Ask A Good Deed

[Thel Xeros]

Keitum

Thel walked through the village, occasionally stopping at market stalls to look at what was on offer. His travels had brought him to Keitum. He liked to keep moving from planet to planet, since his disappearance from the Sith Order. The Sith master had recently encountered his old apprentice, Param Vour, but he was unsure of his next course of action.

Stopping at a market stall, he looked over the artwork that the stall holder was offering. Not really to my taste. Thel was dressed in his robes, as he usually was.

“Leave me alone,” a voice cried out. Quickly turning around, he spotted a stall holder being roughhoused by three Weequays. The largest Weequay had hold of the stall holder’s arm, and she continued to call out for help as the other two Weequays rummaged through the items she was selling. Strangely, no one helped. The other stall holders looked away and passers-by quickly moved on. In the past, when he was a prominent Sith, Thel wouldn’t have cared. Now, something inside him compelled him to intervene.

He cautiously approached the three Weequays. His lightsaber was clipped to the back of his belt, meaning it was concealed by his cloak. “I think that’s enough. Why don’t you just leave her alone.” The largest Weequay threw the woman to the floor and the two other Weequays sprung up to confront Thel. “What’s it to you,” the largest Weequay growled. “She owes us.” Thel stepped back slightly. He could deal with the three of them easily, if he chose to. However, he didn’t want to display his powers in front of so many witnesses. All it would take is for word to filter back to the wrong person and he could find himself being tracked down.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

There was an extra pep in the steps of Shaw Amaris as he roamed the village streets, a burrito in one hand and some kind of bubbly tea in the other that he slurped through a straw. Not a cloud in the sky. Nowhere he had to be. No one he had to answer to. Just several hours all to himself, to go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted. Well as far as 12 credit's worth could take him. So far it had only taken him to the nearest food cart, but that was fine by Shaw.

The Jedi Knight he was traveling with was pretty chill. He'd shoved a few credits Shaw's way and told him to go get a bite to eat or something. See the sights while they were stuck here on Keitum. That was kinda a long story. They were on their way to the nearby planet Aniston. Aniston? Nah that didn't sound right. That was the name of a holodrama actress. wasn't it? Anyway, it was something like that. Their shuttle had broken down, and the local mechanic at the space port said it'd be a couple days at least until the ship was up and running again. Not such a long story after all but not one Shaw really dwelled on.

He was here, and he had some free time on his hands. So long as he "stayed out of trouble" the Jedi Knight had said. Pfffttt. No problem! How much trouble could he get into in a place like this? It wasn't exactly the lower levels or the red light district. Shaw came to a stop outside of a stall where a small group of people had gathered.

The one that stood out the most was a tall slender man in dark robes rocking some sweet televangelist hair. Maybe rocking wasn't the right word. Not really Shaw's style but props to the guy for giving it his all. Those robes were wicked though! Definitely the kind that would sweep out and billow when he stormed down long corridors.

Across from him were three Weequays and a woman lying at their feet. She looked pretty scared. Maybe Shaw was going to get into some trouble after all. But surely the kind of trouble any Jedi would approve of! The teenager finished off his tea with a large sluurrrp that interrupted their conversation.

"What's going on?" he asked. Probably some kind of protection racket. He'd seen it dozens of times on Coruscant. Tried to intervene a time or two when it was friends of his. Maybe this time he wouldn't end up with a black eye. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

A voice drew the attention of the three Weequays. Thel glanced over at the one who had asked the question. They were young, slim and dark haired (@Shaw Amaris ). “Another one sticking their nose in. I thought the people around here knew their place. Show him what we do when someone gets involved in our business,” the large Weequay snarled. One of the other Weequays pulled a large knife from their belt and advanced on Shaw, a sinister smile on their face. Taking advantage of the distraction, Thel grabbed the large Weequay’s shoulder and spun him around, before delivering a swift left hook to the stomach. It was followed by another hook to the stomach which dropped the large Weequay.

The third Weequay turned to Thel and reached for their blaster. Advancing on them before they could draw their blaster, Thel grabbed their wrist, stretched a leg across their legs and then threw them to the ground. Not stopping, he reached for their wrist again and, with one violent action, broke it. They let out a pained cry while he took their blaster from them.

