Log:Borgol's Bounty

Borgol's Bounty

OOC Date: March 24, 2022 (Optional)
Location: Tatooine
Participants: Uutkit, Iollan, Kalys Remshi

Mos Espa's western gate is fairly devoid of life, this late in the day. Tatooine, being a desert planet, requires most travel to occur at night, for obvious reasons. The banthas are lined up in a row, enough to carry the party and their equipment. Cloaked Jawas bustle too and fro as they make their last arrangements, babbling and arguing about how to attach this and that. Uutkit is at the front, giving orders and directions, trying to hurry his fellows along as he waits for the late arrivals.

Nearly on time, but entirely on his own schedule, Iollan strolls into view as the air begins to cool on the unkind desert planet. Hand on his belt, the detective come up along the trails of banthas as he unhurriedly move towards the front, looking for the little shape of Uutkit. He familiar enough with the brown robes of that specific Jawa now to pick him out of a line-up.

"Evenin'," he drawls, half a smile trawling from behind the cigarette he's puffing on. "We still waitin' on folks?"

Having drawn up a short distance away on a rather rusty looking speeder bike, Kalys dismounts and leans in to grab a few canteens of water from the battered looking pannier that clings to the side. Slinging the canteens over her right shoulder, the crimson-clad Tatooine native makes her way over to the banthas and the skittering Jawas who are in the throes of prep. A nod is offered Iollan and a canteen unslung and offered as she steps on over. "Figured I'd bring at least one useful item, my gun-hand isn't exactly the best. But it does in a pinch." That said, Kalys looks amongst the Jawas and tries to remember which is Uutkit. That's right. The one giving the orders. A nod is offered and a canteen offered to the Jawa as a gesture of greeting and goodwill.

Uutkit scrambles up onto his bantha, nodding down to Iollan as the help arrives! "Hello!" he jabbers, arranging his robes, gesturing along the line of Banthas and then pointing west. "We're going to head west for a day... and then find a big rock cliff that's sort of shaped like a bowl, with only one way in.." he continues, sort of making a large shape in the air, with only one entrance. Uutkit glances behind him, pointing at one of the Banthas laden down with what looks like a half eaten dewback! "We use that as bait..." he says, pointing to the stakes and the rope, "And then we catch it when it comes in!" he makes a motion of trapping his wrist, wiggling it a bit until it goes still.

Kaly's arrival is met with a welcome squeak, "Hello Kalys! All set?" he nods with approval at her bike, and her weapon! "Might need that!" he giggles, the other Jawas shifting nervously as they begin to climb aboard their mounts. There's plenty of room for the others, of course, and enough supplies to keep the group alive! After everyone has mounted, Uutkit waves to his fellows, 'Utini!' he squeals, gesturing off into the distance! The other Jawas give similar cries, 'Aieeee-Ahhhhh!' And they're off! [Language: Jawa_Trade]

He still can't understand what the little guys are saying at all. What a shame.

Squinting one eye a little, Iollan follows the excited waving from Uutkit as best he can, looking back and forth along the line of creature. Looking out to the gate. Yeah he's... he's got the basic idea. Sure. Still, the canteen offer from Kalys is welcome and he takes it with a little wink her way. He clips it on to his belt, next to the helmet for his slightly more combat ready jumpsuit, before looking for a bantha to hop on. Clearly they're behind schedule.

"Who was it we're going out into the desert for?" he calls up the line, swinging up into the saddle of one of the creature with arguable ease. The blaster on his hip gets a little adjustment as the big man finds some comfort, at least for now. They've started moving, and the gentle sway of these kind of trips aren't all bad.

With the familiar Aieeee-Ahhhhh! ringing in her ears, the short red-head clambers on up atop a bantha, clinging to the rigging just so and tugging a crimson scarf up to cover the lower half of her face to protect her from the elements. A pair of goggles are drawn down from her brow to better protect her eyes also as she then reaches down to loosen the blaster at her hip. "We'll either die horribly or make a Hutt Lord happy. Which one is worse? We're going to find a great beast for the Hutt's menagerie. Alive preferably." Kalys offers as she squints after the words she understands, while stowing a few more canteens for the Jawa. They have enough already, but the water is more of an offering than anything. "We're going to travel for a day and then a big rock I think? Cave? Hole? Huge animal with a big mouth? Could be either of those things. My trade is a little rusty." That said, she does call after Uutkit and add in Jawa Trade... probably quite awfully. Kalys calls out in the Jawa-ish tongue. "sae ready! For anything! Feel free ghevaethie oodimoo whatever is as my corpse aapophet this goes aada if daevoogiw my isighogood to bleach in the ghataezar." [Language: Jawa_Trade] Uutkit leads the band out into the wastes, falling the setting suns. There's a little compass mounted on the Jawa's saddle, giving him direction. The native Jawas are experts at crossing the dunes, even without their trusty Sandcrawlers. The group ambles along in single-file, to hide their numbers! A gentle, rolling pace is kept, almost like on safari. "Sand Ape..." he calls, trying his best to describe the many-armed sand ape creatures, his little robed arms wiggling too and fro! Kalys is given a quizzical look, "Your Jawa is terrible." he giggles, covering the front part of his hood, where his mouth would be, "But you'll be alright, we've done this before!" he waggles his finger, scolding Kalys's thought process before pointing proudly at himself and the others. The fact that they've done this before is HARDLY encouraging!

