After an hour, Ned couldn't find a way out. They were completely shut-in inside the cave of crystals. Ned's ration of food ran out. The last food he got from Kamma was given to the Shoon in the market of beasts trading with the gun. The gun was inside his Ring together with his other stuff.
Ned had circled the cave back in forth, trying to find a gleam of hope under the cracks of the walls. But he couldn't find any: no cracks, no scratches, no signs of life. As far as he knew, they were the first to stumble upon the lake of mana.
