Ambush at Blackthorn Crossing

The skirmish was short and brutal: five opportunistic bandits fell back too late when the bandit captain and his silent assassin set the ambush at a crossing of a once-bloodied road. When the dust settled, the road was scattered with broken arrows, trampled pennants, and a handful of goods the bandits had recently stolen from merchants. The captain's equipment is noticeably better made than the common cutpurses', and the assassin's tools hint at a professional contract killer rather than a starving brigand. The party has time to pillage the dead, sort through stolen wares, and recover a few items of real value and a couple of useful tools for future travel.