The rockface crumbles and everyone is buried alive. The mermaid pearl is hot and glowing. It's the first time he's seen it glowing. He's not sure if it's a good sign or a bad sign, but he can't figure out what's going on. He wants to check out the cave and see if there's any sign of the other exit. He doesn't want to wait around and see what happens, so he decides to go check it out.