The Sun Goes Down With a Ruby Smile

7/24/2019 The Sun Goes Down With a Ruby Smile

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THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

1

THE SUN GOES DOWN

WITH A RUBY SMILEWRITTEN BY REMLEY FARR ART BY SHAWN DALEY MAPS BY REMLEY FARR

A small port seems the perfect place to dock when a freak storm forces the

small trade cog, Seas Rock, to find solid ground. But the newly discovered

port town raises questions: where are all the residents, and which ones of

them are still alive?

The Sun Goes Down with a Ruby Smile is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th

Editionmodule designed for 3-5 players at level 1. This module favors

investigative and inquisitive playstyles over kicking in the door with swords

drawn. Without at least one medium-sized, female humanoid PC or a PC

who can speak and read orc, this may be a difficult module for the players

to complete in a cohesive manner

This is not an official Wizards of the Coast product.

This module is free to download and share.

For questions or concerns, email [email protected]

Visit the publisher at insomniacsink.comfor more information.

Read this to the Players

Three weeks after signing onto Captain

Tommiks leaky trade cog, the Seas Rock, a

raging storm refuses to let up, keeping the

captain, his navigator, and the partyrunning all over the deck, fastening ropes

and tacking sails. Its not until the halfling

navigator, Bosin, spots a port through the

rainy onslaught that anyone feels the

slightest bit of hope.

Captain Tommik aims the Seas Rock

towards the port, tacking hard to avoid

being swallowed by the sea. If it werent for

the half-ton of iron ore in the cogs decks,

the lightweight ship would be decorating

the sea floor by now.

The gangplank slams into the empty

marina, and you don your cloaks and hustleacross the leaky, wooden boards, aiming for

a small customs building nestled where the

marina meets the shore. A crackle of

lightning deafens your ears, drowning out

the howling wind and splattery rain for a

split second.

Just as you shove the door to the

customs building open, you are greeted by

a dark, cold, but dry room. Hanging your

dripping cloaks on the wall hooks, you

collapse onto the floor, exhausted after

hours of running around on deck.Another flash of lightning illuminates

the stumpy, dwarfish form of Captain

Tommick as he strides into the customs

office, rivulets of rain dripping from his

blonde beard. Ah, thats what I call a wee

inconvenience! he says, wringing his

beard. This eres good place as any. Ahll

grab food and belongings from the Rock, an

we can hole up in ere fer the night. Keep

yer eyes out fer townsfolk. Dont wanna

ferget yer manners. And with that, he

vanishes into the raging winds.

You look around the customs office,trying to take in the frantic situation. No

less than ten minutes ago you were fighting

to keep a ship above water. Now, youre

safe on solid ground. Every inch of your

body aches, and you cant shake the image

of flailing ropes and water-soaked sails out

of your headsafter all, youve been staring

at them for hours upon end.


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The storm rumbles outside, the rain

showing no sign of letting up. Small

bootprints of mud and water dot the

floor from where youve tracked them,

but for now, at least youre able to

breathe easy. All you need is a days

worth of rest in here and youll be back intip-top shape. That is, if this freezing cold

rain doesnt let up.

What do you do?

For the Dungeon Master

The players have been battling a

relentless storm for almost the entire

day, and theyre at the 1st level of

exhaustion (PH pg. 291). Chances are that

the players will decide to poke around

the dingy customs office or wait forTommik to return with Bottsin and some

gear, which will take roughly thirty

minutes.

Captain Tommik himself isnt an awe-

inspiring character, stat wise, nothing

more complex than a level one dwarf

merchant armed with nothing more than

a basic dagger, though he has a gruff

command about him that only a dwarf

could muster. He scrapes by transporting

goods with his navigator. As of now, hes

working for the Skymarch Company, oneof many trading groups that deals with

resources mined from dwarf ruins, and

he hired the players as deckhands in

between ports.

Unknown to the players, Tommik has

an addiction to sama, a plant that, when

a leaf is chewed and swallowed, calms

peoples nerves. Dwarfs naturally are

afraid of water, and ingesting sama helps

take the edge off. Seeing as how sama

plants are contraband in many societies,

Tommik keeps the sama addiction a

secret, even from Bottsin. Eating a samaleaf gives an advantage on fear saving

throws for eight hours, and Tommik

ingests a leaf every eight hours (using a

slight of hand check vs. any nearby PCs

perception check). If caught and called

out on it, hell claim he was eating from

his bag of nuts (using a deception check

vs. PCs insight check). Hell plead that he

needs the sama to stay calm on the

water, and any dwarf in the party would

sympathize with him.

Captain Tommik will stay near the

Seas Rockwhile the party ventures out

so that he can keep an eye on the ship

while the adventurers do what yer paidto do!

The navigator, Bottsin, is an equally

unremarkable halfling and merely a

lackey for Tommik. Hes spry, capable of

shimmying up the sails and swinging on

ropes. He tags along with Tommik and

doesnt talk much, though a quip or two

is sure to pop out of his mouth when hes

feeling particularly full of himself. Fights

with a dagger or crossbow when

prompted, though he should rarely see a

reason to do so.When Tommik returns with Bottsin,

theyre carrying plenty of gear to hole up

in the customs office for the night: four

lanterns with oil, bedrolls for themselves

and each party member, and enough

rations to stave off hunger for the night.

Unlike the PCs, Tommik and Bottsin

are at exhaustion level 2, and will want to

go to sleep immediately. Tommik will use

this time to sneak a sama leaf, and

Bottsin will collapse into a snoring heap

immediately after unloading the gear.

Five Contracts

Of course, the party hasnt stumbled

upon a simple, abandoned marina and

customs office. The adventure would be

too stale if that were the case. What

theyve really come across is a covert, off

the grid mining colony set up by one of

Skymarch Companys rival coorporations,

the Stoutman Caravan. And unfortunately

for the party, nearly everyone in the

mining colony met their demise at theedge of a mining pick five years ago.