Turning around, he looked to see what had happened with the knife wielding Weequay. He was prepared to intervene if they had not been subdued.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Things escalated quickly. Adrenaline started pumping. Shaw could hear his heart beating in his ears. He got tunnel vision, the knife wielding Weequay advancing on him his primary focus. Everything else—the few onlookers, the stalls, the other Weequay—it all became blurry. Background noise. The only thing he picked up on was the occasional blur of black robes and punches thrown. Looked like the guy with the televangelist sweep could hold his own. Shaw just needed to worry about himself.

He looked from the Weeqauy's hands to his own and then back again. Knife. Empty tea. Knife. Burrito. A half eaten burrito at that. The first lesson Shaw would learn today? Never bring a burrito to a knife fight. A forbidding smile spread across his attacker's lips, and the teenager raised both hands in front of him, letting his food fall to the ground. "Whoa whoa whoa," he said, buying himself time more than anything. "Let's just chill out." The odds of the Weequay actually listening to him? Shaw wasn't good at math, but he had to guess the odds weren't good. Usually by the time a guy pulled a knife out his mind was pretty much made up.

Shaw looked around. They were surrounded by intricate handwoven rugs rolled up and stacked. What the lady on the ground sold apparently. Why couldn't she sell swords or walking sticks or something like that? Why did it have to be rugs? Well, beggars can't be choosers. He picked up the closet rug he could find and swung it at the Weeqauy's head like a baseball bat. A soft, threaded baseball bat.

The other man just stood there, blinking. A dumb look on his face. "Did you really just hit me with a rug?" the Weequay asked. Shaw would've liked to think that he was impressed with his ingenuity, but the look on his face said that he simply couldn't believe Shaw was that dumb. Well he was. Brawn to brains and all that in this case. Shaw reached for the largest rug he could find and as soon as the Weequay lunged at him used it as leverage to tackle him to the ground. Then he just started hitting the guy over the head with the end of it.

Every time the Weequay started to get up? Whack. Every time he reached to pick up the knife he'd dropped? Whack. Every time he tried to shove Shaw off him? Whack. It was like a game of whackamole, just one blow after another until the Weequay finally stopped moving, either unconscious or too tired to get up. It was probably the most uncoordinated, slipshod fight you'd ever witness but Shaw climbed off the Weequay with a big proud grin on his face.

The man in the black robes could more than hold his own. The other two Weequay were already on the ground, all in the time it took Shaw to get one down. "Way to go man!" he said to the older man, holding out a hand for a high five. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel watched as the young man fought the attacker off with, of all things, a rug. It wasn’t every day he would see someone use a fabric floor covering as a weapon. Quite astonishingly, in the battle of rug against knife, the rug won out. The young man pummelled the Weequay until they could offer no further resistance.

He looked at their hand, when the high five was offered, but he didn’t take up the offer. “Well done,” he stated flatly, an impassive expression on his face. Turning back around to the two Weequays he had fought, they had struggled back to their feet. “We’ll be back,” the larger one shouted, the pain evident in their voice. As they both began to flee towards a nearby speeder, he took aim with the blaster he had taken from one of them. “Wait,” a voice called out. Turning to where the sound came from, an older man slowly hobbled towards him. “If you shoot them, you will only make things worse.” Thel looked on as the Weequays jumped on their speeder and escaped. “Who are you,” he asked, looking down at the diminutive elder. “I am the mayor of this village, and, because of your actions, those thugs will be back with a vengeance.”

He raised an eyebrow at the old man’s assertion. “Who are they?” The mayor took a second to catch his breath, before answering. “Bandits, they’ve got a camp somewhere in the hills. Every village around here has fallen victim to them,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh afterwards. “Can’t someone help you?” A couple of the mayor’s guards had pulled the remaining Weequay to their feet and dragged them off to a nearby building. “We usually deal with our own problems. We did try using a bounty hunter, but they never returned.”

Perhaps this was a chance to try and do something small, that could make a positive difference.

“Maybe I can help you. I’m a bounty hunter, and I’m sure that I’m far more skilled than the one you employed before.” It was a half-truth. Even if he wasn’t a bounty hunter, his Sith training meant he was almost definitely more capable than whoever they had hired before.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

The man in the black robes didn't return the high five, leaving Shaw hanging. "Okaaay." Shaw shook it off, slowly swinging his hand back down to his side. That wasn't awkward at all! The grumpy "well done" the man offered made him feel a little better, and he perked up. "Not so bad yourself!" Not so bad was kinda an understatement. He'd taken out two other dudes in a matter of seconds and hadn't even broken a sweat in all those layers of black!

