Chrono Trigger/Walkthrough/Chapter 13
Chapter 13: Footsteps! Follow!(65M B.C. first time)
You'll start out with Ayla in your party, you can talk to a few of the villagers and learn that you should follow the footprints in the forest maze, as well as receiving a free tonic. You can also trade in the upper right hut, although since they haven't exactly invented a stable system of monetary policy yet, you'll have to trade petals, fangs, horns, and feathers for different items. Head to the hunting range to the northeast if you want an easy way to win some, and try fighting the Nu when it rains for a third eye. You can trade for a new weapon for each character except Ayla, as well as a ruby vest which cuts fire damage and a rock helm if you bring three of two different kinds of items. Drink some sweet water in one of the huts to restore your health when you're done, and head into the forest maze.
Forest Maze and Reptite Lair edit
You'll learn that Kino was the one who took your stuff, but the Reptites grabbed it and took off through the forest. You'll have to follow their footprints through the maze. The maze isn't actually that tough, it's fairly linear, with the path branching out at a few points for treasure chests, none of which have anything really worth much. You'll fight a bunch of monsters which fall pretty well to physical attacks, and come out in front of the Reptite lair.
If you leave the beetles alone in the reptite layer, they'll dig passages down for you to lower levels. There are at least three ways down in the first room, and some of the exits fork further after that. One path will get you a ruby vest, one will get you an elixir before you reach the bottom level. You can climb back up to the top when you reach the bottom floor and start over if you want. When fighting the winged apes, kill the Shitake mushrooms first so the ape won't throw them at you to counterattack every turn, use multi-enemy attacks against the reptites, and shock the megasaur with lightning first to lower its defense. After you feel like you've explored enough, go to the save point, use a shelter, and head north to confront Azala, chief of the reptites.
You'll be asked to explain the gate key, and regardless of what you say you'll have to fight Nizbel. Nizbel is similar to the megasaurs in that he has insanely high defense unless you shock him with lightning first, but after being shocked he reverts back to normal and does a devastating lightning attack. You'll want to keep your HP above 200 or so, aura whirl works well, or just keep using kiss and cure beam or something similar. A dual tech between Crono and Ayla, Volt Bite, works particularly well, although don't bother wasting any of your attacks when Nizbel isn't shocked. You may want to use the times when he's not shocked to heal up, and go all out with double techs and more when he is shocked. Make SURE you have a lot of HP before you try shocking him, or he could kill all your party members at once.
Once you beat him, you'll get the gate key back, and end up back at Ayla's hut. Go back to the hunting range if you want some more items, and head back to the mystic mountains to jump off the edge and into the time gate. When you pass through, you'll be in the next chapter.
Challenging Lavos edit
Impossible at this point because you don't have access to a time gate.
Continue to Chapter 14: The Masamune! (600 A.D. third time)