A few years before the murders,

representatives from the Stoutman

Caravan wanted to set up a mining colony

after buying a lead on a patch of land rich

with raw ruby ore. After contacting Agran

Dodd, a dwarf mining veteran in his late

300s, the Stoutman Caravan signed him

up with a contract to establish what

would, on paper, be called the Pinewood

Lumber Export, or the PLE.

Dodds job was simple: set up a

small, convincing lumber operation while

simultaneously running an under-the-

table ruby mine. Keeping the StoutmanCaravans access to rubies a secret was

vital to the operation: if any other

companies found out, theyd try to

financially strongarm the small, budding

business out of their property.

With that, Dodd set to work hiring

the right people. Wanting to keep the

port to the PLE as inconspicuous as

possible, he set up only a small marina

and customs office (the very same

customs office the players start off in)

with a small cabin set aside for himself.As old as he was, retiring to a quiet life

full of financial cushion sounded perfect,

and the well-rounded dwarf immediately

began scouring for his right people.

First and foremost, he hired his

grandson, Hedgar Dodd, a rambunctious

dwarf lad worthy of receiving Dodds

inheritance. To satiate Hedgars

explorative nature, Dodd build a three-

story watchtower next to the customs

office (the players missed it while running

in due to the rain.) Hedgar proceeded to

decorate the watchtower as any dwarfchild wouldtiny stone statues, flecks of

sparkly rocks, runic poems, and so forth.

Hedgars job was to look out for ships and

tend to Dodds needs in his growing age.

With the first contract signed, Dodd

set his beady eyes on acquiring lumber

workers. Three human brothers, the

Lents, fit the bill perfectly. They needed a

destination in life, and they could keep

mum, especially for the money that Dodd

could offer them. Also, they neednt

know about the mining operation, and

they would be too foolish to suspect it,

anyways.

If any Lent brother was the

prettiest one, it would be Vinnie Lent.

Dashing in his own way, he spoke with

scowls and the occasional whistle

through missing front teeth. As the

oldest, Vinnie called the shots.


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RUBY AC 12

Small humanoid (half-orc) CN HP 4 (1d6)

Speed30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

8 (-1) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 4 (-3) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)SkillsIntimidate +5 Sensespassive Perception 11

LanguagesOrc (written only) Challenge 0 (0 XP)

ACTIONS

Crude SpearMelee or Ranged Weapon Attack+5 to hit, reach 5ft. or

range 20/40 ft., one target. Hit 2(1d4-1) piercing damage.

GEAR

Fur clothes, 3 crude spears, letters from parents

The middle brother, Paddy Lent, was

a tall, skulking fellow, eyes always

wandering towards the women. He was

usually in his cups, even when working.

Rumors pervaded that Paddy Lent

needed hard drink like dragons needed

gold.Perhaps the only Lent brother with

any redeeming quality was the youngest,

Monroe Lent. Monroe never wanted to

join the PLE, but went anyways when his

brothers forced him into the

arrangement. A workaholic by nature, he

always had his eyes set on the seas, ready

for the day when he could amass his

savings and set sail.

With the mill workers taken care of,

Dodd needed people to tend to the

grounds: cooks, servants, farmersanyone to keep the Lent brothers

satisfied. Thats when he came across

documents for the Rumricks, a destitute

human family led by Kincade Rumrick,

the father.

Kincaid was put in charge of the

brothersbest to not let the Lents

fraternal rivalry get out of handand his

wife, Mrs. Rumrick, as well as his young

daughters, Mona and Sunny, managed

the various households.

With the facade in place, Dodd

needed to find the true mortar for hisoperation: the miners. Seeing his true

genius at work, Dodd did the

unthinkable. He hired two half-orcs,

Rogath and Maovor, to be guards in the

eyes of the workers. They were hardy,

strong, capable of seeing in the dark,

drawn by greed, and just deplorable

enough so that nobody would snoop

around their business. Maovor especially

fit the requirements, being fat, bulbous,

and crude. Rogath helped balance

Maovor out, being better-spoken and

even slightly handsome, possibly being

more human than orc.

Unknown to Dodd, the Stoutman

Caravan hired on a fifth party to station

at the PLE: an elf priest named Regeant

the Brightloam. As a priest, Regeant

exchanged his work as a mediator and

medicine worker in exchange for small

pay and a house to stay inhe was also,

to Dodds disdain, given privy information

regarding the ruby operation.

Dodds plans seemed simple enough:

just dont let the humans know that their

lumber mill is a front, and if they find out,

bribe them a bit. Business would befine...

Until the day Maovor set his pick on

fleshier quarry.

The Survivor

The kindling for Maovors massacre

began with Sunny Rumrick. Being a

creative artist and wordsmith, she drew

the attention of Rogath, and after eloping

with him in secret, became pregnant with

his child. To save herself from the hateher traditional family would wrack on her

for loving a half-orc, she took a less harsh

bereavement by saying the babys father

was one of the shiphands who docked

while picking up lumber.

With Regeants help, Sunny gave

birth to a baby boy: Ruby. And with

Regeants salves and ointments, she was

able to hide Rubys half-orc traits until

Maovor noticed the toddlers orcish

mannerisms. Enraged that Rogath took

one of the human women, Maovar toldKincaid Rumrick the truth about the child,

and after Kincaid, in a heated rage, slew

Rogath and Sunny, Maovor lost his self-

control, took up his pickaxe, and released

years of pent up aggression in a revenge

killing.

Everyone except Ruby and Maovor

perished.

Regarding Ruby

The half-orc/human lovechild, Ruby, stillroams the area. He isnt afraid of bad

weather, which he exemplifies by

climbing the watchtower during the

storm so he could see the clouds and

lightning better.

