Stalking in the Grass (Solo)

[Nisana Curare]

Season of Spring, Day 3, 511 AV

Nisana had a wide smile on her lips as she left Riverfall and made her way onto the caravan road that led away from the city. It felt good to be going out and hunting once again, even if the land was not the familiar area around Kalinor. There were no trees or mountains, just grass rolling on and on. While that would certainly change the way that she hunted, she was confident that she was skilled enough that it should not stop her.

For almost two bells she traveled along the road away from Riverfall, dragging her body sled behind her. The more money she could earn from hunting the better, so she planned on bringing plenty of meat back with her. After all, how hard could it be to find good meat in such a large, open area as the Sea of Grass?

Turning from the road she made her way into the grass as she started to watch for signs of good prey. Of course she’d heard the stories about the Drykas viciously attacking anyone who dared set foot in the grass, but she doubted that they could simply appear from thin air to kill her. More likely they simply attacked whoever they found, and there was no way a group of men riding horses could sneak up on her in this area.

It was some time before Nisana found signs of likely prey. Grass bent by the passage of something that was not her. Crouching down she checked the soil for signs of tracks, hoping to learn what she was tracking. A few careful swipes of her hand revealed the impression of... something. Definitely an animal, but not one she recognized immediately. Judging by the depth of the print it was good sized, so it should provide plenty of meat.

Slowly she continued along the faint trail left by the creature. Each step was taken slowly and carefully, so as to hopefully not warn her prey that it was being stalked. Eventually she heard the sound of something else moving through the grass, and she paused to try and gauge its direction. As she turned her head back and forth she slid a hand down and opened the quiver on her right side. Quietly withdrawing an arrow she finally settled on the sound being ahead and to her left.

Each step was taken with more caution now that her prey was near, and Nisana kept carefully parting the grass ahead to try and see before she moved. The noises of her prey slowly grew louder, a series of snorts and other sounds, and she carefully placed the arrow into position on her bow. Breathing slowly in and out she parted the grass again, and was greeted by the sight of the prey she had been stalking.

It was a large and thick thing, and seemed to be similar to the boars she had hunted occasionally back around Kalinor. Living on the grasslands had changed this breed, but it should still be good for meat. Currently it was snuffling in the dirt, apparently trying to dig something up to eat.

Taking a slow, deep breath Nisana pulled back on her bowstring as she took aim at the creature. If they were anything like those around Kalinor then it would be best to try and take it down quickly. If she did not it would like grow angry, and there were no trees here for her to climb for safety.

Holding her breath she aimed at the heart of the pig, and then with her released breath she fired the arrow. Her amethyst eyes followed it through the air, and lit up as the arrow struck home. The beast let out a terrifying squeal, but instead of dropping down dead it turned and looked at Nisana with its beady little eyes.

“Zlynge,” Nisana swore in Symenos as she stood up, and the beast let out another squeal as it charged her.

With nowhere to run she had to think fast, and so she crouched and waited for the charging pig to get closer, her right hand out in front of her. As the boar closed the distance she jumped and curled her body, planting her right hand on top of the creature’s head to help guide her as she rolled over it. The roll was easy enough, but the landing didn’t quite work out. Nisana tumbled through the grass, almost losing her bow as she felt pain shoot up from her right wrist.

Rolling back up onto her feet Nisana heard the creature let out another squeal as it turned and started to charge her again. Quickly she pulled out another arrow and, grimacing against the pain in her wrist, let it fly towards the pig, aiming to hit it in the eye. The shot went wide however, and left her facing down the charging boar once again.

Unwilling to try another tumble over the pig’s back Nisana decided to jump over it this time, planting a sandled foot on the beast’s face to use it as a springboard. Twisting through the air after her jump she slipped out a new arrow from her quiver, and as she landed facing the large pig she notched the arrow and pulled back on her bow string once more.

She wanted to scream at the pain burning in her wrist, but she needed to finish the hunt first. Again the boar turned around and started to charge, but this time Nisana was already waiting. Releasing the arrow with a yell of pain she watched as the arrow struck cleanly through the creature’s eye, and it dropped to the ground at her feet.

Breathing heavily from the excitement of the hunt and the pain in her wrist Nisana carefully checked to make sure the pig was dead before fully relaxing. She would have smiled at the success of her hunt, but the pain in her wrist left her with a grimace instead. She couldn't dwell on it for long though, there was still work to be done.

Taking a moment to regain her bearings she trotted back towards the road where she had left her body sled, clenching her jaw against the pain in her wrist the whole time. Reaching the road she took hold of the sled and made her way back towards the dead boar as quickly as possible. For a moment it felt like she might have lost the corpse, with how the grass hid low details, but her direction proved true and she came back to the site of her kill. With some grunts and yells of pain she managed to get the boar up on the sled, and placing her pack and bow on the sled as well she turned back to face the road. It was going to be a long and painful walk back to Riverfall, but she had at least proven that she could hunt in the Grasslands.

[Baku]

Thou has written, and thou has completed, so I award thee the following.... Nisana: +1 Observation, +1 Tracking, +1 Stealth, +1 Acrobatics, +2 Shortbow, +1 Hunting Lore: Excitement for the Hunt, Opportunities Abound, Misconceptions of the Drykas, Stalking the Prey, Patience, Breathing During a Bow Shot, Discovering that Some Prey Does Not Fall With One Shot, The Risks of Tumbling Over a Pig Rather than Out of the Way, Bringing Back the Spoils Additional Awards: 1 Wild Hog: After it has been cleaned/butchered, it will net you 10 lbs of Ham, 7 lbs of Bacon, 20 lbs of Sausage, and 13 lbs of Salted Pork. Such can be sold for 137 gold mizas at a butcher shop in Riverfall. Injuries: Sprained Wrist: The pain and swelling will last for 10 days if not healed or attended to by someone with healing or medicine. If someone with Medicine works on it, healing time can be shortened to 5 days. If someone with a healing Gnosis lvl 1 works on it, 3 days. Level 2 healing gnosis and above can heal it right away. Sprained Ankle: The sprained ankle will be worse. If left untreated, it will take the full season to heal and will still be slightly tender at least a third into the next season. If treated by Medicine, healing time will be taken down to 2/3 of spring with it being right as rain by the end of Spring. If one with Healing Gnosis lvl 1 heals, 1/3 of Spring being tip top by mid spring. Gnosis Healer lvl 2 and above can heal it right away. Additional Notes: A nice and detailed post. The tumbling was a slight more than your current skill level, if not for the injury you gave yourself. I’ll be nice in saying Nisana only sprained her wrist rather than broke it, considering the force that the speed and weight a wild pig can put into their charge can generate. She will also, however, have a sprained ankle from the “springboard” move she performed on the pig. Speaking in terms of level, Nisana would have had the timing wrong, and took a face plant along the ground and likely would have had a broken leg trying to use a charging animal to spring off of in a display of acrobatics. You were particularly detailed with your bow skills, which I liked. Though even with acrobatics, drawing an arrow while in mid jump is a bit of a stretch, especially in intense situations like charging wild animals. At expert level, maybe competent, she would be able to accomplish such. The detail is good, but for practicality and probability of level, she would have likely been better off doing a barrel roll off to the side or over the pig, rolled to her feet, and then drew an arrow while standing and turning. Such would have gotten you the XP and saved you the injury.