THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

Read this to the Players

THE SUN GOES DOWN

WITH A RUBY SMILE
WRITTEN 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
Edition module 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 insomniacsink@gmail.com
Visit the publisher at insomniacsink.com for more information.

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 party
running 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 hustle
across 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.

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 in
tip-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 for
Tommik to return with Bottsin and some
gear, which will take roughly thirty
minutes.
Captain Tommik himself isnt an aweinspiring 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, one
of 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 sama
leaf 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 Rock while the party ventures out
so that he can keep an eye on the ship
while the adventurers do what yer paid
to 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 the
edge 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-thetable ruby mine. Keeping the Stoutman
Caravans 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 threestory 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 dwarf
child 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.

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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, farmers
anyone 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 his
operation: 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 be
fine...
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 hate
her 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 told
Kincaid Rumrick the truth about the child,
and after Kincaid, in a heated rage, slew
Rogath and Sunny, Maovor lost his selfcontrol, took up his pickaxe, and released
years of pent up aggression in a revenge
killing.

RUBY
Small humanoid (half-orc) CN

Everyone except Ruby and Maovor

perished.

Regarding Ruby
The half-orc/human lovechild, Ruby, still
roams 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 the
rain 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 or
lob 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

AC 12
HP 4 (1d6)
Speed 30ft.
INT
WIS
CHA
4 (-3)
12 (+1)
8 (-1)
Senses passive Perception 11
Challenge 0 (0 XP)

STR
DEX
CON
8 (-1)
14 (+2)
10 (+0)
Skills Intimidate +5
Languages Orc (written only)
ACTIONS
Crude Spear Melee 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 SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 free
to 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: Lobby

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 them
nothing 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 they
see 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.

The 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 Logging
Exports 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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 night
feeding handfuls of paper into the fire.
Let the party be creative, but remember
that wet wood is hard to light.

2. Customs Office: Dry Room

Entering 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 Room

Upon 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: Bottom

A 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: Top

Theres a section in the open platform
top side where the railing has been
broken away. A short, stout skeleton with
a 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 blanket
reveals 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 the
searing 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 on
part 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 Room

The 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,

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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, and
it 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 her
signature.

7. Dodds House: Library

You 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 a
forested 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 hand
them 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, is
written 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: Bedroom

A 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 at
40gp 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 Well
This 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 Room

The 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 to
other 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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 he
hasnt taken anything because hes
skittish and superstitious.

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

the back wall, the right one is smashed

down. The middle and left ones are
intact.

11. Rumricks House: Bedroom A

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 Bosnir on their
tools, carts, boats, and sometimes tattoo
them onto their bodies.
The crossbow bolts are regular
crossbow bolts. Kincaid had been scribing
scripture from Divine Bosnir onto 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.

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.

The 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 busted
paint 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 B

This 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

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 coat of arms has Sunnys signature

on it. A search of this room finds several
rotted away hunting trophies and
silverware thats grown tarnished. The
two bodies are Monroe and Paddy Lent,
who were gouged by Maovors pickaxe

14. Lent House: Bedroom A

The 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 Maovor
entered 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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 maps
and 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 give
away 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 and
tall, 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 the
silent 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 with
people 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 Tents

This old, worn out tent is orcish in
appearance. It looks as if it collapsed

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 halforc 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 noise
or 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 Entrance

A 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 of
carving. 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 Site

The 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 or
treasure. 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. The
tunnel 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 with
unease because he associates them with
his parents death.

24. Second Dig Site

This 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 shows
concern. 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 Grotto

A 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 and
raising 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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 notes
to 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

10

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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 who
steps 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 Lair

The 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 of
ruby 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 around
the 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

MAOVOR
Medium humanoid (half-orc) CE

AC 9
HP 35 (4d6 +16)
Speed 30ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
16 (+3)
8 (-1)
18 (+4)
7 (-2)
12 (+1)
8 (-1)
Skills Athletics +6 (-2 on checks
Senses passive Perception 11,
involving swimming), survival +5
darkvision 60ft.
Languages Common, 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).
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.

11

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

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

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 the
area 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 and
make 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 NPC
companion, 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 and
supplies 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 in
his life or some friends to play with.

12

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

APPENDIX A
1 SQUARE= 5 ft.

Customs Office (1-3)

The Watchtower: Top (4)

13

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

APPENDIX A (cont)
1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Dodds House (6-8)

Rumricks House (10-12)

14

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

APPENDIX A (cont)
1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

Lent House (13-16)

APPENDIX B
World Map (Width ~ 3 miles)

15

THE SUN GOES DOWN WITH A RUBY SMILE

APPENDIX C
1 SQUARE = 5 ft.

The Mine (21-28)

16