Then he remembered the woman they had stepped in to help in the first place. "Oh! Here! Lemme help you up." He leant over and offered the woman a hand, helping her to her feet. Not a very heroic moment for Shaw but better late than never he supposed! She seemed appreciative but a little shaken, nodding her gratitude to the man in the black robes that had first come to her rescue.

It dawned on Shaw that it was kinda strange the way the village acted. No one else had stepped in. No one even seemed to notice except for a few people, and if they did they obviously didn't care. Everyone was just sort of going about their business like a woman hadn't just been attacked in broad daylight. Was this just like a normal, every day experience on Keitum?

As for the mayor, he reminded Shaw of a video game character. The mysterious old man that gives you a side quest that no mortal before you has ever accomplished, that promises you a great reward if you can see it through, defying all odds.

"Another bounty hunter?" the mayor asked, raising an eyebrow and tugging at the long white beard that hung from his chin. He considered the offer of help, dark eyes studying the man in black robes. "Perhaps it was fate that brought you here, bounty hunter. The long life I have lived has taught me to never question fate."

"I can help too!" Shaw piped up, raising his hand.

"SHHHH!" the old mayor reprimanded, looking around to make sure no one other than his guards was listening in. "This must be kept quiet. If they discover we hired another bounty hunter..." He shuddered a little beneath his robes at the thought before his gaze returned to the man in black. "After the last bounty hunter, I fear we cannot afford to give you much in the way of financial compensation." Scratch the great reward part of the quest. The mayor waited to see if that changed the mind of the bounty hunter. Bounty hunters had a certain reputation after all. If it did not, then he would continue. "But what he have is yours if you are able to dispatch with the bandits..." He stepped aside and started to hobble off. "Please. Follow me. I have a map of the hills that should make your search easier."

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel watched as the mayor considered his offer. He didn’t believe that it would be too difficult to deal with the bandits terrorising the village. A good deed before he moved on. After some deliberation, the elderly man accepted his offer. To his surprise, the younger man alongside him volunteered to come along. As quickly as they chimed in, they were shushed by the mayor. He didn’t want the younger man coming with him, though he didn’t say anything. It would only complicate things having another person to think about.

He wasn’t interested in receiving any financial reward. Of course, he would say he wanted one; he wouldn’t be much of a ‘bounty hunter’ if he didn’t ask for payment. In reality, he could probably do with some credits. He had been wealthy in the past, but it seemed a long time ago now. “That sounds agreeable.”

He followed the mayor to a small building nearby and was led into a room furnished with old wooden furniture. “I apologise for the mess I leave my office in.” Groaning as he leaned down to rummage through a box, the mayor eventually pulled out a crumpled map and rolled it out on his desk. “Here we are.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Mess was right. There were papers and knick knacks everywhere, the only clean surface in the entire cramped space the mayor's small chair. Shaw ran a finger along an old filing case and pulled it back, index covered in dust and grime. Not that he was one to judge. His room had often looked pretty much the same back on Coruscant. He wiped the dust off on his pants and wandered over to the desk to join the others.

"This is a map of the hills north of our village," the mayor was explaining even though it was pretty self explanatory. "We have not been able to locate the bandit's camp, but we often see smoke rising just pass Bothote Falls." His bony finger sketched a path to the eastern part of the hills. "But many a traveler has been ambushed by the bandits crossing the stone bridge." His finger fell on a creek to the western part.

So in other words... the bandits could be anywhere. Shaw picked up a little statue of a bantha carved from wood and examined it. Out of nowhere the mayor whipped out a walking cane and struck the teenager across the wrist. "Ouch!" Shaw yelped, quickly returning the statue to its place. His other hand shot to his wrist and began rubbing to try and relieve the stinging.

The mayor went on like nothing had happened, rolling up the map and handing it to the bounty hunter. "If you are able to deal with the bandits, what we have is yours." His eyes lacked confidence, and he stared at the bounty hunter and the teenager like a man fully prepared to send them to their deaths. "No matter what happens you must not tell the bandits who sent you." Yep. He totally expected them to die. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel looked at the map as the mayor described where he thought the bandits camp might be. The mention of a stone bridge where people were often ambushed, was interesting.

“Perhaps I could let myself be ambushed by them,” Thel mused.

Without warning the elderly man, with unexpected speed, grabbed a cane and smacked the younger man on the wrist. “Perhaps it’s better not to touch his things,” Thel told the younger man, who was clearly in some discomfort from the blow.

Thel took the map when it was handed to him. He could see that the mayor wasn’t completely confident that he would be successful. “I won’t tell them. Don’t worry.”

