Solo A try at hunting

[Merevaika]

Merevaika slowed Eryunt to a walking pace, guiding him carefully along the trail of worn out grass. She didn't want to risk Eryunt stepping on a snake in the long tall grass around them. The risk of becoming poisoned or lame was too high, especially for him. She wouldn't want to risk her strider.

The sound of the grass rustling around them, and the crunch of the dry leaves under her horse were too loud. Any animal would hear them coming.

Merevaika hopped off his back, pulling her bow down with her. "Stay here," she whispered to him, stroking the braids she had so messily tied in his mane that morning. He whinnied, very softly, in response, and lowered his head to graze. Merevaika slowly strided in the direction she had been heading, careful not to make too much noise. She spotted hoof prints, and the ocassional deer droppings, still fresh, but she needed more practise in following them. At the moment, she was just wandering randomly, hoping that the prints led her in the right direction.

Thankfully, they did. There were three deer: a mother, her child, and a father-like figure. Merevaika dropped to all fours, crawling along the floor. She took care to watch out for other animals in the long grass, but there were none. Once she had decided she was far enough not to be noticed, but close enough to be able to reach, she pulled her bow and an arrow forward, nocking the bow. She felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand - a rash. She cursed, and quickly found the guilty plant: a stinging nettle. There was a cure, wasn't there? Merevaika racked her brain, trying to remember. Dock leaves! That was it. Merevaika knew they grew near nettle plants, and they supposedly helped against the rash. Grabbing a handful of what she thought were dock leaves, she crushed them into a small ball, rubbing the spot where she had been stung. It helped a little.

Ignoring the rest of the pain, Merevaika carefully aimed at the nearest deer. It was doe, not too young, not too old. Pulling the arrow back, she let go, sending the arrow flying. In the last second, the doe jumped, and the arrow caught it in te hind leg. It gave out q noise of shock, and limped away, slower than a normal deer yet too fast to chase on foot.

"Eryunt!" Merevaika called, racing towards him. She pulled herself up, and pushed him to a gallop, heading towards the injured doe. Holding onot her horse tightly with her legs, she readied her bow. The shaking made it incredibly hard to aim, but somehow, she managed to hit its neck. Eryunt slowed when the deer fell, allowing Merevaika to jump of. Hitting the deer with another arrow to ensure it was dead, she came closer. It was a fine catch - good enough to last her a week or two. She gathered her arrows and lifted the deer, struggling a little under its weight. She slung it over Eryunt's back, and climbed on herself, before slowly leading him back towards Endrykas, and her tent.

[Khida]

Merevaika

Skill	Points
Herbalism	+1
Horsemanship	+1
Hunting	+1
Medicine	+1
Observation	+1
Riding	+1
Stealth	+1
Tracking	+1
Weapon: Bow	+1

• Herbalism: stinging nettles and dock leaves
• Horsemanship: the risks of damaging a horse's legs
• Tracking: deer sign
• Stealth: crawling to pass unseen

Notes

You really hit upon a lot of skills this thread. Kudos for that! I don't see this level of diversity accomplished very often. That said, bear in mind that this thread is really on the short side for grading. Generally speaking, a grader can only award 1 XP per skill per post, so single-post threads won't net you much XP. There is also a detail component to grading, which in my experience is less readily met with short threads.

Skill level also factors into your awards. For example, a PC with Competent-level Riding cannot progress in their skill if they only perform Novice-level actions. In the case of this thread, I only gave Riding XP because you did have Merevaika gallop at the end. Based on the skill progression table for Riding, galloping is a Competent level action. Conversely, walking a horse isn't, so if you hadn't had that gallop in there, I couldn't have awarded Riding XP at all. Something to consider for the future, if you're aiming to increase Riding or other Competent skills she acquires.

On the flip side, you also have a spot in this thread where you're playing above Merevaika's skill level with the shortbow. She only has 7 XP in her Bow skill, yet you have her shooting from horseback, at a gallop, and striking what amounts to a very small target (the doe's neck). Saying "the shaking made it difficult" vastly understates just how hard this is. One way to put it in perspective is to consider, could you fire an arrow accurately while running, if arm motion wasn't a factor? Then allow that there's a lot more up and down and greater speed for a horse's gallop than a human's run.

Remember that 0 XP is like having never handled a bow before, and 26 XP is the first point at which one can be considered 'competent' with it. 7 XP is like having had a handful of classes. Firing from a galloping horse and achieving a lethal shot is probably an Expert-level action, if not Master-level. I gave you Riding XP for the gallop and Bow XP for the earlier hind-leg shot, regardless, but please keep Merevaika's skill levels in mind with future threads. (Similarly, she has 0 points in Stealth, and so probably actually made a lot of noise when crawling through the grass. But I'll give the benefit of the doubt, this time!)

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade!