Suddenly, their small world was jolted once more, causing Alice and the Lynx to exchange a concerned glance. It was clear that something unusual was happening outside. Though there was a stabilization enchantment in place for their world within the ring, it was of mediocre quality. While normal movements of the ring bearer were barely noticeable, sudden movements could translate into small tremors or even seesaw-like motions.

Sid wondered aloud, "What does this mean?"

Tina's expression turned more anxious as she insisted on the idea that she had been trying to convey for some time, "Spartacius is probably in trouble. Shouldn't we open the portal and go help him?"

The Lynx let out a low growl, uncertain what course of action to suggest.

Alice stepped in, shaking her head in disapproval.

"We agreed with Spartacius that he would open the portal if he needed our help. We don't have to jump out and create problems where there were none." - she said.

Spartacius had been adamant that they shouldn't open the portal from within the ring. Doing so would create hazardous circumstances that could jeopardize his safety as well as that of anyone attempting to exit through the portal. Even though the portal spell did provide some measure of protection for the ring bearer, accidents were still a possibility. For instance, the cord or the stairs could be accidentally severed if the bearer was climbing a ravine. Moreover, the spell didn't offer any safeguard for those who emerged from the portal. If the portal opened above a gorge or ravine, then it would be a stroke of bad luck.

"But what if he can't open the portal?" Tina pressed, her worry palpable.

"You mean he's already been overpowered?" Alice exchanged another look with the Lynx. "But it's quiet now..."

"Maybe too quiet," Tina said with a sigh, then wondered aloud.

"He was maybe overpowered and is now lying on the ground?"

Sid shrugged and offered his opinion, "Or maybe he's hiding in a corner?"

“And that's a reason to open the portal?” - The Lynx wondered.

They waited some more, looking worried at each other.

Hours later, the Lynx sighed and spoke up, "OK, maybe we should get out and check!"

He looked to Alice for agreement with his ears low on his head, a sign that he was feeling embarrassed. He was slowly getting the feeling that Tina had been right and they had made a mistake opposing her.

Alice nodded, "True, it's taking too long. Something is off... Okay, I'll open it and jump out first; you follow after you hear from me, not before!"

Sid interjected, "Shouldn't I first launch a black breath strike?"

Alice shook her head, "No. You might kill somebody who shouldn't be killed. Let us check first!"

However, Sid was still uncertain, "But then how will I know and help you?" Alice understood his eagerness to help. She came closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "You stay here and listen. You are our backup! If we need you and there is room for you out there, we'll call you."

This said, she turned and approached the portal lever, exchanged a glance with the Lynx, then opened it.

Just as she was about to step inside, a huge chunk of rock fell inside and narrowly missed crushing her but for her lightning-fast reaction.

"What the hell?" Tina exclaimed.

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Suddenly, their cavern started shaking again, and more rocks fell in.

The Lynx yelled at Alice, "Turn it off!"

They turned the portal off and waited, looking tensely at each other. The shaking stopped after another couple of shudders.

“What the hell?” - Sid repeated, looking at the large mound of rocks that had accumulated in front of the entry.

“Should I open again?” - Alice wondered

The Lynx took a deep breath.

“Let's try... If it's starting shaking again, close it immediately!”

Alice nodded and reopened the portal, and again some rocks fell in, but this time the barn did not shake. Then nothing.

The Lynx breathed in relief and turned to Alice.

“Alice, do you have a spear or something? Can you poke through the portal?”

Alice raised a brow but did as he had asked. The spear encountered something hard on the other side. She tried different points with the same result.

“What does this mean?” - Tina wondered.

The Lynx sighed. “That the portal is facing a wall or something... No, a wall would have been broken by the portal; judging by all the stones we got in, we are facing the mountain...”

Tina's eyes widened in shock. “You mean we cannot get out?”

The Lynx nodded.

"How did you know?" - Alice wondered.

The Lynx turned to Sid.

"It means we just have to wait for some time. Can you please take care of Tina for a moment? I have a private problem to discuss with Alice."

Sid wondered. "A private problem?"

The Lynx nodded. "Yes, it won't take long. Be a good boy and help me, please?"

Sid rolled his eyes and sighed. "It reminds me somehow of my paps and ma. OK, OK, if Tina feeds me some sausages, I might be interested?"

Tina smiled happily: "OK, here you are."

The Lynx sighed and walked away. Alice followed him in the darkness until she almost collided with him as he stopped.

"I think we have reached the end of the barn," - the Lynx whispered.

Alice placed a hand on his shoulder and felt it strained. She tried to look into his eyes, but it was too dark.

"So what is it?" - she whispered back.

The Lynx sighed.

"Keep your voice low. If I am right, we are sitting in our tomb. I suspect that the poor boy had dropped the ring, or he may have been killed, and the ring fell. That must have been the shaking. When we opened the portal, it shook and moved the ring, which must have fallen somewhere even deeper with the portal cutting the stone; that's why we got all that bulk in here."

He sighed again.

"We have no way to get out. At the entry, I smelled only stale air. We must be in some narrow gap inside the cavern with not much air circulating through it. We might have only so long to live as much air as we have in here. That's not very long.”

Alice's eyes widened in shock.

“What about Cala and White Flower?" - she wondered - "They promised to pull us out of here.”

The Lynx kept silent for a couple of moments, then after another sigh, he answered.

“Unfortunately, they will not be able to do it. The rocks that fell inside when we opened the portal contain a lot of magicore. This is a mineral that conducts magic. One of its uses is to defuse magic spells, and the rocks around us must contain tons of it. If White Flower tries the spell, it will backfire on her.”

Alice kept silent for a moment. “Are you sure?” - she whispered.

He nodded, then realizing that she could not see him, he answered. “I wish I wouldn't be, but it is as I say.”

He raised his head and looked at her. He still could see her even in the darkness.

“What do we do? Should we tell them?” - he asked.

She did not answer. He continued. “Tina is a kid. Sid is a grown-up dragon with a kid's mind. Actually, Spartacius was a similar case, and probably, we condemned him to death when we allowed him to try to save us. It was wrong.”

Alice placed her hand on his shoulder.

“I still think that we should tell them, but not about the magicore problem. They should still be allowed to hope.”

The Lynx nodded. “Agree”