For the duration of the storm, Ruby

sits in the watchtower, watching the PCs

as they dash inside. He hasnt seen

anyone other than Maovor since the

massacre, and he doesnt quite know

what to do with these strange new

people except watch them.

If the party ventures out during therain and enters the watchtower, Ruby

can easily hop from the watchtower to

the customs office roof and disappear.

After the storm clears out the following

day, hes gone.

Rubys psyche is stressed by two

factors: the unconditional love from his

mom, Sunny, and aunt, Mona, as well as

the unbridled fear from the night that

Maovor attacked everyone. He sees

humanoid men as threats, especially orcs

and other half-orcs, and will intimidate orlob spears at them from a distance if

provoked, but women are different.

If theres a female humanoid within

the party, Ruby will try and rescue her

from the party when their guard is down,

such as hiding in a room or sneaking up


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on them when theyre sleeping. If there is

more than one female, he will try and

rescue the one that looks the most

attractive (DMs discretion, charisma

might be the deciding factor).

Ruby never quite learned how to talk

or recognize speech, but he can read

simple orc messages thanks to his

mothers and fathers letters and pictures

that he keeps collected in his grotto (Area

25).

Ruby will communicate by scribbling

orc words in the dirt, most of themnothing more complex than noun and

adjective compounds. He will assign his

own names to the PCs, such as calling a

fat dwarf Pig, a lithe elf Tree, or a

musical bard Bird. He will always refer

to the female he clings to as Sun.

Occasionally, Ruby will produce

letters from his pouch. Theyre mostly old

writings from Rogath teaching Sunny how

to write in orc and his mother practicing

the script. Sunnys handwriting is curly

and neat. Rogaths is crude and clumsy.

He has a paper with a picture of a ruby

scribbled on it that he will try to use to

convince the party what his name is.

If Ruby is with the party in certain

areas, hell react in certain ways. Showing

a general distrust or eagerness in certain

areas that may prove useful for the PCs.

Theres always the chance that the

party might kill Ruby, especially if theysee him as a wild threat. A failed

perception check or a twitchy ranger with

a crossbow might shoot him instinctively.

Ruby isnt extremely crucial to the

adventure, but the party will most likely

enjoy the journey if he partners up with

them and follows them around.

First Explorings

After the party enters the customs office,

they will realize one major detail after

Tommik leaves to gather supplies: it is

freezing cold inside the office. Feel freeto tell the party what the office looks like

once Tommik leaves.

The Port (1-9)

This is the area that handled the shipping

of lumber (and rubies!) out of the camp.

When the party first arrives in the rain,

theyll barely be able to see ten feet in

front of them. The next day, the skies are

clear and the party can get a good view of

the area.

1. Customs Office: LobbyThe dank and dark room bristles with a

chill that could make a lich shiver. On one

side of the room lies a scribes desk

cluttered with mildewed parchment and

old quills, inkwells, ledger books, and a

dirty brass nameplate reading AGRAN

DODD. On the other side is a cast iron,

potbelly stove with a rusty smokestack

trailing across the ceiling. A rigid safe is

nestled in the corner, and there are two

doors on either side of the stove, one

with a puddle of water pooling out from

beneath it. There wont be any rest

tonight if the room doesnt warm up.

The lobby is Dodds workplace, where he

spent most of his time at the desk,

pouring over ledger work and invoices.

Investigating the scattered stationery

reveals that most of them are molded,

with runny ink, but a DC 15 investigate

check reveals that many of them have

Stoutman Caravan, Pinewood LoggingExports in the heading. If Tommik is

informed about the papers, hell tell the

party that the Stoutman Caravan went

bankrupt almost five years ago.

The safe in the corner is locked, and

Tommik will tell the party, Yer more

likely to break a hundred axe heads

before you break a safe like that. The


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only way to open the safe (aside from

magic or other extreme means) is to find

Dodds key at his house (Area 8). Inside

the safe is a small, cut ruby worth 200gp

and the original contracts detailing the

work detail for the five different groups

on the island.Without finding a suitable source of

warmth (the boat is too cold, and the

lanterns dont give off heat), the party

wont shake their exhaustion status

effect. There are several ways the party

might try and stay warm. Using a winter

blanket or other cold weather gear;

chopping up the desk and lighting it in

the fireplace; or obtaining firewood from

a stack in Dodds house. They can burn

the papers, but the papers burn fast.

Someone will have to stay up all nightfeeding handfuls of paper into the fire.

Let the party be creative, but remember

that wet wood is hard to light.

2. Customs Office: Dry RoomEntering the room, you see two beds with

moldy straw mattresses. This is an

overnight room for docking ships. It looks

like nobody has been in here in a while.

Any party member investigating the room

further finds that its really nothing more

than just a normal room. Its still freezing

cold in there, and lying on the mattresses

will cause them to tear and crumble,

causing the player who tried doing so to

land on the floor in a nasty, dirty splat.

3. Customs Office: Wet RoomUpon opening the door, strong mist

blasts you in the face as you see a ragged

hole in the roof. Rain spills down through

the hole and runs between the

floorboards. There are two beds on either

side of the room. Lightning flashes once,revealing a dead body, all bone and

tattered clothes, lying in the middle of

the floor.

This is the corpse of Agran Dodd, who

died after falling from the watchtower

next to the customs office and crashing

through the roof of this room. Heal or

Investigate DC 14 reveals that the corpse

is a dwarfs that died from falling through

the ceiling. Approaching the body,

however, causes a Giant Rat (MM, p 327)

to dash out from beneath the bed and

attack the party member who

approached the corpse.There isnt anything on Dodd except

for a rusty battleaxe with DODD

scribbled on it in dwarf runes.

