Solo Foraging

[Merevaika]

Merevaika 73rd of Fall She wasn't going to last much longer without food. Her last few hunts had brought back nothing more than a few hares, and it wasn't going to be long until it would be Winter, when it would be even harder to get food. Her bare feet crunched along the dry grass, a little cold in the Fall breeze. She didn't know why she had chosen to leave her boots behind. It was just a natural instinct, something she didn't think about. She placed her hands on the ground, kicking her legs up over her head. She immediately collapsed, arms crumpling under her weight. Still, her happiness didn't fade. Despite her hunger, she felt a burning happiness within her. She was alone, not too far from Endrykas. It felt so strange, without Eryunt, without Denviel. But she needed to learn to find food without them, in case they were every separated. It might have been stupid, but she didn't even take her bow. If she ran into trouble, she would be helpless, but she couldn't have the temptation to hunt; she needed to forage more. She sprang into another handstand, this one a little more sucessful. She didn't understand how the children in Endrykas found it so easy, but it didn't put her down. She tried again, wobbling slightly. She felt her hands struggling to balance. Merevaika toppled over, slamming against her back. She slowly stood up, groaning. She tried to ignore the pain, remembering what she came for. Foragaing. Of course.

[Merevaika]

There were mushrooms. Plenty of mushrooms. As far as she could tell, there were mushrooms everywhere, but trying to distinguish poisonous to edible ones... It was a pointless task. She could vaguely remember someone saying that the parasol ones were safe - or was that not safe? And which one were the parasol ones? The risk was too large. Distracted by her thoughts, she almost trodded on the one mushroom she did recognise: a puffball. The large white round fungi was fresh on the ground, and she spotted another one just a little further. She plucked it off the ground, breaking it in two. The inside was a solid white, so she packed it away, before trying the next one. Most of puffballs she stumbled across were like that, but she had to discard a good quarter of them, not wanting to eat something possibly unedible. She gathered many, before moving on to another type of food. Not too far from the last puffball, Merevaika spotted a small, shrub, covered in berries. Small and purple, they certainly looked like elderberries, but she checked just in case. There was evidence that some creature had been eating them, and there were no thorns of any skrt. The sap looked normal, not milky coloured, and they didn't smell of almomds, nor soap. Every sign lead to them being safe, so she picked a few, rubbing them onto the inside of her lip. Merevaika then picked as many as she could. If nothing happened after a day, she would assume it was safe to eat them. Merevaika turned back to Endrykas. She couldn't carry anymkre food, and doubted that she would even find it. She would never stop thinking about the dangers, which might be a good thing, but made her reluctant to take something that she was certain of. That was what it was like living alone. No one to help you. Merevaika sighed, before slowly trudging ho.e

[Khida]

Merevaika

Skill	Points
Acrobatics	+1
Foraging	+2
Observation	+1

• Attempting a handstand
• Foraging: checking for discoloration and strange smells
• Foraging: white puffballs and purple elderberries

Notes

I really liked your description of the process Merevaika went through to check if the mushrooms and berries might be edible. Unfortunately, I also have to note that she has no skill points and no lores for Foraging, so how does she know all of the these "signs" that foraged goods are "safe"? To check for the smells of almonds and soap specifically? That sort of quick, automatic reference to a detailed checklist, and knowing to test small amounts first, is something I'd expect from someone Competent in Foraging, not a low Novice.

What you can do in this kind of situation is have Merevaika remembering things she's heard or seen, and make her best attempt with some difficulty. The paragraph about the mushrooms was much more like I'd expect from someone with no Foraging and minimal Botany/Herbalism: the question of 'what is a parasol, anyway' and the recognition that 'good puffballs are white, so I'll only take white ones'.

There wasn't a lot else I could award for this thread. I gave a point in Acrobatics for the handstands, and a point in Observation for her examinations of the mushrooms and berries. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this grade.