The caravan travels on into the night, the stars of Tatooine guiding their path across the remote desert. It's about dawn when they come across a large canyon, leading down from the surface into a semi-circular valley, about a hundred or so feet across. It's clearly a one-way entrance sort of deal, with the Jawas pausing to setup their makeshift camp at the entrance, the Banthas carrying the bait and stakes moving down into the middle to begin laying their bait trap. [Language: Jawa_Trade]

For a while Iollan listens, and offers a lazy comment or two, but after a while it seems he is more adept at employing his fail-safe ability. With the wide-brimmed hat pulled low over his face, the bantha rocking at such a relaxing speed, it doesn't take too long for the detective to begin drifting in and out of a surprisingly comfortable sleep, still upright in the saddle. They're not going to get waylaid in the middle of nowhere, right? If they do, he won't be the first to see it.

By the time they get to the cave, he's well rested and totally eager to go. He just needs a moment to blink the consciousness back into his visions, that's all. There's only the smallest wobble as he slides off his mount and back on to (sort of) stable ground, looking around as the Jawas scamper about their new camp. A lazy look trails over to Kalys, as if asking for another translation on what the hell they're doing now.

There's a point where Kalys actually dozes off atop the bantha. Swaying and slumped, just latched on and probably dreaming of the chiding from the leader of the group regarding her awful grasp of the tongue. The horror. Her parents would be mortified if they weren't naught but bleached bones and memories. Still, finally snorting herself awake at some point, and blinking the sleepy haze from her vision as she takes in the sands surrounding them, and the familiar scent of bantha and jawa mingled as one gloriously sand-tainted melange of whiff. Clearing her throat lightly, the arrival at the great cave certainly warrants an awestruck look as she too hops down and hisses as her legs ache at the sudden use foisted upon them. "They have done this before. And... I have an awful grasp of their language." Kalys offers Iollan, grinning as she recounts the words of the Jawa itself. "Looks like bait will draw it out. And we hope for the best. We're in good hands. Truly." Kalys grins. "They've done this before, we're fine. Truly." She nods. "Borgol better be pleased with this."

Uutkit stands with Kalys and Iollan, giving direction, and explaining. "We draw it out, snare it..." he chokes his wrist once more, wiggling it around before pointing at the two non-Jawas and the other few Jawas standing around with their ionizing blasters, ready to stun whatever gets snared! "Should be an easy shot." he nods, trusting their accuracy on an unmoving target! All the Jawas giggle, continuing their work. The loose end of the noose is dragged to what seems to be a rock outcropping. The outcropping has been chisled, away, made into a hole so that a rope could be anchored. Judging by the wear on the rock, and the confidence at which the Jawas move, they have done this MANY times before, it's like clockwork! [Language: Jawa_Trade]

Swigging from the canteen, Iollan casts a sceptical eye towards the caves in question. That's how most good stories start, right? Don't worry, pal, we've done this before - now if you can just stand there while we set up the bait...

Nah, they've got it under control. A mild shrug passes his broad shoulders at the mention of the Hutt, but either way he stays close to Kalys as they watch everything get underway. One more satiating drink before he clips the canteen back out of his way, instead opting to lay a gloved hand on his blaster. "Well, you speak it better than me, darlin', so we'll be okay." His focus is on Uutkit though, watching with veiled fascination at the little brown from rather talentedly described the situation without any words. "So we just gotta make sure it doesn't eat anyone before we can rope it, yeah?" Should be simple enough."

