Chrono Trigger
The Hunt for the Warlock; The Masamune is finally restored, but now the group must restore Glenn's resolve…
The journey to the distant villa became shorter and shorter every time. The entire group was in high spirits, even when Crono found that Alwyn had not yet returned, leaving them unable to verify if he was alive or not. Nonetheless, they felt so strong and so unbeatable from their recent exploits that they did not hide themselves liked they used to. They walked out in the open, whistling and keeping their guard up as Mystics walked by. Surprisingly, nothing happened nor was there any threat on their lives. A small mystic did call them the "ugliest things I had ever seen," but only the women seemed to take this personally. Marle contented herself to creating a layer of ice underneath the mystic's feet, making him fall. Crono scolded her, but could not help laughing.
Within the hour they were standing a stone's throw away from the single man who could repair their hope. They approached the door, knocked, and stood back, holding aloft the broken sword and the dream stone for the unsuspecting guru to see. They could hear the scrapping of a chair and the mutterings of an inconvenienced man. The door slowly opened and the first thing they saw was his thinly veiled annoyance, which turned to surprise when he saw them. When his eyes fell onto the boon…
Well, the look was indescribable.
Melchoir stood there for quite some time, adjusting his spectacles and cleaning them to make sure he was seeing correctly. Finally, he stretched out his hands, wordlessly pleading for permission to hold the stone and examine it. He rolled it in his hands, brought it close to his face and peered inside the translucent crystal. He even broke off a small granule and tasted it, which evoked a countenance reminiscent to someone who just drank a gallon of bitter cough medicine. He looked at the stone again and back to the group. His first words were, "How in the world did you get this stone?"
With a smile, Lucca quipped, "'I do not wish to recall it. It is beyond me now.'"
Melchoir gave her a stern look and said, "The sarcasm is not appreciated, but that is fair enough. It is not my place to know. Please, come in."
They stepped into his humble abode and saw that he had been more productive since the last time they had seen him. There were notes, books on forging, chemistry books, and strangely there was an open book on mythical treasures. Crono was able to see something that seemed like a blue print. Melchoir's hand flew and scooped up the prints into the book, closing it with a thud. "Forgive me. Just something I'm working on. Please come downstairs."
They walked down into a quiet basement. Within the middle of the basement was a table with important looking parts scattered upon it. Melchoir swept his robes arms across the table, casting all these items to the floor with a deafening commotion of clanking metal. He muttered a quick apology, walking to a bookshelf that held tomes so lengthy it would take even Lucca years to read them all. He perused through the selves until he came across a book. He pulled it out by the back and blew off a healthy amount of dust before turning its musty pages. Although they could not see it completely, they could see the illustrations and diagrams that filled the book. Lucca was not certain, but they looked like hieroglyphics.
"What is that book?" Lucca asked, sneaking around to his back.
At first she thought that there was a chance he was not purposely blocking her view, but after jockeying around for a look she came to realize that he was hiding something. With great speed (and with no tact whatsoever) Lucca grabbed the book from Melchoir's hands and peered through the pages. She could feel his disapproving glare fixated on her back, but ignored it as she flipped through the pages.
"What's up with this book? It's nothing but runes!"
Melchoir succeeded in reclaiming his book. He licked his thumb before resuming his search, ignoring Lucca's question completely. She gave Crono an incredulous look, which he tried to ignore pacifistically. His efforts were not good enough, for Lucca gave him a surprised look before saying, "You can't be serious! This guy is going to try and fix a sword with hocus-pocus! We came for a blacksmith and found a nut!"
"Oh ye of little faith…" Melchoir muttered this just loud enough for Lucca to hear.
She shot back hotly, "Oh ye of little brains!"
Marle jerked her head towards Lucca and said, "Why is it that you always seem to pick a fight with the elderly?"
Lucca gave Marle a dumbstruck, betrayed look, "What do you mean?"
Marle said diplomatically, "Well, the people that told us important things you always seemed to distrust and hassle."
"Like who?" Lucca said defensively.
"Well, you argued with the man at the dome."
"Because he made slaves out of us! Not to mention he put Crono's life up as a betting chip!" Lucca leaned forward, her hands on her hips.