Turning around, he looked down at the younger man. “I don’t think you should come with me. This will be dangerous and I don’t want to be held back. Do you have any sort of combat experience?”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Yeah, don't worry," Shaw replied in a small voice, shooting the elderly mayor an ugly look. Those robes and that small frame were misleading. For on old dude with a hobble he possessed a surprising amount of strength. "I won't." He had no intention of touching anything else in this office ever again. Hands to himself. Lesson learned.

So it was settled. The bounty hunter took the map, and that was that. Now they just had to locate the bandits, sneak up on them, and deal with them once and for all. "Thank you, bounty hunter," the mayor nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "May the gods guide you both." His part was done. Now it was up to them.

Held back? Shaw might have been offended had it not been for his less than gusto display back at the rug vendor's stall. Beating a man over the head with a large rug until he was too weak to get up and defend himself wasn't exactly his idea of bravado. It wasn't anyone's idea of bravado. "I've been in my fair share of scraps," Shaw said with plenty of confidence. Sixteen year olds often have lots of confidence and rarely the experience to back it up. He had been in a few fights before, back on Corusant and even a few since he'd been sent to the order but nothing like the bounty hunter must have had in mind when he said experience. He scratched the back of his head. "But uhhh I see what you mean." Odds were he would hold an experienced bounty hunter back. It wasn't a habit of his to insert himself where he wasn't wanted. Plus this would probably fall under the header of "getting into trouble," which the Jedi Knight he was traveling with had warned him against.

Seeing that the youngster was on the fence about it, the old mayor spoke up. "No! I mean—you must go! The village needs you both! Here. I have just the thing..." He ducked behind his desk and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out a taser baton.

"Hey, I recognize that!" Shaw perked up. It was a staple on the belt of Coruscanti security forces. He'd seen it used plenty of times--to break up fights, control riots, etc. Never used one himself though. This one was smaller than the ones he'd seen, but it looked like it would work about the same. He reached out to take it and then remembered the blunt end of the mayor's walking cane and pulled his hand back, looking at the mayor with suspicion.

"Take it! Take it!" the mayor was insistent. "It's set to stun."

Shaw took his chances and grabbed ahold of the baton. This time the walking cane remained at the mayor's side. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel watched as the younger man talked himself up, before, in the course of a few seconds, changing his stance and saying he understood Thel’s position. He has seen sense.

Just as Thel was about to turn and leave the mayor interjected and insisted that the younger man go with him. Searching through a draw in his desk, the elderly man pulled out a stun baton. He quickly handed it over to the younger man. It seemed he didn’t have any choice but to let them go with him. “Come on then.”

Stepping outside the building, he stopped and turned to Shaw. “Whilst I have accepted you coming with me, I feel it necessary to warn you. This will not just be a mere scrap. These bandits will more than likely try to kill us. So, be careful and don’t do anything foolish.” His tone was harsh.

“Would you be ok taking the map,” he asked, offering it to the younger man. He would prefer to focus on being ready to defend them, if attacked, rather than map reading. “You can lead us to that stone bridge.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

After that the mayor shooed them out of his office. He seemed eager to be rid of them. As quickly as he'd ushered them in he had ushered them right back out, slamming the door shut behind them. Shaw didn't mind at all. He was too busy waving around his new toy. His new weapon. He envisioned himself doing epic backflips and instilling terror in the hearts of the enemy with some elaborate, cool baton moves.

The bounty hunter's words interrupted his daring daydreams. "Fo sho," Shaw replied, not intentionally trying to be disrespectful. And still a little surprised that the hardened bounty hunter had agreed to let him tag along as backup. It was probably just because the mayor had insisted on it. If he wanted to get paid, he'd need to do what the mayor wanted. From what Shaw had heard bounty hunters would do anything for a credit.

Shaw took the map and looked it over, wondering what had made the bounty hunter choose to follow up the lead of the stone bridge rather than the rising smoke. He didn't question the decision though. The bounty hunter was the expert after all! "So! We getting some rides or hoofing it?" the teenager asked, looking up at the older man. He supposed rides would get there faster but might give them away. Walking would take longer but might give them the element of surprise. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel briefly considered Shaw’s question. “We will walk,” he replied. He didn’t like using animal transportation and he doubted they would be able to obtain a good quality speeder. “The journey should focus our minds.”

Working with someone again brought to mind his early days with his old apprentice Param. He doubted he would ever train someone again.