There is a certain ease to dismiss Jawas, and yet the more Kalys watches the way they prepare for the stunning and subdual of the creature, the easier it is to believe them and believe in them. "Going to draw it out. Snare it. Stun it." And down her hand sneaks to pluck her own blaster pistol from its holster, setting the weapon to stun with a flick of a digit. A grin is offered Uutkit and a nod. Kalys is almost certainly a believer now. "Given they have those holes in the rock all set. Yeah, we're going to be just fine." Cuffing at her goggles, a few stray specks of sand are brushed away and down the short red-head kneels, gazing off towards the cave, intent on discerning what resides within. "Yeah, less people it eats the better." Kalys slides her Merr-Sonn "Quick" - 24248 out of its holster, bringing the weapon to bear. Kalys flips the mode toggle on her Merr-Sonn "Quick" - 24248, switching it to Stun mode.

The Jawas continue their work, making sure the snare is loosely arranged around the bait, dug into the ground and covered with a light dusting of Sand. One of the youngest Jawas, a teenager by the looks and sounds of it, has the task of brushing the sand around the snare clean, using a long broom to sweep the sands and remove any footprints. The Jawas begin to scurry back, waving and gesturing as they lead their banthas away to safety. Others take up positions in the rocks behind the cave and above it, with their ion blasters aimed downwards. The idea is the beast will be snared into the noose and then trapped by the rope attaching it tot he wall, making for a bit of an easier target and preventing the beast from escaping and munching any of the Jawas. Uutkit grins up at Kalys and Iollan, waving them towards one of the little rock piles setup for the snipers to aim from. The piles have, obviously, been carefully measured to keep the shooters a safe distance from any creature that's been captured. It's not even clear whether the Jawas know EXACTLY what's inside, they are just guessing! Uutkit wheezes as he gets settled behind the rocks, giving a little yawn as he reaches into his pocket for a bit of dried hubba gourd, taking a munch. "Now we wait." he jabbers, the other Jawas following suit, making themselves comfortable as they wait.. this is called hunting, not catching! [Language: Jawa_Trade]

Clearly following the more prepared beings, Iollan wastes no time in trailing them up to the indicated outcropping. He unhooks the helmet from his belt as he goes, sliding it over the blonde mess of hair previously hidden beneath his hat as they get ready for the big event. There is a direct thumbs up towards Uutkit, breaking the language barrier with the universal 'we got this' gesture.

"Have you met this Hutt?" floats his idle question back to Kayls as he finds a place to get comfortable. He's considerably larged than the Jawas, so it's a bit more of a struggle to find a nice little crop of rock to shimmy his towering frame behind. But where there's a will there's a too-big spacer, and with only a few grunts and huffs, he's in position with a good sightline. "I've uh, heard a few things, but haven't met him yet."

Kalys moves to settle in against the little outcropping of rocks, stretching out and hissing faintly at the gentle cricks and aches from a day of bantha riding. Well worn boots scuffing the ground quietly as she gets comfortable enough for bloodflow to resume. The pistol is cradled within her lap, and a glance is offered Uutkit as the little Jawa settles in. "Now we wait. I think the Jawa have more patience than me and I farm water for a living." A grin follows, watching Uutkit nibble on his pocket food. "Whatever comes out of there, they're prepared for." That said, Kalys gives an idle roll of her shoulders. "I haven't, I tend to prefer avoiding any meeting with a Hutt if I can help it, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to gain a little favour I suppose. What have you heard?" She asks, looking to Iollan. No doubt imagining the usual.

The Jawas rest comfortably, more or less protected by the sun in their robes. The day drags on, the sun reaching its zenith before petering out. All the while the Jawas sit and wait. The heat helps to bake the now rotting meat, sending those aromas of dinner into the wave, carried on the winds that wash across the Dune sea. Uutkit listens to descriptions of the Hutt, nodding along, "Have no problems with him, he's treated me fine. Give a big reward for this beast, I think!" His glowing red eyes look over Iollan a moment, "He's not from here." he muses, giggling to Kalys, as if sharing a joke with another local, "He'd be too scared to for meet him!" he laughs, rolling over onto his belly to watch the cave impatiently. It's not too long before there's a small roar from inside the cave, an echo, as a beast awakens. [Language: Jawa_Trade]

"Nothing more than the usual talk with Hutts and their followings," comes the non-committal response. More or less the truth. Rumours fly and facts divvy themselves up somewhere in between, and right now Iollan wasn't being paid to figure out the difference. That would come later. For now there was just the absent time to light another cigarette, waiting in the soaking heat for their prey to grace them with an appearance.

Luckily, after a while, it turns out they're not going to die of heatstroke. Maybe just... whatever that is. Which - what is it? Rocking over on to a knee, mindful to stay mostly behind cover, Iollan tries to peer at whatever it is they're about to trap, getting a bead on it before it sees them.

