Wisdom:
 * Luck:
 * Attack: 9
 * Defense:
 * Spells: Heal
 * Sex: male

After recruiting Healie, head back to the four-way split, this time heading up and then left to find the . Once you're back outside, use them and you'll be whisked away to the Loch.

Loch Tower (Loch Tur)
Upon entering, you'll see a monster dragging a child down into the tower's depths! Follow after them, but be sure to open any chests you find along the way to obtain such treasures as a ', the strongest weapon in this chapter that also casts if used as an item in battle; a Scale Shield; a ' and a . All of these will help immensely for the upcoming boss fight. On the ground floor is a staircase in the center leading down to a healing spot if you're running low on HP, and you can jump from the upper floors to return to the mainland if you need to resupply in town (the front door only leads to the island the tower is on). When you're ready, head down the lower-right staircase on the ground floor and go right to find the fiends preparing to make the kids their food! Go up and speak to the leader overseeing this to face off against him and his lackey.

Though Ragnar and Healie are victorious, the monster reveals with its dying breath that evil forces are hunting down the young Hero of legend even as they speak. Now that the children are safe, either step outside and use a or jump off the tower and head back to  to return the kids to their parents, then head back to Burland Castle. The king praises Ragnar for his heroism, and asks if there's anything he'd like. Ragnar requests permission to seek out the Hero the children's captor spoke of, which the king grants, and gives him a large amount of experience (enough for a few level-ups!) before the soldier and his companion head off.