“Lead the way then. There is a main trail we can follow, that will take us into the hills. Then we'll be reliant on your map reading skills.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

The journey will focus our minds? That sounded like something a Jedi Knight would have said. Heyyyy... what were the odds that he would run into another Jedi all the way out here on Keitum? Probably not that hight. Shaw eyed the bounty hunter out of the corner of his eye, seeing if he gave off that Jedi kinda vibe. He didn't. The televangelist sweep? Maybe. The dark clothes? Nah. A dead give away. He wasn't a Jedi.

Shaw shoved the stun baton into his clothing and unfurled the map he'd been handed to look it over. He made a few hmmms and ahhhs as he nodded his head and squinted one eye and then the other. "We need to continue on this main road north until we reach a fork in the road. Then we'll take the western trail and begin to wind our way through the forest." Wind our way? Kritt he sounded smart! If the bounty hunter was surprised by his map reading skills he wasn't the only one. It helped that the mayor had drawn a path to the stone bridge with a bright red marker. @DMCK

map reading 20/20

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel listened as Shaw outlined how to reach the bridge. “Right, let’s go.” He set a brisk pace as he marched along the road, taking the western trail into the forest.

He was focused on the task at hand and remained quiet. He had never been a talkative person anyway.

“What’s your name,” he asked, after a period of silence. It would be useful to at least know what to call them. At this point, they had travelled some distance into the forest.

He felt they were getting closer to the location of the bridge. His eyes scanned around the trees, in case there were any bandits around.

“Check the map again, please. I just want to be sure of how close we are.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

The mayor really must not have wanted them getting lost. Made sense to Shaw. He was probably pretty eager to have the bandits dealt with so peace and prosperity and all that jazz could return to the village. Even if he did act like there was zero chance of the bounty hunter and Shaw successfully completing this task.

No conversation passed between the unlikely pair as they wound their way through the forest at the bottom of the hills. Not for lack of trying on Shaw's part mind you. He attempted to strike up several conversations. About the excitement that must be the life of a bounty hunter, about his awesome new weapon that the mayor had just given to him, about his hand—still sore from the mayor's walking cane. He even, horror of horrors, mentioned the lovely weather and how there wasn't a cloud in the sky!

Nothing. The bounty hunter was like a walking zombie. Shaw had eventually given up and munched on a half eaten bag of pretzels he had stowed away in his pocket instead. Silence followed. Birds chirping. The whoosh of a gentle afternoon breeze tugging on their clothing. The occasional munching of pretzels. Until the bounty hunter asked Shaw his name.

"I'm Shaw!" the teenager grinned, tossing the last pretzel into his mouth and brushing his hands off on his pants. "What about you?" Being a bounty hunter, he probably had a really cool name like Harbinger or Viper or Scorch or something like that. "We should be getting close." Shaw rechecked the map, eyes following the red marker. The sound of rushing water confirmed that they were in fact getting close to the stone bridge. @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

“My name is Krel,” he replied to Shaw. No need to share his actual name.

“Good. If what the mayor said was correct, we should hopefully be ambushed when we’re near the bridge.” Once he had checked the map again, he picked up the pace. “Be ready,” he called back Shaw.

Breaking through the treeline, he immediately spotted the stone bridge and the creek. Stopping for a second, he held his hand out in front of Shaw. His senses were alerted. They were not alone. “I have a feeling we are being watched. Call it a sixth sense,” he told Shaw, keeping his voice low.

Slowly, he began to walk towards the bridge. He was ready for an ambush. Just as he reached the bridge, he heard a noise from the trees behind him. Quickly spinning around, he saw two Weequays armed with blaster rifles. “Don’t move,” one of them called out. He still had the blaster pistol, that he had taken from the bandit in the market, clipped to his belt.

Tapping Shaw on the arm, he gestured towards the other side of the bridge. “After you,” he whispered. He wanted to be certain of how many there were, before starting a fight.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Hopefully be ambushed? What a bizarre set of circumstances they found themselves in! Shaw could only hope that the Jedi Knight he was assigned to wouldn't be too mad at him when he returned. Whenever that would be. Maybe if they were able to pull this off and save the day and all that the Knight wouldn't be as mad. This was the kinda stuff the Jedi were supposed to be doing, right? That was certainly the image they always gave in their propaganda and posters and stuff.

"Don't worry," Shaw replied, ducking under a tree branch and stuffing the map away in his clothing. They wouldn't really need it now. Not when they could hear the sound of rushing water and see the stone bridge in the distance. "I'm ready, Krel." Krel. It was no Harbinger or Viper, but it wasn't the worst name for a bounty hunter. It could be a lot worse.