Tommik will react to the dwarf

corpse with stoic observance, urging the

party to leave the corpse be. Hell bury it

in the morning and ask any dwarf in the

party to help.

Looking through the hole in the

ceiling when its not raining will reveal

the watchtower and the busted railing to

whoever looks.

4. The Watchtower: BottomA three storied, creaky tower juts out of

the ground. It shadows the customs

office. This tower is was apparently used

to spot incoming ships and to keep an

eye on the surrounding area. A staircase

goes from the ground all the way up to

the upper balcony in a side winding

fashion.

This is Hedgars watchtower. The PCs

take notice of a creaking sound when

they walk up it. Examining the handrails

and posts show several crudely-carved

pictures of dwarf heroes and legends, as

well as HEDGAR and GRANDFATHER

AGRAN carved all over it. These are from

Hedgar chiseling away in childish wanton

fancy.

5. The Watchtower: TopTheres a section in the open platform

top side where the railing has been

broken away. A short, stout skeleton witha large hole plunged through its skull lies

on the creaky, wooden floor. Remnants

of a treehouse style living area are

scattered about: a bulging blanket, a

strawless mattress, and a busted

telescope.

The skeleton is Hedgar, and any PC who

makes a successful Wisdom (heal) check

DC 10 or who is familiar with dwarfs

recognizes it as a dwarf juvenile. A

Wisdom (heal) check DC 14 notices that

the hole in its head was caused by a

heavy, piercing weapon.

Checking under the bulging blanketreveals a severed arm, identified as

belonging to a half-orc on a successful

Wisdom (heal) check DC 10.

This is where Maovor committed his

final murders, impaling Hedgar in the

head with his pickaxe. Hearing his

grandsons screams, Agran Dodd grabbed

his greataxe and stormed up the

watchtower, where he dueled with

Maovar. In a stroke of luck and skill, the

dwarf veteran severed Maovors arm, but

the vicious half-orc gritted through thesearing pain and slammed Agran into the

railing, breaking it and toppling the dwarf

over the edge where he shattered

through customs office roof, dying

instantly.

Anyone standing near the shattered

railing causes a section of the

watchtower balcony to collapse. Making

a successful Strength (athletics) DC 16 or

Dexterity (acrobatics) DC 12 check causes

the PC to dodge back to the safe side of

the watchtower or cling to the edge. A

failure causes the PC to fall and land onpart of the roof, taking 1d6 falling

damage. A very bad failure causes the PC

to fall through the hole in the roof and

take 2d6 falling damage.

Looking around, a party member can

see what looks like two clearings, one

with houses and one thats much bigger,

with a herd of animals in it. A successful

Wisdom (perception) check DC 20 notices

the animals as oxen. There are also two

paths leading from the docks to these

clearings.

6. Dodds House: Living RoomThe cabin is empty of life except for a few

roaches skittering between the

floorboards. A mildewed painting of an

older dwarf and a younger dwarf bedecks

a wall. The fireplace against the wall

sports a well-stocked woodpile next to it,


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and above the mantle is an empty

weapons display hook. There are two

doors, one on each side of the mantle. By

the looks of the chairs and tables, this

was definitely someones home.

The painting is of Dodd and Hedgar, andit was painted by Sunny, whose signature

can be found in the bottom corner if the

players look hard enough. Ruby will

recognize his mothers name instantly

and react to it.

Searching the room reveals a tin of

tobacco and an ivory pipe (20 gp). Any

food or drink that would be stored in the

cupboards has long since been eaten by

roaches.

Ruby will recognize his mothers

painting style and point out hersignature.

7. Dodds House: LibraryYou see a small library with a bookshelf

on opposite walls. A reading chair sits

against a desk. Most of the books look

like theyve been eaten by rats and

worms. On one wall, where a window

should be, is a large map in a glass display

case.

Examining the bookshelf reveals nothing

but books that have been chewed away,

the binding coming unglued and falling

apart.

Examining the map shows a detailed

scribbling of the logging camp as well as

the names of the people who worked

there, including their positions. Extracting

the map from its display case is easy if

the party wishes to take it with them.

Examining the map gives the players

the following details.

A flourish of calligraphy reads

Pinewood Lumber Export, and aforested area is drawn out. Near the

coast is the customs office, a

watchtower, and a cabin, as well as the

marina. Two trails lead off, one to a small

clearing with two houses and a shack, the

other to an enormous clearing with a

fenced area and a great tent, suggesting a

logging clearing. These places are

connected by a trail as well.

You can then tell them about four

lists, each with names under them. The

players can write these names down if

they want to represent them taking the

map with them, or you can write them

down for them beforehand and handthem the list. The categories and names

are as follows, in this order,

LOGGING: Kincade Rumrick, Vinnie

Lent, Paddy Lent, Monroe Lent.

STEWARDS: Mrs. Rumrick, Sunny

Rumrick, Mona Rumrick, Regeant

Brightloam, Ruby Rumrick. SECURITY:

Maovor, Rogath. ADMIN: Agran Dodd,

Hedgar Dodd.

Looking at the map for an extended

period of time or examining it closely

reveals that the name, Ruby Rumrick, iswritten in handwriting not as crisp and

artistic as the rest of the names, possibly

added in later. Also, Sunny Rumricks

signature is on the map since she painted

it as well. Ruby will see this and recognize

it as well.

8. Dodds House: BedroomA clothes rack of tunics, breeches, and

bandanas give the idea that this room

belonged to a male dwarf. The bed is low

to the ground, and the room is mostly

intact. There is a wooden dresser

opposite the bed and a nightstand near

the bed.

Pilfering through the clothes rack and

dresser will yield 2 sets of work clothes, 2

sets of artisans clothes, and a big, wooly

cape. Inside the nightstand is 27gp and

4sp, as well as an intact, hardbound

book: Morbins Almanac of Precious

Stones, which includes prints and

descriptions of several gems, including

rubies. Tommik will price the book at40gp and will offer to buy it.

