It's hard to tell from only the skeleton, but the rider appears to be half-elven.

"Perhaps in Elvish...?" Kessintra murmurs, deciding to let one of the others handle it. If it detects a Drow accent the creature understanding her may do more harm than good.

Garrick keep his eyes on the rider as the travel closer. His fingers twitch over his hand crossbow but he doesn’t draw it. Striker, upon Garrick’s shoulders, gives a warning hiss but otherwise stands still awaiting Garrick’s orders.

OOC - Does the rider seem to be impeding our path or stopping our travel?

It doesn't appear to be trying to stop you. It's more of traveling in the opposite direction.

Amelia searches her memories, trying to recall if she knows anything about the skeleton rider.

Religion : 20

It looks exhausted, almost as if it died by having the energy sucked out of it.

"What are you looking for?" Kessintra tries asking aloud in Elvish, curious if the undead is even capable of responding. If only its mount was alive they could take it.

The rider's jaw starts moving up and down as it rides towards you, but no sound comes out. Through careful examination of its movements, you can make out some words. "Mist...... Escape...."

Zan pulls a couple of unlit torches from the sides of his pack, watching the skeletal rider as he approaches...

Escape? Kessintra feels a pang of sympathy for the undead's spirit. It seems whoever this was wasted away while searching for a way out of Strahd's domain.

"I see. We're headed deeper in. Any advice?"

Garrick gets down and walks closer to the rider to see if he can make out more words.
Perception 12

Kessintra will study the undead for valuables as it gets closer. Perception 12

Your understanding is still spotty, but you can make out two more words. "Kill.... him....."

As for as you can tell, there are no valuables. Only the skeleton and its mount. The pair ride off into the night.

Seems obvious to me that this is another poor soul stuck here in Strahd’s curse. Just add another talley to the lives ruined by that man. It’s hard to imagine him being a noble ruler after seeing the terror and misery in this land.

"I imagine he couldn't have been this bad before, at least. Curses...one decision, just an instant can change everything." Kessintra watches her breath mist in the chill air.

Zan replaces the torches to the sides of his pack, moves on with the rest of the party. and the place we're headed should be safer?

Kessintra will keep an eye out with her superior darkvision as they go, though it doesn't make much of a difference with the constant swirling mist. She stays glued to Ireena's side.

Perception 6 -.-

Chipper follows along with Skipper in the air.

Owl passive perception: 18 //for checks based on sight/hearing. otherwise 13

"Perhaps the man he was before getting vampirized was quite different." he muses. Replying to Zan he says, "With walls I'd imagine Villaki would at least provide some protection against wolves. Though flight would still be an issue."

After only a few more minutes of travel, you come upon a familiar sight. It's the crossroads from before, with the signpost and the graves. What's new is a colorful wagon parked right in the center of the road. You can hear the sound of someone rummaging around inside. Ismirk and Ireena are immediately suspicious.

Garrick asks them if they recognize the wagon and why they got so guarded at its sight.

Then he suggests to the party to silently encircle the wagon in case it’s a thief or worse inside.

Stealth 11