Specter of the Past Chapter 11
By KrossRodes
As soon as the Epoch stopped in the year 600 AD, they flew to Dorino, where Toma's twin-sister, Terra, lived.
Crono landed the Epoch just outside the town and they all walked into Dorino to try and find Terra. They also didn't know where she lived, so it made it a greater task than it should have been.
From house to house they walked trying to find Terra. Almost twenty minutes had passed before they finally decided to ask someone. They found a middle-aged woman drawing water from the well, so they decided to ask her.
"Excuse me, miss?" said Marle as she approached the woman.
The woman looked up from her work, smiled, and asked, "Can I help you?"
"Yes, we're looking for someone named Terra Levine. Do you, perhaps, know where we can find her?"
The woman just smiled even brighter at Marle and said, "Oh yes, Terra is very popular here. She should be at home right now. Her house is the small cottage on the northern outskirts of Dorino. You can't miss it."
"Thank you for your help," Marle said as she lightly bowed. "Have a nice day!"
"You, too," said the woman as she returned to her work.
The three then took off, hurriedly trying to find Terra's house. They went directly north of town and soon found the small wooden cottage set apart from the rest of the buildings. In a dash, they all hurried up to the front door and knocked.
"Terra are you home? We really need to talk to you!" Crono said as he banged on the door. There was no answer.
They continued the noise until the familiar figure appeared from around the corner of the house. Terra was dirty from the knees down. Apparently, she had been in her garden.
"What's the matter, guys?" Terra asked as she slowly removed her soiled gardening gloves.
"Have you heard from Toma lately? Has he found the Dragon's Egg?" Crono asked, there was anticipation in his voice.
"Actually," Terra responded, "I've just recently received word from him. He sent me a letter saying that he found the Dragon's Egg and that he's in his workshop in Porre trying to unlock it from its glass case."
"Thank you," said Lucca. "We can't stay and talk much longer, but I promise you will find out what's going on soon enough."
And soon after that, they were on their way, running back to the Epoch, and shouting their goodbyes back to Terra.
.
As soon as they landed the Epoch, they got out and began the next step of their wild goose-chase to find Toma. They probably should have asked Terra where in Porre Toma lived, but they were in such a hurry that they forgot. Shortly afterward, however, they found a small wooden house that stuck out like a sore thumb, so they decided to investigate. Once they got closer they discovered a wooden sign with 'Toma Levine' engraved on it.
"Toma, are you home?" Crono shouted as he knocked on the door.
It wasn't long before Toma answered, and as soon as he opened the door he exclaimed, "I've found it!"
"We've heard," Lucca said. "Your sister told us when we were looking for you."
"You have been looking for me?" Toma asked.
"Yes," Crono replied, "we really need to talk to you."
"Come inside and you can tell me over a cup of tea," Toma said as he motioned them to come inside.
They all followed him in and sat around a table as he poured them all a cup of tea.
"I'm sorry, Toma, but we don't have time to talk," Crono said. "Neo Zeal is in turmoil and we need the Dragon's Egg to set it straight."
"My treasure?" Toma asked. He was afraid they were going to take the treasure he worked very hard to find.
"Yes, I'm sorry," Lucca added. "Magus and Schala are locked in the castle, now. We think we can help save their world if we can just go inside and find out what's going on. Their strongest mages have been trying to break the seal on the castle, but they need a large amount of mithril for the spell to work. The Dragon's Egg is the largest amount that we'll be able to find."
Toma just sat and thought long and hard about what Lucca had just told him. Then, he stood up and said, "I suppose the people of Neo-Zeal need it more than I do. Come, follow me and you can take it."
The three followed Toma through the door that led to his work area. There were tools, books, and papers strewn about the room, but in the center, sitting alone on the table, was the glass case that held the Dragon's Egg. The large chunk of mithril was larger than they had expected it to be. It was almost two feet in length and it was perfectly shaped like an egg.
"I still haven't gotten it open, yet. My guess is that it's magically sealed. See this crest here?" said Toma as he pointed to a golden crest on the top of the case.
They all got closer to look and as Marle got within a foot away from the case her pendant began to glow.
"Look, Marle, your pendant," said Lucca.
Marle looked down at her glowing pendant and said, "It must be reacting to the crest. Than means this is definitely from Zeal."
"Use your pendant to open it," said Crono. "We must hurry back to Neo Zeal!"
Marle stepped closer and soon the crest was glowing the same blue color as her pendant. Then the crest began to fade away and in a flash of light the whole glass case was gone.
Crono then began to reach for the Dragon's Egg, but, before he could touch it, it began to flash through the different colors of the rainbow. Soon the light was blinding and there was a strong wind surrounding them. They all covered their faces to shield themselves from the wind and light, but they could still feel the energy coming from the piece of mithril.
"What's going on?" Toma shouted, trying to choke out words through the fierce wind.
"I have no idea!" Crono eventually shouted out.
Lucca uncovered one eye to see if she could get any glimpse of what was happening, and as soon as she opened her eye she saw the small wooden workshop being torn apart in the wind.
"Everybody get down!" Lucca shouted. "This house is falling apart!"
As everyone was kneeling and crouching down on the floor they could feel wood being strewn about in the air above them. The air was littered with small chunks of wood, but none of the large beams seemed to fly in their direction.
The fury continued for about 15 seconds longer, then, just as suddenly as is started, the wind, noise, and light stopped.
The group slowly stood up and uncovered their faces. What they saw they weren't prepared for. The workshop was gone and there was nothing but bits of wood spread out in every direction. Only one thing remained. It was the table in the middle of the room that still held the Dragon's Egg, but the thing that scared them the most was standing behind the table. And enormous, green dragon stood over them, its eyes ablaze with the color red.
"I am the guardian of the Egg," boomed the creature. "Who dared to disturb my slumber?"
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