"Even so, that Belthazar got us out of there alive, didn't he?"
Something fell to the floor, but it was only loud enough for Crono to hear. He saw Melchoir staring at the two women as they talked, his face contorted into something that could only be described as doubt. He noticed Crono, pretended that he had not been listening, and went back to working on a rune he was drawing in chalk upon the table.
"You hate Gasper too, by the way. What did he do?"
"Oh, he only sent us through some door to meet the manifestation of war, which, by the way, nearly killed us!"
Crono could only see Melchoir's back, which he swore began to shake slightly, as if he were on the verge of crying. Crono assumed it was because of Marle and Lucca arguing, so he decided to step in. "Hey, guys, that's enough for now." Surprisingly, they halted their heated debate and watched in silence, letting Melchoir finish the strange facsimile on the tabletop.
After a few minutes he finished and everyone gathered around to look at his strange work. The book lay on the table with the broken sword and the dream stone. The facsimile lay underneath it all. Robo gingerly moved the objects in fear of smearing the chalk and looked at the rune. It was a very odd rune. There were twelve four legged creatures (It could have been something else, but the drawing was poor in detail) arranged in a wide circle. Then, there were three people within the circle of twelve animals. In the very center was a single person, and although the figure was almost sticklike, it was detailed enough to see that the person was holding a staff in one hand and a crown was resting upon his head. All through the rune there were small snippets of ancient writing, which Melchoir wrote with such uniformity you swore he knew it by heart.
"What does it mean?" Crono asked, looking at Melchoir.
"I would tell you, but these are things that must be searched out in the hearts of those who wish to know. Pray and study all you can and the answers shall come."
"In other words, you don't know yourself, do you?" Lucca said with a slight sneer.
Melchoir chuckled, casting aside her lack of manners, "Oh, I know. I know it very well. But there are people who cannot understand things, no matter how often you tell them. Hearing what something is isn't the same as studying it out for yourself. An ignorant ear will debate what it hears, but rarely will it concede to search on its own. A long time ago I had someone dear to me who would only listen for answers, but never search for them. What happened to that person is something that haunts me to this day. Since then, I bade people to study on their own and arrive at their own conclusions. Men are not meant to be guided by the hand always; they must decide the right course of action for themselves and walk on their own."
"So what you are saying is that people should do what they want?" Lucca asked pointedly.
Melchoir smiled as if his point were proven. "If people choose the right thing to do, then the course of action would be the same for every man."
Lucca thought of something to say. She wanted to say how silly that sounded, but something rang deep within her ears. It was complicated, yet simple in such a strange way that it seemed absurd in its profoundness. She only became quiet and let Melchoir read a few pages in silence. She had to admit that what he said, although it could be twisted many different ways, made a lot of sense. By the time she was so deep in her thoughts (and it almost seemed as if she were about to grasp the elusive meaning of it all) her name was called.
"Lucca, I need you now." Melchoir said in an unexpectedly kind voice.
Lucca gave him an annoyed look, "For what? Don't you have everything?"
"I need fire. A fierce fire."
Lucca shrugged her shoulders and arose, walking towards the tabletop. She gave him an odd look and said, "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"The world was not merely created. It was organized! Brought together! Countless eons passed as the elements came together, until a great heat combined it all. Humanity is no different. A new life is born when people, who are made up of proteins, metals, and chemicals, combine to form a singular life. The same is with a weapon. The proper materials are needed and must be mixed together, only to be bound together by fire, the light of all life. Furthermore…"
Lucca raised her arms, "Will you please stop talking crazy?" She rolled her eyes, "I didn't even ask to hear your psycho babble that time."
Melchoir sighed, "Never mind." Evidently, he didn't know why he began this dialogue in the first place. "Forgive me; it was always a habit of my cohorts to converse before something so important. I suppose it rubbed off on me. Do as I do and when I tell you to do it."
