Nightshade

Nightshade was a stranger that Ben, Lox and Al met (before they became The Wayfarers) on the road to Nightstone. He dropped out of a tree and warned the three of them that there was danger within Nightstone.

Appearance
Nightshade was an attractive Shou man who looked to be in his late 30s, though his age was never really confirmed. He had a distinct scar on the left side of his face, going from his forehead to cheek and over his eyebrow. He wore his hair in a long braid, and was dressed in dark clothes. His primary weapon was a sword called Mourning Wood.

Personality
Nightshade was a very secretive man who lied even when there was no reason to lie. Outwardly, he seemed to be carefree and easygoing, but when he dropped the façade he was a deeply troubled man still processing the grief of his past. He refused to tell the party anything about himself, despite multiple attempts by Al to befriend him. He was single-minded in his anger towards those who wronged him, and has injured himself trying to attack his enemies (such as jumping off of towers to chase people in battle). Despite his grief over the death of his loved ones, he seemed to show no feelings towards any of the deaths he witnessed while at Nightstone.

"People die all the time."

-Nightshade, episode 6: A Promise Made.

History
5 years ago, his entire town (Archor) was invaded by orcs who proceeded to slaughter everyone except for Nightshade. As a result, he harbored a deep resentment towards them. The attack was led by an orc called Grimtooth the Defiler along with Hovel the Rat King, though it is unknown whether Nightshade knew of the Rat King's involvement. It is also not known why the orcs left Nightshade alive. None of this information was known to the party until Lox uncovered it while in Neverwinter.

During the party's venture into the Dripping Caves to save the people of Nightstone from a goblin stronghold, they encountered a goblin chief who called himself Hark. The party attempted to negotiate with the goblin for the safe return of the people, but Nighshade intended to kill Hark. He tried to trick Hark into a false sense of security and then stab him, but unfortunately Hark saw through his deception and attacked him. During the battle, Nightshade succumbed to his wounds. Al took Nightshade's ring as a memento, and built him a tomb in the caves where he was buried with his sword, which was later retrieved by Mitsu.

The Wayfarer's Guild.
Although Nightshade died before the party was fully formed, Al and Lox consider him to be one of the original members of the party.

During their time in Nightstone he formed the closest bond with Almond, who felt the most grief upon his death. Al said Nighshade reminded him of a friend (Loki) who was also very angry at the world. Nightshade was furious at Al for mercy-killing some orcs that he was going to torture and interrogate, but after Al healed him countless times during fights, he seemed to have gotten over it. Nightshade also had some moments with Lox, who he saved during their first day at Nightstone. He seemed to find some humor in Lox's childishness, though at times it irritated him as well. Nightshade and Ben didn't have much of a relationship as both of them were withdrawn and secretive.

The Shadow Thieves.
Nightshade was a member of the Shadow Thieves, and he used to be under the mentorship of Mitsu. They seemed to have a good relationship, as she went to great lengths to find out who he spent his last days with. Al gave her Nightshade's ring, and she also retrieved his sword from the Dripping Caves.

Powers and Skills
Nightshade was a rogue, and so he was proficient in using a lot of weapons.

Trivia

 * All his family names, and his sword name are innuendos.
 * Al's awakened shrub Lamp is a poisonous plant within the Nightshade family. The plant that was put into the pot of awakening was also given to the party by Nightshade himself, moments before they went in to the dripping caves.