The Night Blade

Checking out the board, The Night Blade seemed to interest me. Being a rogue, a weapon of the night could be quite useful. Little did I know that it wasn't a weapon, but a reference to an individual who was part of a gang that harassed the people of Whitesparrow.
 
A sleepy little town 5 days southwest of Urithiru. Numerous adventures seem to kick off from this hub, and this one was no different. The party contained new people, and one I had seen before. Our compliment seemed to be balanced. The barbarian was formidable. An artificer who seemed to be more healer then inventor and a caster who well, for the sake of brevity, liked to screw with peoples mind.
 
We talked with the constable, and found some useful information. The leader apparently was jailed for a time. He and his brother had done this before. His brother perished and he was caught and hailed. Released now, he seems to have taken control of his old band and returned to his previous ways. I know when people look at me they include me in the ways of the highway robber. It is a bitter pill I have to endure because of my training when I was a slave. My skills are somewhat, dubious, but they keep others alive and well. I am no thief, but I am willing to do what must be done.
 
On the way out, we were ambushed by the band led by the individual we were hunting. Dispatching the band easily. Mazira slaughtered her opponents to the point where we almost lost our cookies. And I am a seasoned veteran of war!
 
The party did work quite well together. We stumbled upon a structure surrounded by brambles. Info we obtained in town suggested pissing on ones boots to move through the brambles. What a sight, but hey, it worked.
 
Investigation showed 3 guarding the door in the tower. 1 was blind drunk and passed out. Sindri's sleep spell was incredibly effective. We were able to dispatch them without an alarm or fuss. Mazira again rough shodding the victims. Stairs went up and down. We knew the height of the rook so we went up first. Upon reaching the top, it was clear, sans brambles and a half missing roof. Mazira disturbed the brambles during her search and we were beset a flock of stirges. Not overly strong, but if you get several of them on you, it could be fatal. They seemed to miss me until all at once, there were 3 on me. Once they latch on, they drink your blood, draining you every moment. My mind was getting cloudy, I had to remove these or die. Luckily, Mazira was able to pull them from me, and I killed the others.
 
Overall, we had more issues with these vampiric birds then the ambush. The event spent our healing and resources. We decided to rest and regain ourselves. During the rest, an Ogre and Orc found us. I was able to dispatch the orc with 1 well placed arrow. The ogre took a bit more. After defeating them, the night passed uneventfully.
 
We decided to head down stairs. We found 3 guards sleeping. Sindri used a well placed sleep spell as I dispatched the lone guard in the corner. Once again, we worked as a well oiled machine. No alarm. As Mazira dispatched the other sleepers, I was able to down the few remaining stragglers. Our team execution (forgive the pun) allowed us to move forward without an alarm. the final room contained our target, or did it!!!!
 
Apparently, the demise of the brother was misreported! He was the Night Blade, not the previously reported information. As the battle ensued, I closed it out with an arrow through the bosses mouth. He stood there gasping before finally collapsing.
 
There was one hallway unexplored. Heading down there, we found the brother we were looking for, HELD CAPTIVE!!!! Apparently, this was all a family squabble. The two brothers disagreed on lifes path. One, freshly home from jail, redeemed and the other, stuck in his old ways. Both trying to convince the other to follow. Family! HA!
 
The adventure netted some good loot. I obtained a sword of the night, so I am very happy. Others in the party each received something of value.
 
What stands out to me about the whole adventure is how we worked together and were able to manage each battle. The fact the bandits were unable to raise alarms and the timing of our attacks were amazing. Im going to have to look on the board to see if people in this group get together again. It was a pleasure working with them........