And so it began. It was a very complicated endeavor, or it could even be called a ceremony. Truly, this was a very odd thing to see. As the restoration of the sword commenced, Melchoir would occasionally recite verses from the book which were in a completely different language. Even Robo could not comprehend the strange tongue as Melchoir paced back and forth, telling Lucca to ignite the sword once in a while. He would occasionally make new marks on the circular pattern and begin again. After an hour there was an exciting development. The stone and the sword began to glow.
As it glowed, the party heard something like voices coming from the sword. They were too faint to be heard, even by Lucca who stood over the blade. However, Melchoir would occasionally reply to the voices. Sometimes he would offer a simple gesture or a nod as if he was engaging in pleasant conversation. Finally, he said softly, "Let us finish it then."
That same mystic who insulted Marle and Lucca earlier trekked through the plains, waddling like a penguin and rubbing his sore rear end. He would tell his parents about his injury and they would find someone to help them deal with these nasty creatures. He growled as he saw old man Melchoir's house in the distance. He sneered at the distant cottage and gave it an inappropriate gesture before continuing on. "Stupid Melchoir…The nerve of him! Defiling our land with his presence! If I were bigger than him I would…"
Wait a second…Was that just a pillar of light over old man Melchoir's home?
The young mystic spun on his heels, no longer paying attention to his injured hindquarters. He gawked in stupefied horror, his eyes growing wide like dinner plates. He would have rubbed his eyes to see if they were deceiving him, but he had trouble controlling his hands. Without even waiting for his mind to send their signals, his legs began working for him as they ran back home.
The blinding light subsided. Blinding light seemed to be the newest common thing in this adventure and their eyes were quickly growing tired of it. However, Melchoir and Lucca seemed undisturbed by the whole experience. Marle placed her hands on her hips and said calmly, "Huh…well…that was the freakiest thing I have ever seen…"
The broken sword, facsimile, and stone were no longer on the table. Instead, there was a shimmering broadsword that lay on the face of it. Even the normal passerby would see this weapon as a priceless treasure by the way it seemed to glow in the dim light. Lucca sighed in amazement as she lifted the sword and took a look. It was light as a feather, save for the hilt which ironically seemed heavier than the sword. She looked at Melchoir and said, "Listen, you still say some freaky stuff, but I think I owe you a small apology."
"Just consider the favor re…uh…I mean you are welcome." Melchoir said with a smile that suggested he was either smug or hiding something.
Lucca, who happened to be in a state of impatience, believed it to be smugness.
"Yes, the Masamune is repaired…" Robo suddenly stated. "If it didn't work it would have been a 'sword-ed affair', right?"
The party unanimously turned and gave him hostile glances. Lucca said with a ghost of a growl in her voice, "Did you just make a pun?"
Robo chuckled nervously, "Ah, yes, I am sorry…Please do forgive me Lucca. I was just taking a 'stab' at the whole humor thing."
Lucca's eyebrow rose as if she were irked.
"What?" Robo asked cautiously, raising his hands in defense. "I did not say that one on purpose."
She lowered her brow and turned her back while Robo said, "I don't know why you are upset about the puns. I 'masa' said it wrong!"
Robo did not even try to hold back laughter this time and neither did Melchoir. Lucca gave accusing glares to Crono and Marle, "Who taught him this stuff? Was it you?" A finger pointed at a bewildered Crono. He stood, stunned as Lucca reared back and tackled him to the ground. He yelped in surprise and slapped the ground as Lucca twisted his leg over his head. Everyone gathered around and began chanting for a victor as Lucca administered her own brand of justice.
Everyone laughed now (save for Crono) as Lucca shouted orders about saying "uncle" and promising never to teach Robo such horrible habits ever again.
Melchoir said musically, "A little nonsense now and then is cherished amongst the wisest men!"
Crono sulked, although not with complete sincerity, and limped while the others were beaming with smiles. They had accomplished their missions and were now heading off to make things right. There were many detours, but now they were finally off to straighten out their world. The intense battle in the horizon seemed minuscule in comparison with the troubles that had visited them already. Before the day was over they had already reached the end of time and found themselves in the middle-ages during the day.