Kalys nods at Iollan and rolls on over to the side of her rocky pile to watch the source of those roars emerge from the cave. "I'm glad the only thing I have to contend with are Jawa trade practices and the occasional raid... this does not sound pleasant." The blaster is drawn up and near, waiting for that first moment to fire off a shot once the Jawa give the say so. Thankfully cooled by her Tatooine garb to some degree, the heat certainly begins to be felt by Kalys as she roasts lightly under the twin suns. Sprawled and peering into the maw of the cave. "We got this." She adds, a gentle mantra spoken softly under her breath as she looks to Uutkit, gauging his reactions.

The Jawas stir as they hear the dull roar of the Sand Ape, peering out from the outcroppings like so many hooded, glowing-eyed Kilroys. Uutkit is quiet, focused on watching the cave. "Careful.." he chitters, keeping low!

It's a few moments when the grunts of the creature can be heard getting louder. There's a low growl as the Sand Ape emerges from the cave, blinking away as it is exposed to the light. It seems the Jawas are cleverer creatures than they get credit for, luring a cave-dwelling creature out into the sunlight so that it can't see as well! It's clear to see the Jawas atop the cave getting their stun blasters ready, with the unarmed ones picking up rocks in a vain attempt to try to stun the creature with those.

The Sand Ape creeps forward, sniffing at the sand, easily finding its way into the noose and the bait. It begins to eat, using those massive jaws to tear hunks off the rotting dewback's carcass, getting so engorged that it hardly notices the noose tightening up slightly. The Jawas are obviously ever so carefully tugging the noose a bit tighter, waiting for just the right moment.

Uutkit gives a shout, 'Aieeeee-Ahhhhh!' he howls, the noose snapping tight about the Sand Ape's ankle, the creature howling in confusion as it stands up, struggling and pulling at the snare about it's ankle, hands flailing for a moment as it tries to move towards the voice of Uutkit but, cannot due to the snare! "FIRE!" Uutkit cries, the Jawas atop the Cave begin blasting with their stun pistols, with dubious effect. [Language: Jawa_Trade]

Well, that's ugly. And... much bigger than he was expecting. As the massive app creature thing wanders out into the unforgiving sunlight, Iollan squints through the tinted front of his visor, the electronic binoculars whirring softly as they pull focus. Out of habit maybe, one finger comes up to tap the side of his helmet, a tiny interior red light springing on as he begins recording. Just in case. Time to be a hero.

Or, more realistically, time to mess up. Rising a bit more steadily onto his knee, the detective pops off a quick stun towards the ape, which goes so very wide. It's got to be the sand, right? With a few muted curses, he smacks the blasters repeatedly with an open palm. "This - never happens - frak- "

With the stirring Jawas and the sneaking encroachment of the Sand Ape into the noose, well, it's only a matter of time. And that time coems as Uutkit roars that Jawa-esque 'Aieeee-Ahhhh!'. Kalys makes a soft utterance into the void and takes aim, pausing only to make sure the weapon is set to stun once more, thus making her a little slow to the shoot-fest as the Jawas unload their full arsenal upon the poor creature. That angry creature. That oh so ensnared and annoyed creature. A click. Kalys mutters as the old family weapon does nothing. Just click. Brzzzt. Valuable moments are spent ejecting the old cartridge and tossing it aside, to reload the new cartridge and re-aim once more. Pew pew! Okay, the shot goes wildly off target and smacks into a rock somewhere, sending up a little plume of rock dust and smoke. It's the sights. Yeah. That's the reason!

Luckily, there are enough Jawas blasting away that they help to counterattack the escort's lack of accuracy. The stun bolts splatter the ground around the Ape, but a few start to strike home, the Sand Ape staggers from those unseen shots, a confused howl as it spins around to face the direction each hit comes from. Uutkit frowns as both Iollan and Kalys miss, "Ummmm, HOW do you people survive out there?" he questions then, his little glowing eyes squinting as he regards them with a little less confidence than he was earlier! [Language: Jawa_Trade]

As blasterfire rings out around the rocky sanctuary, mingled with the howling monster and the yipping from all the excited Jawas, it's sort of a blessing that nobody can really heard Iollan steadily curing under his breath. It's something on this planet, he'd swear it. Too much sand. It just gets everywhere.

Another shot squeezes off, much more consider it this time, but it gets only close enough to swing fur as it blasts past the ape. "I'm bringing a canon next time," he announces loudly, to nobody in particular.

