Tula unlocked the remaining prison cells, pocketing the last lock, and the party discovered that the last jail was underwater. Earnest's supernatural sight pierced the darkness below, revealing a starving Sharkfolk prisoner lurking beneath the surface. Hoping to calm the creature, Tula offered it food, but the scent of blood instead drove it into a frenzy. Before it could drag her into the water, the party defended the rogue, and Snapdragon beheaded the attacker.
Earnest descended into the flooded prison himself, discovering only the long-dead skeleton of another sahuagin below and precious little else. The group prepared their escape as the "paladin" began sharing the teachings of his Light with Snapdragon. Still shaken by the disaster at the Undermire Dwarf-Door and his own perceived failures, the young fairy proved susceptible to Earnest's words.
Masked by Mulokha's magic, the party slipped silently through the caves. After Tula unlocked a gate which blocked off an upper level, they found that wealth stored within the Caves of Jhirkorro far exceeded what any of them expected from a lizardfolk settlement. The group quickly abandoned any notion of a careful escape and instead looted every chamber they found. Though Snapdragon objected to the theft, Tula convinced him that the Fold's riches were tainted and would be best redistributed elsewhere.
The group's luck inevitably ran out when Earnest flung open the door to a barracks where five guards and a Lizardfolk Render were resting. He immediately yelled "have at thee!", nearly killed a guard with a blast of arcane force, then immediately turned and shut the door behind him. Tula, meanwhile, rushed to the only other exit and barred that route with the stolen cell lock. As Earnest ran, Kig covered the floor in oil behind them, hoping their pursuers would slip. Mulokha joined while casting a torch to the door, igniting the slick and creating a huge flaming obstacle for the guards.
The confusion bought the party enough time to flee deeper into the caves, taking random turns until Earnest, convinced the Light was guiding him, threw open a pair of grand doors that led into the throne room. The great chamber stood empty save for two wandering hatchlings. Thinking quickly, Mulokha distracted the children with a game of hide-and-seek, and the hatchlings unintentionally revealed a hidden passage concealed behind the throne. They followed the pair down a tunnel, directly opposite the private chambers of Lizard King Ihrtos, where the party helped themselves to yet more valuables. As Kig snooped and Tula distracted the loud youth, Earnest claimed the king's red-and-gold brocade robe for himself.
Their search soon alerted two royal attendants. Hoping to avoid violence, Tula shoved one of the hatchlings into the adjoining room, only for the child to enthusiastically reveal the presence of the intruders. Fearing for their lives, the attendants fled with the hatchling into the royal bath; the party didn't wish to immediately follow, but discovered themselves stuck. The remaining hatchling was distraught over their missing sibling, and they were reticent to re-enter the throne room. With the remaining exit blocked by guards and the only other door leading to the king's mud-filled hatchery, the party entered the royal baths to return the other child.
Below the bathwater, Mulokha achieved a seemingly impossible feat of diplomacy. She convinced the attendants that despite being the escaped prisoners who were responsible for chaos and looting throughout the caves, the group posed no threat. The attendants explained the growing political divisions within their tribe and, somehow believing that the adventurers might prevent bloodshed, agreed to advocate on their behalf. The five were escorted safely past the royal guard, and the unlikely band was brought before the elderly minister Sauriv.