Inside the almanac is the key to the

safe in area 1. Also, anyone using the

almanac to appraise a ruby or ruby ore

will know its full value.

9. Dodds WellThis stone well is hidden behind a bunch

of overgrown bushes. Its been covered

by a metal-wrought grate.

Players actively searching the area can

stumble across this well. Dropping rocks

or anything small through the cracks

shows that theres still water beneath it.If the party is able to remove the

grate and climb down, theyll come

across a small, 10 x 10 underground

water area with 8d6 cp scattered around

the bottom.

The Residencies (10-18)

The Lents, Rumricks, and Regeant lived

here before they died. There are two

cabin style houses in a clearing, a small

patch of overgrown grass where

Regeants house burned down, and an

old well. Two paths lead off to the Port

and the Clearing.

10. Rumricks House: Living RoomThe front door to this house is wide open

and theres a wooden dining table with

five chairs around it, one with a pillow in

the seat. A fireplace thick with ash and

with a hanging kettle sits against the wall

and there are several torn paintings on

the wall. There are two doors leading toother rooms, both bashed in.

The dining table is where the Rumrick

family sat for dinner. The chair with the

pillow was for Ruby. The torn paintings

are all of animals, trees, and flowers.

They were destroyed in Kincaid Rumricks

rage after finding out Sunnys bastard

lovechild was from Rogarth and not one

of the port sailors.

Approaching the fireplace shows that

there is a message carved into the

wooden mantle, Let not the diseased

hog sire And a dagger is shoved into the

wood at the last letter, as if punctuating

the point.

The kettle is empty, and searching

the room finds nothing but silverware,

plates, and other household basics worth

5gp at most. Digging through the ash


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finds the burned remnants of Sunnys

love letters to Rogath, which are written

in orcish. Kincaid threw them into the fire

after finding them.

Ruby recognizes the paintings and

letters, reacting to them with longing.

Hes been in this house before, but hehasnt taken anything because hes

skittish and superstitious.

11. Rumricks House: Bedroom AThe door to this room is kicked in, and

the place is entirely disheveled: broken

paintings, scattered dresses, splintered

bedposts, even a broken window. Last

nights rain has soaked the outer half of

the room.

Sunny and Mona shared the same room,

and the room is in shambles from a

combination of Kincaid turning it inside

out while searching for evidence of

Sunnys affair, as well as from Maovors

rampage.

Searching the room finds bustedpaint bottles, dried paint, dirty work

clothes, and a broken wooden chest

thats the perfect size for storing letters.

Looking around the window shows

that this room is within perfect eyesight

of the bedroom windows from the Lent

brothers house.

12. Rumricks House: Bedroom BThis is the master bedroom. A large bed

sits in the center with a dead woman

dressed in nightclothes on one side of it.The window behind the bed is shattered.

A writing desk and wardrobe sit around

the room.

The parents bedroom is largely

untouched, except for the soaked

mattress. The corpse is Mrs. Rumrick,

who died when Maovor broke the

window behind her and strangled her in

her sleep.

On the desk is a forgotten inkwell

and quill, as well as two crossbow bolts. A

damp, moldy book, Divine Bosnir, lies

open, slivers of paper marking several

passages. The ink is too runny to read,but any successful religion check

recognizes it as a collection of religious

texts for the Church of Bosnir, a lawful

neutral deity with a small following

among rural people.

Bosnirs followers are very utilitarian:

hard work and perseverance above all

else, which when followed justly, can

create paragons of determined people.

When followed unjustly, it can create

superiority complexes that border the

line between zealot and psychopath. One

telltale sign of a Bosnir worshipper is that

his followers carve or write appropriate

scripture from Divine Bosniron their

tools, carts, boats, and sometimes tattoo

them onto their bodies.

The crossbow bolts are regularcrossbow bolts. Kincaid had been scribing

scripture from Divine Bosnironto his

crossbow bolts, preparing to kill Sunny

and Rogath. The two bolts on the desk

dont have any scripture on them. Ruby

doesnt recognize the bolts as anything

special since theyre not inscribed.

Searching the wardrobe produces

three sets of work clothes for a man and

woman each. Under the bed is a trunk

with 240sp in it, as well as 11gp.

13. Lent House: Living Room

This room is full of hunting trophies,

antlers, and skins. Several steins and

drinking paraphernalia are scattered

about. On the wall is a painting of a coat

of arms: two axes crossed behind a stout

oak trunk. Two lifeless bodies lie in the

left corner. There are three doors along

the back wall, the right one is smashed

down. The middle and left ones are

intact.

The coat of arms has Sunnys signature

on it. A search of this room finds several

rotted away hunting trophies andsilverware thats grown tarnished. The

two bodies are Monroe and Paddy Lent,

who were gouged by Maovors pickaxe

after they ran out of their rooms, hearing

Vinnies laments.

Searching the bodies finds a short

sword on each one, as well as dingy

nightclothes. It looks like they were killed

after just waking up.

14. Lent House: Bedroom AThe room is damp from rain, as seen by

the broken window on the side. A dead

body under blood-matted sheets lies on

the bed, and the furniture has

succumbed to rot years ago.

The body is Vinnie Lents. After Maovorentered the Lent house, he busted down

Vinnies bedroom door and killed him in

his bed. Examining him shows multiple

gouges. Also, pulling the sheets off of him

excites a swarm of wasps that have built

a next in his ribs (MM pg.338). Players

that makes a successful perception check

can hear small buzzing sounds from

under the sheets.

15. Lent House: Bedroom B

The room is filthy, but by the looks of it,this place was a wreck before the

murders. Theres a bed lying in the

center, and a tripod-mounted spyglass

sitting against the window. A spittoon sits

in the corner near a dresser overflowing

with clothes.

