The minecart toppled over to its side as it came to a complete stop. Tommy and Ruth crawled out of the wagon and rested on the polished floor. The bear looked up and saw how far they fell. The distance, while not a big gap, still seemed to be significant at first glance, meaning they had sustained minimal damage.

“How... how did we end up here? And where are we?” Tommy questioned while rubbing his head.

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Ruth shrugged as he got up and straightened himself out. “But we should go find a way out of here.”

“But what about Maggie and Antonio?”

“I’m sure we’ll find them while searching for a way out of this place. There’s no point in standing here, not accomplishing anything.”

“I hope so.” Tommy got up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and fixed his hair. Next, he took out his phone and tried to enable the flashlight feature on it. When he finally got it to work, the two headed out.

Abruptly, the ground below them crumbled apart again, as Tommy and Ruth fell once more. The distance wasn’t as significant as last time, as they fell through the cracked floors and landed softly in the riverbed.

Tommy and Ruth got up from the fall and noticed how different the area looked. Lush light green grass, yellow flowers surrounding the river bed, and a small light reflected the pool from the ceiling.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Now, where are we?” Tommy asked. This falling stuff is getting old!

“Oh, this must be the Isolated Sanctuary,” Ruth replied.

“Great, so we’re even more stuck.” Tommy rolled his eyes.

Right away, he noticed something from the corner of his eyes, a small green light emerging from behind the flowerbeds. Ruth perceived this too, so they both got up and went to inspect.

The two pulled back the flower bed that covered the light and came across some small crystal-shaped gems lying on the grass, effortlessly blending in with the environment.

Ruth picked one up and observed the object. “What’s this? I don’t think I’ve seen it before...”

“Green…” Tommy muttered, his eyes widened upon processing this information. “These must be life crystals!” He picked up a couple to examine them.

“Wait, how do you know about—?”

“Maggie told me about them, so they exist.” Tommy tried to hold back the tears that formed in his eyes.

He finally found what Maggie was looking for, but she’s not here to bask in the glory. He clasped his hands together and prayed that she and Antonio were okay.

Ruth took notice of Tommy’s sorrow and went to give his arm a little squeeze. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, but...”

“Don’t worry; I’ll carry on your legacy!” Tommy shouted as he stood tall, as if waiting for a reply.

The Orso Looba jumped back in shock. “You make it sound like the girl is dead! She could still be alive for all we know.”

“But...” He turned back to look at Ruth. “How will we know?”

Before Ruth could answer, some orange and black butterflies entered the room and fluttered all around the two, as if doing an interpretive dance.

“Hey, do you think you could help us find a way out of this place?” He asked nicely.

The butterflies gathered in front of a nearby wall with a gaping hole in the front and formed a line to ensure that they understood before following them.

“I guess they’ll help us out,” Tommy concluded.

He put a few crystals into his pocket as he and Ruth hurried to go after the butterflies.