Nightblade walked to an alleyway before creating tendrils of shadow falling from above him, from the ceiling of the building he stood next to. In the lack of light, the shadow tendrils were strong even without having to waste a lot of Essence, and they were much better than using Shadow Escape to appear up there.
Shadow Escape used much more Shadow Essence and he couldn't spend something so precious just to get to the rooftop.
He grabbed onto the tendrils of shadow and pulled himself up to the rooftop, before gently standing on it. Shadows beneath his feet muffled all sounds he could make on the roof.
The house he had to get to was the 4th one from where he stood. The roofs of all these houses were slanted and tiled. If he wasn't careful, he could slip on and make a mess of his mission.