This is Paddy Lents bedroom. He was a


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slob and a pervert, and anyone who

examines the busted spyglass can see

that the spyglass is aimed at the window

to the girls bedroom at the Rumricks

house. The spyglass itself is tarnished and

old, the lenses foggy, but can be sold for

50gp for scrap.Looking under the bed finds

womens undergarments, stolen by

Paddy. The clothes in the dresser are all

gigantic since Paddy was a large man.

The whole room smells of mildew

and rot. Ruby doesnt like this room, and

will write EVIL EYES repeatedly in orcish

on the walls with a charcoal piece.

16. Lent House: Bedroom C

This is a mans bedroom containing a

bed, dresser, and several scattered mapsand charts. Its tidier in appearance than

the other two bedrooms. Theres a rotten

violin lying on the bed.

This is Monroe Lents bedroom.

Examining the maps shows that theyre

from several shipping companies,

possibly special ordered. Comparing the

maps to some of the charts shows that

this individual had plans to travel.

Sorting around the furniture yields a

few books not worth any more than 5gp,

but digging under the pillow finds an

opened envelope containing a letter of

acceptance from Tristan Musician

Academy, as well as a list of costs and

supplies needed. Along with the envelope

is a hidden stash of 68gp.

Monroe Lent was planning on leaving

the lumber mill and sneaking away to

school, but Maovor ended his life before

he could do so.

17. Regeants House

An array of blackened posts and ash giveaway that there used to be a house here

until it burned down.

Regeants house burned down when he

attacked the rampaging Maovor with a

burning hands spell, torching half of

Maovors body before being cut down by

the pickaxe.

Digging around the overgrowth and

remaining ash disturbs a smoke mephit

(MM, pg.217) that attacks the party.

Ruby knows that the smoke mephit is

there and will avoid the area, scribbling

random combinations of EVIL SMOKE

DEATH in the ground.A successful Arcana (Int) check DC 13

reveals that some smoke mephits haunt

places where people burned to death,

feeding on the anguished memories of

the burnt victims demise.

Slaying the smoke mephit makes a

memory appear in its remains,

emanating like a floating picture:

The smoke incarnation dissipates

into a billowing residue, the ashes of its

body reforming into three ghostly shades.

One of the shades is hunched over andtall, elfish in appearance. The second

shade runs to it, shaped like a human

female, arms flailing in a panic.

They run around, making as if to hide

in the ash, when the third shade rumbles

in. The third shade is tall and broad,

monstrous in form, and pantomimes

breaking through a door. The elfish shade

raises its arms as though casting a spell,

and ash spews forth from its hands,

covering the third shade.

As if shaking off a headache, the

monstrous shade plows through thesilent spell cast by the first shade and

raises its hand. A pickaxe-shaped tool

forms out of the ash in the monster

shades fist and crashes into the elf

shade, bursting it into smoldering flecks.

The second, female shade makes to

run, but the monster shade raises the

pickaxe and charges her. As it approaches

the shivering, female shade, the ashes

formed by the dead mephit coalesce

inward as though pulled by an unseen

force, then explode outward.

A smoky haze fills the area where

this house used to stand, slowly drifting

to the ground. The reenactment is

complete, and the wretched elemental

mephit wont haunt these grounds

anymore.

There is no other loot in the area.

The players have just witnessed Mona

running to Regeant for help and Maovor

bursting through the door, slaying both of

them.

18. Residents Well

This stone well still has a chain attached

to it. The other end of the chain

disappears down into the well.

This is the well that Sunny Rumrick would

use to drop letters down to Rogath.

Anyone venturing down into the well

ends up in Area 25.

The Clearing (19-20)

The large array of rotted stumps near the

tree line gives away that this was a

logging camp. Theres an old livestock

pen with oxen meandering around it, as

well as old carts, some with rotten tree

trunks in them. A dilapidated tent sits to

one side. There are two paths leading

away.

This is the logging area where the

Lents and Kincaid Rumrick would cut

down trees and tote them to the port

using the oxen and the carts. The

dilapidated tent is where Maovor and

Rogath lived. The two paths lead to the

Port and the Residencies.

19. Livestock Pen

A rundown livestock pen encircles almost

half of the clearing. Most of the fencing

has fallen over, but the oxen seem to be

staying in the area. Even though the

fence isnt holding the oxen at bay, they

still consider the pen a home.

There are roughly twenty oxen grazing in

the area. About half of them are young,

the others old. The oxen are familiar withpeople since they were used to haul carts

of lumber, but disturbing them will cause

the bull oxen to attack (use the Giant

Goat stats from MM p. 326).

20. Half-Orc TentsThis old, worn out tent is orcish in

appearance. It looks as if it collapsed


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many years ago.

Rogath and Maovor lived here. Looking

through the tent fabric reveals a ladder

leading down into a hole. Going down

this ladder leads to area 21.

The half-orcs built their tent over the

entrance to the mine so that they could

dig for rubies without anyone catching

onto what they were doing.

The Mine (21-28)

There are two ways of entering the mine.

The primary entrance is through the half-

orc tents (area 20), and the second

entrance through the residents well

(area 18).The mine is long and twisted, having

been carved out for several years by

Rogath and Maovor. There are certain

areas where larger dig sites are carved

out, but there is an underground river

that is revealed in the lower levels.

There are no sconces for torches or

light since the half-orcs could see in the

dark

At the very end of the mine is

Maovor, who cant escape the area hes

trapped in. He might roar occasionally,

especially if the party makes a lot of noiseor gets closer to him. Feel free to have

perception checks made to hear an

echoing bellow from deep down the

cave. The closer the party gets to him,

the worse the place smells. Ruby will help

lead them if they feel lost.