A few more seconds are spent adjusting and tapping the side of the quick blaster, she can normally hit the side of a barn! Sometimes! Or in the general vicinity of what needs scaring away. Kalys actually grins as Iollan extols the virtue of his next weapon of choice, and so Kalys narrows her gaze behind those goggles (likely distorting the distance of course, that's another excu... reason) and fires off another shot. "Seriously, at this point I'm starting to think I'm just here to carry water." A glance is given Uutkit, and a gentle shrug offered. "Sand." Is all she offers. Yeah, this old family heirloom really needs battering with a hammer. Uutkit is just staring at the two now, blinking owlishly. "I.. think we need to re-negotiate your contract." he says flatly, staring at Kalys especially, having seen her shots go WAAAAY wild. "At least next time help carry the equipment or.. something..." he rolls his eyes. He gives a similar chitter of no-confidence to Iollan, his attention returning to the Ape.

Several more stun shots hit the beast, taking it to its knees. A final volley lands across the Ape's chest, sending it plunging to the ground into a heap of unconcious Tatooine creature. It is still breathing, raggedly, it's heavy form slumped atop the sands as the Jawas give their little cries of victory. A few errant shots are sent into the air as the Jawas surge forward to secure the beast, heavy bindings being attached to its arms and legs as they truss up the unfortunate Sand Ape. Even as the creature is being secured, the Banthas are brought forward, as well as a convenient hover-skiff, useful for carrying heavy cargos like.. oh, a Sand Ape! [Language: Jawa_Trade] So, at the end of the day, they came all the way out here for moral support. That's really the long and the short of it. Luckily Iollan is wearing a helmet, so the sideways scowl at his own lack of marksmanship stays between him and his soon to be disassembled gun.

As the beast subsides and the Jawas get to work, he slowly pulls to standing. A few joints crack from all the waiting around he's been doing and for a long moment him simply looks at the ape. Life is sometimes endlessly disappointing. "Well," he offers blankly after a moment, turning back to the others. A sigh leaves him as the detective begins heading back down the rockface. "So... very glad we could help. So glad."

Oh yeah? Really? Oh well, yeah, that would be the truth! Kalys stands up and fires off a single shot to assist in that final volley! A final shot that wings its way... mostly in the vain hope of wondering what the heck happened to her aim and whether she fell off the bantha at some point, banged her head, and got reloaded by Jawa. That is one explanation. The other is the more likely. "I'll admit that sometimes I do suck more than a sarlacc stuffed with gammoreans." The shot hits! That one shot of three. And Kalys grins broadly with way more pride than she truly deserves to show. "Yeah. Happy to help." She nods, blowing on the barrel of her blaster and stowing it like some mighty sharp shooter.

Uutkit rises up, dusting off his robes with a few sweeps of his gloved hands. "Well, it is better than nothing. We'll get this brought back to Mos Espa for a little bit, and properly secured into a cage before bringing it to the Palace to deliver to Borgol, welcome to come if you like!" he jabbers, giving a little bow to both Iollan and Kalys, a glance over his shoulder as the little Jawas scamper about to roll the sleeping Ape up onto the repulsor-sled, tying it down with more cargo straps and nets before attaching the sled to a Bantha! Uutkit motions everyone to begin loading up, ready to return back to Mos Espa! [Language: Jawa_Trade]

He certainly couldn't shoot the damn thing, but he'll be damned if he can't help get it all packed up. Flattening out his scowl, Iollan reverts to his cowboy-lazy self with a few low exhales, making it back down to the bottom of the rocks with no ill fate. You win some, you lose some...

"Good work team." A hand come up, pressing the record button again as he makes a mental note to delete that file later. For now thought, Lan goes over to assist the Jawas in lifting and fastening the ape, lending his bigger frame as needed, happy to be directed around if they so cared to. That, surely, he could manage,

Kalys knows she'd be no use assisting in lugging a sand ape onto a repulsor, and so she moves to gather water and offer it amongst the busying Jawa, making sure they are suitably hydrated between their many and varied tasks. "Thank you Uutkit, truly. If nothing esle, that's an experience I have to tell strangers. Well, an experience for us all." A grin is offered Iollan, likewise a nod towards his canteen. "Drink up, long journey back." And before long, Kalys has shimmied on up atop the bantha she sat atop before, all nestled and secured in. "If I'm about, I'll be happy to come with. Though I assure you, any thanks is all yours for arranging this."

Uutkit nods to Kalys, wandering to the lead Bantha and climbing up. Once he is settled, he makes sure everyone is aboard their mounts before leading the group back out into the desert. The cave has been left nearly as they elft it, all the ropes and stakes having been cleaned up and brought with them. The only thing left is the bait, left for the Scavengers, almost as if the Jawas are giving thanks back to the Desert creatures, by leaving a gift for their fellow scavengers.

The Caravan winds it's way back, returning to Mos Espa early the next day, the Jawas taking the Sand Ape to be properly collared and installed in a proper cage for a return journey across the Dune Seas to Borgol's Palace!