Crystalis/Brynmaer

After you exit the cave, the town of Brynmaer is found on the left. Here, you can purchase slightly better equipment, but they tend to be a bit more expensive. You can talk to the villagers for information, but you will need to speak with Akahana found near the entrance. He lost an Onyx statue near the river. To find it, head east, cross the bridge, and head to the patch of grass on the left. In the NES version, you'll collect the statue, while the GBC version requires you to open a chest.

Return to Brynmear and give the statue. Akahana will thank you, and give you a gas mask, as well as a training location.

To continue, you will have to head to the east to reach the poisonous forest. As you travel, you may start to encounter enemies that won't react to the Sword of Wind. Avoid these for the time being; you will find yourself having to switch between swords in the future to deal with situations such as this. You will obtain a sword that will work on them later. Equip the gas mask before entering, and head to the north until you reach the village of Oak. Here you will find that no one wants to talk to you. Return south, and head to the training school just northeast of Brynmear.

The training school is the home of Tornel, the second Elder, and he will test you by making you spar against Stom. This button-mashing competition requires you to press the button to attack as often as possible to push him back to the wall. You can't win on the first two spars, with you being told that you should return when stronger. This is incorrect; the correct procedure is to fail the first two spars, and win on the third (although there's no harm in spending time to level up.) When you defeat Stom, Tornel will teach you the Telepathy spell, which allows you speak with animals, and to contact elders at a distance. He will then say he will offer another spell if you can find the Tornado Bracelet. You will do this later, at Mt. Sabre.

You should have everything to head to Oak now.