21. Primary EntranceA ladder leads twenty feet down from the

half-orc tents. This entrance to the cave

has two pickaxes nestled near the front,

and jagged walls and floors from years ofcarving. The tunnel leads forward.

If the half-orc tents have been moved

from the entrance above, dim sunlight

can spill in through this room.

22. First Dig SiteThe tunnel opens into a circular room

with a pit dug out in the center. At the

bottom of the pit is a patch of water from

where the diggers dug too deep. The

tunnel continues on the other side of the

pit.

This area is picked clean of any rubies ortreasure. There are footprints all over the

place from where the orcs walked back

and forth.

Examining the water reveals that the

rocks at the bottom are full of cracks that

the water is seeping up from. Trying to

break the cracks doesnt reveal any

secret passages, just more cracked rock.

23. First Bend

Around the first bend is a dead body

pinned to the wall by a pickaxe. Thetunnel continues on into another dig site.

After killing Rogath and Sunny, Kincaid

Rumrick was slain by Maovorhe was the

first victim in Maovors revenge. Maovor

slammed a pick into him, pinning him to

the wall and leaving him in the cave

walls.

Examining the body shows that

theres a note pinned to his shirt with a

crossbow bolt. The note is bloody with

fingerprints, and theres dried blood on

Kincaids hands. The charcoal-written

note reads MY LITTLE SUNSHINE CRIED

OVER THE MONSTER AND I SHOT HER

TOO. IM SORRY. MAOVOR DESERVES HIS

VENGEANCE FOR- and ends in ragged

writing. Kincaid wrote the note and

pinned it to himself before dying.

His crossbow is lying next to him, and

the bolt pinned to his shirt has a piece of

scripture written on it, Good men rot;

dead men rot. The crossbow itself has

writing on it, Food for the hunter, life for

the family. Ruby reacts to the bolts withunease because he associates them with

his parents death.

24. Second Dig SiteThis site is very similar to the previous dig

site, obviously a spot where the miners

found some ore deposits and decided to

clear out the area. Theres a patch of

running water in the center of the dig

area.

Not much in this room is different than

the previous dig site, though if anyone

looks into the water, they find that is part

of an underground estuary that travels

under the dig site and exits into area 25.A successful investigation check

reveals a trail of blood starting halfway

through the blood and leading into the

water. This is where Kincaid Rumrick saw

Rogath and shot him with a bolt, then

chased him into the water.

Ruby will show the party that its

possible to swim through the water,

demonstrating it by hopping in and out

and ushering them to follow him.

If the party starts to leave the second

site and continue on, Ruby showsconcern. He knows that Maovor lives

back there and doesnt want to disturb

him, but Ruby also is keen on the idea

that the adventurers might be able to kill

the bestial half-orc.

25. Rogaths GrottoA giant, underground grotto encircles the

room. A large pool of water sits in the

center, and a chain with a bucket dangles

from a hole in the ceiling. Up against the

wall, out of the water, are two corpses

embracing each other, a crossbow bolt

sticking out of each one. A stack of folded

parchment papers sits next to them. A

makeshift bed made of grass and scrap

fabric is there as well. Bits of ruby ores

are wedged in the wall behind the

corpses, as well as some ore set over

their bodies for decoration.

Sunny and Rogath would meet in this

grotto when they were eloping in secret.

They would also communicate with each

other with letters by lowering them andraising them to the well above using the

chain and bucket.

Rogath died in Sunnys arms after

Kincaid chased him through the

underground estuary and into the grotto.

He then shot his daughter with his

crossbow. The Bosnir scripture written on

Rogaths bolt is And thus Bosnir smote


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his Bile and Bilge, casting them from their

thrones with his stout bolts, and the

scripture on Sunnys bolt is She goes

down with a ruby smile, the blood of

innocence quaffed upon her lips.

The stack of parchment papers are

Sunnys writings, most of them love notesto Rogath. All of these include pictures as

well, the words describing the pictures

written in orcish with Sunnys delicate

handwriting.

The makeshift sleeping area is

Rubys: this is where he lives. He

scavenged what little bits of shiny ore he

could find and placed it on his parents

like gravestone flowers (worth 50gp).

Ruby will act or write out whatever

he can to let the party know that these

are his parents and that this is his safe

haven. Any party member trying to

remove the ruby ores from the wall or

bodies will be met with snarling and

aggressive behavior from Ruby, who

equates the act with defamation.The water is very crisp and

quenching, and the area will make a good

resting place if the party chooses to camp

for a little bit.

26. Second Bend

The tunnel from the second dig site

continues around a curve.

Theres not much to see here other than

the carved out areas of places where the

miners sought out more ore.

27. Third Dig Site

The tunnel leads to a huge drop off, at

least twenty feet down. The room is

enormous with a large pool of rushing

water in the center. Piles of fish bones

litter the floor near the water, and the

stench of rot fills the air.

Maovor has been trapped down in the

area past the third dig site for years.

Having only one arm, he cant climb the

drop off point, and investigating the

steep drop off area shows several pickaxe

holes from where he tried to pull himself


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up. If the party hasnt been sneaking

silently, Maovor knows of their intrusion

and is hiding, waiting for them to climb

past the drop off point before attacking.

The bone-scattered area around the

water is sloped and slick with rotten fish

and dung. Anyone other than Rogath whosteps near it must make an Acrobatic

(Dex) save DC 10 or slip into the rushing

water and be swept down to area 24..

28. Maovors LairThe stench of rot and feces rakes the air

in this final, hollowed out area. It looks as

if a rabid monster lived here.

Maovor will attack the first PC to enter

this room, charging at them to shove

them towards the water in area 27.This area is where Maovor sleeps.

There are bits of ruby ore scattered

around it (50gp) and one large chunk that

is lodged where his missing eye would be.

