Having survived a tough battle with a bizarre cave creature, the adventurers continue exploring the caverns. They find what appears to be a series of small jail cells, one of which contains the skeletal remains of a halfling. Sartan notices that the big toe of its left foot is missing. This rings a bell with him and he fears this might be the remains of his one-time companion, Lefto… another fatality of Bontelan Wright’s ill-fated expedition of twenty years prior. They also find a key on the floor outside the cell. They take this item and then retrace their steps back through the caverns. Cycek again explores the flooded room only to find himself exposed to some sort of nasty infection, which Mishok immediately cures with Divoc’s divine intervention. They also find themselves again confronted with the gray ooze that had just recently attacked Mishok. This creature apparently had the means to slither under the locked door and move itself into position to ambush the party. This time, it is slain.

The group ascends the spiral staircase, returning to the glittering caverns above. They blunder into another ambush. The reptilian humanoids they had encountered earlier, have assembled their warriors and, relying on their natural camouflage, laid a trap for the returning explorers. But the wary travelers spot one of the hidden attackers moments before the trap can be sprung. Nevertheless, a fierce battle ensues. The explorers defeat the ambushers, and then seek refuge among the dwarven sepulchers they had discovered earlier. Seeing this as a safe place, one where the superstitious troglodytes would not venture, they decide to rest and recover from their recent battles. However, to their dismay, they are attacked again. This time, the reptilian tribespeople send a pair of trained giant subterranean lizards to flush the resting party from their safe zone, while their archers fire arrows from afar. This gambit also fails, and soon the lizards are slain, and the remaining troglodytes scattered.

Having their rest disturbed, they decide to arise and set out to continue exploring. Down a winding tunnel, they discover a makeshift kennel of sorts, housing a mangy, captive bear. An adjacent tunnels leads to the outside, giving forth on the north side of the Stone Tooth, overlooking the forestlands below. They lure the bear out of the cave, and release it to the wild. The fresh outside air and the sunlight is such a pleasant sight after the stench and darkness of the troglodytes lair, that they decide to leave the cave behind as well, and spend a day camping in the woods.

After a full night’s rest, the party explores the region to the north and east of the Stone Tooth. They investigate the lake to the east, and observes several things of note. There seems to be a current below the surface that leads them to suspect the presence of an underwater passage through which water must drain. They also spot some rather large reptilian footprints along the shore. They believe this to be evidence of the troglodytes and their giant lizards making regular forays out of caverns.

The morning wears on, and the adventurers feel they have discovered all the are likely to find in the region. They are frustrated at having found no trace of Durgeddin’s weapon cache, and reluctant to explore further within the caves. Nevertheless, they do return to the caves, hoping to find some passages they had not yet encountered. In doing so, they soon find a room in which a pair of skeletons lay covered with yellow mold. They wisely avoid the dangerous spores and manage to relieve one of the skeletons of a prime specimen of a Durgeddin sword. They set fire to the mold and then return to the main, large chamber comprising the Glitterhame. At the east end of the cavern, they find a small, sturdy door of iron plates, bearing silver runes of Durgeddin. Forgetting that they had recently discovered a key, Davros begins to pick the lock. But before he can complete the task, the group is ambushed by a pair of horrid worm-like predators. They successfully fight them off without incurring anything more than flesh wounds, and then get through the door as quickly as they can before any more of the creatures can emerge.

They find themselves in a broad corridor of finished stone. The follow a long stairway up to an octagonal chamber. The floor is inlaid with cracked, dusty blue tiles. The wall are of marble. Three large statues of dwarven warriors brandishing axes seem to guard two doors. Sartan investigates one of the statues and notices that the raised arm seems to have a thin gap at the shoulder joint. On a hunch, he jams a dagger into it. Mishok tries one of the doors, and discovers that it is a false door. It opens just a crack, but when it does, one of the other axe-wielding arms come crashing down, inflicting an injury upon the unwary dwarf. Distrustful of the remaining door, the explorers instead investigate the rest of the room. They faintly hear the sound of metal striking metal. They also notice that the dust is disturbed in a path leading from the top of the stairs to the back side of the east statue. Behind it they find a hidden door. The door opens upon another stairway heading upward and to the east. Halfway up the stairs they are startled by a booming voice declaring “Haaghat! Haaghat Ormath Turnamin!” There is no obvious source of the voice, but Mishok realizes this is Dwarvish. He translates the words as “Alert! Alert! Intruders approach!” Concerned by the attention this loud voice might have brought, and noticing that the hammering sound  has stopped, the party becomes very cautious. They climb the remaining stairs and reach a stone door carved into the image of a stern Dwarf’s face. They cautiously push it open, and find themselves peering into a great torch-lit hall, with a high vaulted ceiling, and lined with elaborately carved columns. The walls once bore extravagant mosaics, but they are now damaged and defaced, as is the rest of the once magnificent hall. On the far side of the hall, atop a marble dais, a mighty empty throne faces them. They see no sign of any person or creature, but a commanding voice suddenly come to their ears from an unseen source, “Go back the way you came! This is your only warning!” The party is, as always, defiant. Cycek talks back to the unseen voice, and the several members of the group take positions inside the great hall. After a brief exchange of angry words, arrows fly out of the darkness, and several find their mark. The archers are revealed as Duergar that had been concealed by their power of invisibility. They immediately enlarge to jumbo size and move to attack at close quarters. A fight ensues, nearly killing Cycek. Ghared, the apparent leader of this band of Duergar, demands that the party surrender. “Face it! You are bested,” she yells, “Throw down your weapons and surrender, or your elf friend dies!”

The party reluctantly gives up the fight. Their weapons are confiscated, and they are taken into custody. They are sat in a ring at the foot of the throne, amid makeshift sleeping pallets and a small campfire.