Lake It Till You Make It

## **Synopsis**

In Chapter 36: Lake It Till You Make It, the party enjoyed a few relaxing moments at the hot springs before Jillian set an accelerated pace to reach our final camp by nightfall.  We pushed ourselves near to the point of exhaustion, but found a lightly wooded area on a sloped hill that obscured our presence just enough to feel safe to spend the night.

It was here that Jillian outlined the first phase of the scouting mission itself.  On foot we would climb to an elevated area above the Harvesting Yard, where the waters of Lake Gholkan were home to a pair of structures that had been built to suppress the waterfall during the camp's construction – while the Wall of Force was being put in place.  While Jillian and Graven distracted anyone who was working there, Erland and Orba would sneak up to the top floor of the tallest building – where they would get a good look at the camp without drawing any suspicion.  As this was happening, Beezaura and Safira would track down some stolen supplies that had been left behind by one of Kelcettra's scouts – items that Jillian believed could be useful during the infiltration phase of the plan.

With a good night's sleep and a bit of prayer, it was time to depart – leaving behind any non-essentials and tackling the increasingly steep terrain in the early hours of the morning.  After summiting a particularly sheer portion of the mountainside, we gazed upon the enormity of Lake Gholkan.

Down by the shoreline we parted ways with Safira and Beezaura, who followed the scout's instructions to move along the perimeter until they found a large boulder indicating the nearby presence of the stolen goods.  But curiously this far from the camp, they caught sight of a wagon and a few presumed Harvesting Yard employees assembling some kind of apparatus in the distance.

Not wanting to draw any attention, they moved to find the hidden cache first – though the cave they were directed to was now occupied by a large brown bear.   Before they could enact a plan to lure it away, Beezaura's foot was caught in a hunting trap obscured by the tall grass – and the noise spooked the animal enough to force us into a fight.  We endured a few wounds, but our pursuit was not in vain – we found a set of keys and a few pairs of gloves that looked like they were built to handle hazardous material, and with the items in our possession we headed back toward the lake.

In the other direction – Jillian, Graven, Erland and Orba crept closer to the operations depot.  They concocted a plan to set ablaze one of the small boats moored at a nearby dock – a distraction immediate enough to draw the attention of the floodgate supervisor but not so damaging that they would seek additional help from down below.  With some opportunistic darting from rocks to trees and the smoke providing a visible beacon, Erland and Orba slipped inside unnoticed – heading immediately to the third floor, which was split between a living quarters and an outdoor deck.  Securely in place and having noted some potential hiding spots, Erland peered out the window and into the Harvesting Yard.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: three natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by Jordan, Riley, and Matt.