Maovors Fight

Maovor is a one-armed, half-burned,

one-eyed half-orc whose past five years

have been spent trapped beneath the

ground, surviving off of fish. His stomach

and jowls bulge and sag, and a chunk ofruby ore in his burned out eye socket

glistens. His mind has deteriorated into

madness, and hes now more monster

than sentient.

After charging the first player to

enter his lair, Maovor will try and bash a

hero with his rock, stunning the hero so

that he can steal one of their one-handed

melee weapons. If any of the party

members is carrying a mining pick or war

pick, he will choose one of them.

Maovor will prefer to fight aroundthe water, bellowing and puking until he

can obtain a melee weapon from the

party.

Even though Maovor isnt afraid of

the water, if he falls in, hes too fat to fit

through the narrow waterways beneath

the cave and will get stuck in the tight

space, drowning. Any party member who

has been down into the water can make a

DC 18 Wisdom (perception) check to

realize that Maovors girth is substantially

large compared to the waterway.

Feel free to be as nasty with Maovor

as possible. After all, hes been stuck in

this area for over five years covered in

nothing but rotten food and filth. He

hasnt taken any baths because he is

afraid of the rushing water. Maovor

doesnt make an attack, he swings a

greasy fist, shouting in malignant fury as

slaver drips down his meaty jowls.

Unless heavily influenced by the

party, Ruby wont fight Maovor. Hes

brave enough sitting at the top of the

drop off point.

Maovor will never beg for mercy,

choosing to fight until his death. His

existence is miserable, and only by

bringing misery onto others will his

cankered soul find some kind of rest.

Aftermath

Chances are that the party has obtained a

MAOVOR AC 9

Medium humanoid (half-orc) CE HP 35 (4d6 +16)

Speed30ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA

16 (+3) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 7 (-2) 12 (+1) 8 (-1)SkillsAthletics +6 (-2 on checks

involving swimming), survival +5

Sensespassive Perception 11,

darkvision 60ft.

LanguagesCommon, orc Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Born to Filth.Maovir automatically passes Dexterity (acrobatics) checks

when moving across terrain covered in his bile or rotten fish heads.

Murderers Choice.When attacking with a mining pick or war pick,

Maovor deals an additional 1d6 piercing damage.

Relentless Endurance.When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed

outright, Maovor drops to 1 hit point instead.

Savage Attacks. When Maovor scores a critical hit with a melee

weapon attack, he can roll one of the weapons damage dice one

additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

ACTIONS

Rock.Melee Weapon Attack+5 to hit, reach 5ft., one target. Hit 5

(1d4+3) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13

Constitution save or else be stunned for one round.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

Maovor can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below.

Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the

end of another creatures turn. Maovor regains spent legenary actions

at the start of his turn.

Bellow.Maovir screams at a creature. The creature must succeed on a

DC 13 Charisma save or be frightened for one round.

Bile Puddle.Maovor regurgitates all over an adjacent 5-foot square.

Creatures who are in it or who enter it must make a DC 13 Dexterity

(acrobatics) check or fall prone.

GEAR

1 large chunk of ruby ore in his eye socket (worth 250gp).


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solid haul of loot and gear, as well as

determine the mystery behind the

Pinewood Lumber Exports massacre and

the Stoutman Caravans fall to ruin. Let

the party divvy up their loot as they see

fit amongst themselves.

With the mystery solved and thearea cleared out, the party can choose to

do what they want in regards to Captain

Tommik. Chances are that Tommik wont

know what happened, and they can be

honest with him by telling him what

happened, or lie and say that theres

nothing of interest on the island.

By letting Tommik know what

happened, he will know that theres a

ruby mine on the island. For adventures

after this one, they could broker this

information with Tommiks company andmake some money off of it, or by keeping

the information privy to themselves, sell

it to the highest bidder and ignore

Captain Tommiks input. Either way, the

captain and Bottsin will be ready to sail

out since the storms cleared.

If Ruby has made it all the way to the

end with the PCs, they might try to get

Ruby to travel with them. Ruby will be

hesitant since hes wild and used to his

home on the port. Though there are

other ways that Ruby might decide to go

with the party: he can become an NPCcompanion, clinging to the female who

he deems his new mother, or another

person can roll up a character sheet for

him and use him as a PC (build him like a

half-orc barbarian, chaotic neutral, with

an outlander background.)

Though unlikely, its possible that the

party can subdue Maovor instead of

killing him. After all, Maovor knows

common, and even though his mind is

mostly gone, can still communicate to a

degree. The party can use the evidence

theyve found to take Maovor to a nearby

city and have him arrested and tried for

his crimes, possibly obtaining a reward if

they can find the former members of the

Stoutman Caravan or people who were

acquainted with the slain victims.

Theres also the chance that the

party decides to tell nobody about the

port, using it as their own personal base.

After all, there are plenty of houses that

only need minor repairs, as well as a

watchtower and some oxen that can be

tamed for food and labor. Captain

Tommik could even offer to be their

personal courier, ferrying food andsupplies to them from other locales for a

small share of their loot.

If the party chooses to work the

mines, one individual mining at least 8

hours a day can find 3d6+6 gp worth of

ruby ore in areas 27 and 28, though

theres a chance theyll mine the areas

clean and have to dig tunnels for more.

The opportunities are endless, and Ruby

can help them out as well. He might even

like the added company, especially if it

means having another mother figure inhis life or some friends to play with.


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APPENDIX A1 SQUARE= 5 ft.

Customs Office (1-3)

The Watchtower: Top (4)


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APPENDIX A (cont)1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Dodds House (6-8)

Rumricks House (10-12)


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APPENDIX A (cont)1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Lent House (13-16)

APPENDIX BWorld Map (Width ~ 3 miles)


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APPENDIX C1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

The Mine (21-28)

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The Sun Goes Down With a Ruby Smile

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