During the next few days they made several stops. They visited the castle to relate their story to the queen. Their story was more fabrication than fiction. They told her that Glenn admitted he was not ready and that he needed more training before he could march against Magus. The expectant and worried look on the faces of the kindly king and queen was reason enough to change their story. Although it was a lie, they were happy to see their faces light up with joy. A small pang of sympathy sprang into Crono, Lucca, and Marle's hearts when the king, queen, and members of the court proudly stated, "I knew he would take to the cause! How could we have ever doubted him?"
The gate must have taken them a few more months ahead in time because queen Leene was beginning to grow large with child and moved gingerly. The town and the bridge were almost completely repaired and the world was blanketed with snow. Also, they found Toma near the stables and they went to the warmth of a local tavern and talked for hours. He spoke of the proceedings after the war and what he had been doing with his time. He also said that he had been keeping tabs on Tata, who evidently had a great change of heart. Crono smiled and said casually, "Good for him." Toma went on to say that the reason why he lingered in Guardia kingdom was because he wanted to attend to their horses and see them one more time before he set sail for his home. He mentioned that he was an explorer and a treasure hunter by heart. He spoke of it with such pride and longing they could see he missed the very feel of searching for great unknowns. After a fond gathering they stepped outside, mounted their horses and faced each other.
"We may not see each other again, but I will never forget you!"
"Don't be silly!" Marle said with a giggle, "Of course we will see each other again!"
"Only if God wishes it, and I hope he does! Hi-ya!" He whipped the reigns and headed east towards the harbor while Crono and his friends proceeded south towards Porre.
Suddenly, Marle's eyes seemed as if they would bulge out of her head, like she remembered something important. She turned around abruptly, cupped her mouth, and shouted, "Hey, just so you know: Crono lied! I didn't really…I mean…uh…my pants…" She trailed off in the end, seeing that Toma was already out of earshot. She grumbled while the others laughed.
They rode off to the southwest, following the southern cliffs of Guardia Kingdom until they arrived at Zenan Bridge. A sobering sight met them in the form of tombstones near the bridge entrance. The graves must have been visited often, seeing that fresh flowers were placed in front of random graves. The bridge itself was improved upon. The kingdom invested in several guard towers and massive gates on both sides of the bridge. They also made the transition from wood to stone while they were gone. Lucca commented that this did not happen before and wondered if such a big change, although of little significance to the everyday human life, would alter history in any way.
They rode past the bridge and the formerly occupied city. They passed though a desert that seemed to stretch further than it had a few months ago. The sun set halfway through their journey so they made camp for the night. They spoke their concerns about Frog and what could change in history. They huddled together in their sleeping bags for warmth and arose the next morning. As the party rode on their breath showed as heavy puffs of fog. Finally, the morning shifted into a windless, sunny afternoon.
A log fell upon an open flame, causing the burnt timbers to crumble in a heap of fiery ashes. The fireplace came alive with sparks and embers, but quickly went back to its steady crackling state. Glenn stood in front of the fire, his hands bracing his weight on the mantle. He sighed in mourning, knowing fully well that his friends had perished since they had left. What a coward he had been! Why did he not go with them? He scoffed, and shook his head. He knew perfectly well the reason.
He walked to an upholstered chair and threw himself in it, looking forlornly into the fire. "Crono, Marle, Lucca, even that strange soul in armor; I have heard naught a thing of thee. I hath not heard more than rumor since thou hast taken leave. Art thou truly deceased? Hast thou truly been felled by that damned demon?"
His eyes watered at the thought. It was the worst torture a man could ask for: uncertainty. He asked any travelers or soldiers that he has seen and evidently the miraculous warrior's name had spread since his participation in the battle for Zenan Bridge. However, all confessed that they had seen neither hide nor hair of the group since then. People had begun to draw conclusions and all began to fear Magus and his powerful entourage again. After all, if the warrior who destroyed an army could not win against a single man, who could?
"Who could indeed? Why did I not halt their foolish design? I am more responsible than that devil himself!" Glenn spat in disgust as he let a single gloved hand slide down his face. He felt so sick of himself that he shivered at the touch.
A knock at the door!