The ominous tone Krel took when he said he had a feeling they were being watched made the little hairs on the back of Shaw's neck stand up. His hand moved slowly for the baton he'd hidden away, but a voice called out to them before he could pull the weapon out.

Three more bandits appeared at the other end of the bridge, wicked grins spread across their twisted features and blasters slung over their shoulders with confidence. Two humans and a Rodian. They were relaxed, not even bothering to aim their blasters at the bounty hunter and teenager. They assumed this would be easy pickings.

The last visible bandit stepped out from behind a tree, five to ten feet away from the pair of Weewuay that had told them not to move. It was the large Weequay that Krel had scared off earlier that day in the market. He was still nursing a sore stomach, one hand resting against it while the other held a vibroblade."Boss said you might be joining us," he snarled, taking a step closer.

So much for the element of surprise! Looked like Krel had been right. It was an ambush, and they were surrounded. @DMCK

rolled for 6 bandits/10

 

[Thel Xeros]

Spinning around, Thel saw the three bandits blocking the other end of the bridge. He wanted an ambush and now he had one. Hearing a familiar voice, he turned towards it. He was greeted by the sight of the large Weequay he had given a beating in the market earlier.

“Hello again,” he stated, calmly. He remained stony faced. “I’m going to enjoy this,” the Weequay sneered. “Wouldn’t you rather take us back to your camp and prolong our suffering. Maybe your boss would like to meet us.” The Weequay paused for a second, thinking things over. Letting the bandits take them back to their camp, would save the trouble of having to interrogate one.

“Forget it. I’m going to enjoy this,” he growled, pointing his vibrosword at Thel. “Don’t worry,” Thel whispered to Shaw. “You want to take us back to your camp,” Thel stated calmly, slightly waving his hand in the direction of the Weequay. There was a pause as the Weequay held his forehead. “I want to take you back to our camp.” The large Weequay shook his head before continuing. “Right, we’re going to take these two back to camp,” he shouted to the other bandits, who then approached Thel and Shaw. “See, everything is in hand,” Thel said to Shaw, his voice quiet.

(OOC: 18/20 dice roll for mind trick on Weequay.)

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"BRRRROOOO," Shaw whispered excitedly to Krel, tugging on the bounty hunter's dark sleeve, "What did you do roll a nat20 for charisma??" If any of the bandits noticed they didn't seem to care. Why would they? There were six of them and more back at camp besides them. Shaw and Krel were only two, and one of them was a teenager. A little pipsqueak as one of the bandits mumbled under his breath.

The large Weequay took the lead, striding across the stone bridge and down a side trail that cut through the trees. The other two Weequay followed while the humans and Rodian brought up the rear. Krel and Shaw sandwiched in the middle. "Shouldn't we blindfold 'em?" the Rodian growled, but the large Weequay still under the influence of Krel waved a dismissive hand.

"Don't be daft!" he called back, and the group trudged up the unmarked path, climbing their way higher into the northern hills. "We're gonna kill 'em anyway, ain't we?" That answer seemed to satisfy the Rodian, and the bandits all shared in an unsettling laugh at their captive's expense and fell silent.

"But uhhh don't we want to avoid the prolonged suffering bit?" Shaw whispered to Krel once the laughter had died down and the three bandits behind them had fallen a few steps behind. He was a little confused by the bounty hunter's plan or apparent lack of but would go along with it. He looked back at the bandits. Not like he really had a choice anyway!

It was twilight when the group reached the bandit camp. As far as camps went Shaw thought it was pretty standard. Nothing too special. The first camp he'd ever seen in person actually but nothing he hadn't seen plenty of times in Skybrim and other video games. Old and tattered tents pitched in a halfhearted circle formation. A couple fires burning and some kind of meat slow roasting over them. The smell alone made the teenager's stomach growl with hunger. Pretzels just didn't hit the same as meat!

There was laundry hung out to dry on some rope strung between a couple large trees. Trunks and trunks overflowing with knick knacks and junk, probably stuff they'd stolen and hadn't offloaded yet. A few vibro swords propped up against tents and bedrolls lying around on the dirt. A hole in the ground with a stick sticking out of the dirt beside it and a roll of toilet paper hanging from it, swaying in the wind.

Shaw gagged. "BRUH DON'T TELL ME YOU FEED THE SARLACC IN THAT THING." @DMCK