Gameplay - The Dragon Who Took Too Little

Ruby squeezes her way to the front of the pack before her companions get them in trouble. "We accept your challenge! It wouldn't happen to be a cooking contest...would it?" She asks with a tinge of excitement, hoping the answer is yes.

The child turns to face Ruby. "Very well. Refresh yourselves from our pool, then return to the surface. Rebuild the cairn. When you are done, the test will begin."

The child fades from view and where he was standing, a small pool can be seen, maybe a foot across. A bone ladle sits on the edge. The water is cool and smells fresh.

Hehsh's face in passive, but he moves very quickly to take a quick drink before going to the surface. He will begin rebuilding the cairn as soon as everyone is up.

"What sort of test, I wonder?"

"I certainly hope it doesn't involve more hiking." Ruby holds up the ladle, hoping the bones aren't anything related to halflings. Placing it back down she fills up her waterskin, which was in critical condition. "But who knows? I've never been given a task by child-spirit...being before."

Hasan does similar, filling his waterskin

After refreshing yourselves and replenishing your skins, you return to the surface and rebuild the cairn. The desert heat hammers you again, but the cairn is simple of clever. The stores are arranged, tied to strings. The larger base stones on shorter strings, and with two or more purple it is way to see how they pile. You build it up row by row, and finally place the red stone on top. By its precarious pacing, you know that the red stone banged onto the top row would topple the while structure.

Dust swirls around you, a sudden cyclone that blocks the surrounding desert but leaves a thirty foot circle around the cairn calm. Your attention is drawn to a monstrous scorpion, as large as a bear, as it menaces its way from the sand cloud, and prepares to attack.

"Why?!" Ruby is beginning to see some downsides of being a diplomat.

"You know I wasn't going to question it, but now that you have, it's all I can think about."

"Are we sure we're supposed to fight it? What if it's a written exam, and that's the school headmaster or something?"

"Excuse me." Hehsh calls out. "Is this a written or oral exam?"

"I think that this is only the school of hard foughts..."

The giant scorpion launches itself at you. From its insectoid mouth, you here the child's voice. "If you are worthy, if you can hold your own, we will add our strength to yours."

The creator scale its fearsome claws at Ruby and Hasan, a sting flashing out at Valinar.

Hasan is struck for 10 damage and is grappled (can't move away).

Valinar is stung, poison coursing into him. DC 12 Con save, please.

You can all act now.

"AHH Its got me."
i'll say because i don't have my xbow in hand i'll try to get out then.
"I don't think I'll be getting out soon.

"Fine, if that's what you want!" Ruby kicks away the claws, twirling her staff rapidly in the air before slamming it onto the scorpion with all her might.

Hasan fails to break free of the claw grasp.

Ruby lands two attacks, doing 15 damage.