Glenn shot an irritated glance at the entry. The clouds had begun to gather and night had fallen upon the world. Visitors at this hour was not only odd, but extremely rude. He was not willing to break himself from his reverie and felt that he needed to be alone at the moment. Therefore, he only snorted and lay back in his chair. His eyes became fixated on the fire and nothing else. Another knock sounded on the door and his fists clenched the arms of the chair. "I shall not entertain visitors this evening! Be gone, and return on the 'morrow if thou so desirest it!" He fell back against the chair, stating to himself that the manner was closed. Another knock came, and he spat heatedly, "Hast thou lost thy senses? Leave! Now!"
The knock came again, much to Glenn's annoyance. This time it did not stop, but kept sounding almost as if it were meant to be patronizing. All Glenn knew is that the knocks would not stop coming until he answered the door and silenced his harasser. With an aggravated sigh he rose from his chair, removed a hooded cloak from a rack and stormed towards the door. He threw the door open, a pointed finger ready to admonish whoever stood outside the door. It fell weakly to his side as he saw a familiar form fill the door frame. A great tear rolled down Glenn's check, and without another thought he moved towards Crono and embraced him like a brother. Crono laughed in awkwardness and patted him on the shoulder. "What is this for? Are you okay?"
Frog did not answer, but embraced everyone in the party with the same enthusiasm and intense feeling. However, the others recoiled while Crono did not. Even so, Glenn was so overjoyed he did not care whether they were comfortable with it or not. His sudden burst of joy had him rush outside where the wind howled and the snow fell. As he regained his thoughts and manners he beckoned the others to enter his home which they did joyfully.
Anyone watching Glenn would have been warmed to the heart to see him so full of vigor. Instantaneously his house turned from a morgue to a hubbub of activity. He was going through his cupboards to remove blankets, preparing a warm broth to drink, and slicing bread to fill their stomachs. "If it pleases thee, forgive me!" Glenn said happily as he handed the blankets to his visitors. "I did not expect anyone to call upon me, let alone such treasured friends such as thyselves. Oh please sit thyselves by the fire! Warm thy bones! Truly, thou art fatigued! You there! Why dost thou don thy armor? Off with it, now! Thou art among friends here!"
"Only if everyone else here removes their skin too." Robo said with a chuckle.
Glenn gave him an inquisitive look before Lucca interjected and said, "Oh, don't mind him. He's trying to learn how to tell jokes."
Glenn thought for a moment, shrugged, and busied himself with preparations again. When Glenn wasn't looking Marle elbowed Robo who hummed innocently.
Finally, the broth was in a pot hanging over the newly stocked fire. Already the smells were filling everyone with a hunger they did not pay attention to. While they waited patiently Frog told them of his investigation into their condition. He informed them that nobody had seen them or even knew if they were well. He then explained to them his reason for acting so boorish earlier. They sat in a circle on the floor, their blankets being used as cushions. The party then explained in turns what they had been doing since they had been back, still being careful not to mention anything about their time travels.
Glenn, having the countenance of a sheepish child who was knowledgeable of wrong-doing, said, "So, thou'st visited my masters. Be they in good health?"
"Yeah!" Marle said brightly, leaning forward. "You should see Queen Leene! She looks so cute with her belly getting bigger!"
Glenn laughed, "That is good. And his majesty? How does he fare?"
"Very well," Lucca answered this time, "he is walking again without difficulty. Everything seems to have died down since the battle."
"Thou dost not know the heavenly swells of good feeling those words cause within me!"
"Did you not visit them?" Robo asked, his tone very polite but also pointed.
Glenn went silent for a moment and said, "Aye, I have not. I dare not show my face, and thou knowest why. However, I am overjoyed once again for I have seen that thy band has decided not to pursue that murderous wretch."
A silence fell upon the conversation. Glenn gave them unsure glances and said gently, "I speaketh the truth, do I not? Surely, that explains the long absence."
Everyone turned to Crono, urging him to answer on their behalf. He said resolutely, "We have been making preparations. We plan to make our way towards Magus the next morning."
Glenn looked towards the ground and barely uttered, "I see…Is thy will so adamant that thou wouldst throw thy life away?"
Crono smiled, "We don't plan on dying, you know."
Glenn chuckled mirthlessly and said with a cynical desperation, "Thou might as well be a lamb going to the slaughter, for without the Masamune thou shall surely…"
He was cut short as Crono tossed something wrapped in cloth. The cloth came unloose around the object as it slid on the floor. Glenn gaped as he saw the faintest glint of a blade. He slowly reached for the cloth and pulled it towards himself. Ceremoniously he unwrapped the item and he became breathless as he stared at the Masamune. It was before him now, completely restored and seemingly stronger than ever. He looked up to the group and struggled to speak.
"How did we fix it?" Crono said, aiding in his search for words. "With difficulty; but it is here and in front of you now. What do you say?"
A feeling of nostalgia filled his breast as Frog's gloved fingers glided across the smooth surface of the work. A smile crept across his face as he thought on something distant. However, the smile slowly faded and he lowered the sword to the floor. He looked at it intently, insomuch that the group thought he was praying silently to himself. Perhaps he was. "I cannot."
The group unanimously and insensitively sighed in loud contempt. "Come on!" Crono said, "What more do you want?"
Frog hung his head in shame, "Please, do not ask this of me…This is a command that I cannot fulfill. Surely there has been a time in your life where thou could not fulfill an obligation."
Crono was silent. It was not a thoughtless silence, as Marle noted, but it seemed as if Crono found contradiction within himself. She saw that he tried vainly to say something, maybe a lie, to assuage his excuse. Finally Crono said, "You are right. There was a time I was not strong enough to fulfill what I should have done."
Glenn did not expect this. His eyes looked into Crono and deemed that he spoke sincerely. "Then, truly, thou doth understand my hesitancy."
Crono nodded and said, "I do. But Glenn, let me tell you something: If you let that little fact keep you from doing what you know is right, then you will regret it for the rest of your life. There was this one time I was not strong enough to do what was truly important, but I could have kept," his voice strained as if his emotions were going to get the better of him. Lucca watched him with a face full of worry. He cleared his throat and said, "…could have kept going if I wanted to. That one time I did not do it still haunts me to this day. It would have been better for me to…I mean…" Crono stopped, fearing that he may have said too much.
However, Glenn sensed something within him and smiled, "I have been haunted as well, my friend, and I believe our sins are very much the same from how thou speakest of them." He sighed deeply and said softly, "Let me have this night to reflect and I shall give thee my decision in the morning. There are some horrors worse than being haunted by guilt, and I must ponder which scale has the most pull."
Author's note: Hello! We are finally getting to the good stuff pretty soon. I plan to make the Magus battle something special. Also, I am going to make a big time character twist for Crono, but I am worried if this might change the way you guys look at the story. I know it is my story, but I aim to please and I really do want to please all my readers. (If that were true, I would update more often, am I right?) Anyways, thanks for your patience, and when that time comes just tell me if it is a good twist or not. It's going to make the story darker, I'll tell ya that much:)
Also, to a reader, they asked me what language I used. I thought I already mentioned it, but I could say it again. It is called Illonggo, or Hiligaynon. It is a language spoken in the Philippines in the Panay and Negros islands. Also, I figured why not give a brief lesson!
The Latin you spotted in the language is there because the language was corrupted when the Spanish ruled over the Philippines. (Good eye, by the way!) A bit of the Spanish language mingled with the Malayan based language and it spurred many different dialects. The rural areas which suffered little influence from the Spainards still speak undefiled, deeper dialects. There are over hundreds of different dialects in the Philippines alone and each dialect is spoken differently from pronunciation and word usage depending on the region.
Now, for a bit of basic vocabulary! (If anyone is interested in the basic structure)
Me, I – Ako
You – Ikaw
You (referring to multiple people besides yourself) Kamo
Him, her – siya or sia
us (exclusive, as in, "Just us, not you) kami
us (inclusive, as in, "Everyone, all of us") kita
Ang – the (It is actually the object identifier, but I will explain that next time!)
sa – (This is the coolest thing about Illonggo: the "sa" can mean any prepositional phrase such as "beyond", "about", "into", etc. The listener tells the difference by the context of what the person is saying.
More next time:)
Gibson