The horse clearly appears to be domesticated, since it has a saddle, saddle bags and reins. Other than the many puncture wounds from the stirges, there are no other wounds on the carcass. Inside the horse's saddle bags, you find what would amount to a common selection of rations and basic equipment for travel. 

Looking around in the grass near the horse, you find its rider. About 30 feet away, you see a fallen humanoid lying face down in the grass. It also appears to have sustained a number of puncture wounds as well.

Lumen and Chrys, I need Intelligence checks from both of you. 

Intelligence: 13

Seeing the saddle and saddle bags, Kravkle would waste no time in unbuckling the equipment from the horse. Once anything of value was removed, he would struggle to push the equipment away from the dead bodies so that it could be inspected further.  he would stick his small head inside the bags as his companions made their grisly discovery of the dead human... working to take note of anything useful. "Hey guys! There is lots of useful stuff in here! I know saddles are worth a lot too! We should take this with us!" He would say as he practically climbs into the saddle bags. "I dont know what a horse like this was doing all by himself.. it is a shame really. I used to like the horses back home. they were very friendly " He would add with a sad tone as he pauses his rummaging for a moment before continuing

(ooc so it is basically a saddle, saddle bags, and an adventurers kit on the horse?)

Lumen intelligence: 5

 "We can't just carry a saddle around with us! It's heavy and we don't even have a horse to carry it with. Besides, this job should pay us enough money so that we don't have to haul heavy things like saddles."

Lumen will also head over to the fallen humanoid, assuming there are no more signs of stirges, and first look at it a bit more closely, and then if nothing seems hinky, examine it for any identifying signs, items, tattoos, etc. Pretty sure we can assume the cause of death, but he'll take a look anyways. And he'll grab anything of value and return to the group. He's seen death before, so other than the odd stirges, he's not very disturbed.

(OOC:  So I did maths: saddle + saddlebags + explorer's pack (?adventurer's kit?) = 92 lbs.  That would put Chrys at 228lbs, which she can still do. Less if it's not a 59 lb "explorer's pack" as extras. XD)

"Maybe so, but we cann always drop 'em if we don't need 'em on the road, and I ain't sayin' no to some extra cash," Chrys replies to Vesper.  "I need to get me a halberd, and Kess here wants a nicer crossbow, too."   Cleaning off her hammer, she sheaths it, then walks over to Krackle and gently pushes him aside while removing her backpack.  She gathers all the things together in the saddlebags and stows them in her backpack, then, exhaling loudly, leans down and picks up the bulging pack with a grunt.  When she swings it around on her back, it makes a resounding thud.  "Mmm...  yeah.  Ain't no heavier than them bars of iron my da used to make me carry to the forge when I was a girl," she says to the others with a grin and a thumbs up.  "We can sell the extra stuff we don't need in Melton.  'M sure they could use the supplies, if they're an outpost," she adds.

"I'm actually more of a longbow kind of girl," Kess would say, shaking the blood from her scimitars before sheathing them. "Lumen? Is everything alright over there?"

"I had never even touched a gold coin until the other day." Krackle would add as they discuss carrying the heavy items. "I try not to let anything go to waste... that saddle is almost like having...." The kobold would pause and start counting on his tiny clawed fingers and toes... "Like.. a whole lot of pies!" He would say as he pats his stomach. 

(Still waiting on the humanoid check... but it was actually Lumen who wanted to see if there were hand crossbows, but he's extremely not able to afford one at the moment so I dropped it!)

Chrys rubs her chin.  "Well, longbows... hand crossbow... whatever, money's what talks in the shops, so we'll bring it with us if we can," she agrees.

"We should at least see who this poor soul was... he may have family out there, awaiting him." 

You examine the fallen horse rider and see that he's a well-toned human man of average build, probably Chondathan, with a broad nose and a full, but stubby patch of brown hair on top of his head. His garb is plain, with a well worn cloak purple with jade colored trim. His medium length, full beard is forked and braided.

He wears a dagger on his belt and a light crossbow is slung around his shoulder, along with a quiver of 12 bolts. In a pouch at his waist, you find a purse containing 20 sp. Aside from his personal effects, and the explorer's kit on his horse, he doesn't appear to be carrying anything else. 

Chrys

"Krackle... maybe ya can perform the same ceremony for this fellow that ya did for his horse when we're done here," she says as she removes the man's cloak.  Then she gathers the dagger and wraps the cloak around it, tying it in a neat knot.  "Someone might recognize his things in town.  'Tween that and rememberin' his face, it's 'bout the best we can do for 'im now."  She also takes the crossbow, bolts, and coins, and passes them to Lumen, saying "Ya might want ta take hold o' these for now... you can use 'em better than he, and I don't think he'd wish any others to meet his same fate."

She kneels over the man's body and repeats a small prayer of passing.  "May the world think of 'im now an' again as he was in life.  May we leave 'im in peace, an' he leave in peace.  An' while we live, let our thoughts be with the livin'."

As Chrys stands up and steps back, a tiny frown crosses her face.  She turns back to the grave mound of the horse and stirges.  "Strange," she says aloud to the others.  "Those pests don't usually come out durin' the day.  More like cave creatures... they like their dark places.  Ain't so hot on sunlight, see?"  She crosses her arms, chewing her bottom lip.  "Somethin' musta brought 'em out here to attack this guy outta the blue like this."

Lumen accompanies Chrys with a bit of background music from his lute, a thoughtful, contemplative melody of loss and remembrance (performance: 8).

"What a terrible way to go. Hope he finds peace."

He'll carry whatever valuables he can, hoping to be able to sell them in the next town, if they are not returned to the owner's friends or family. Then he's ready to move along, ears and eyes peeled for new threats.

 Vesper remains silent as Chrys prays over the dead man and listens carefully when she mentions that stirges don't usually come out at this time of day. "Then why are they here right now?" She muses.

Investigation: 11

Kess looks around the party's surroundings nervously. Were they being watched...?

(Perception: 9 )

Looking around, you don't see anyone else in the immediate vicinity. It's pretty quiet here. However, Lumen and Kess both spot bits of trampled grass around the horse, and looking more closely, they can see a faint track leading through the grass, leading north, away from the animal.

(OOC: I don't think that Lumen rolled to track the stirges)

(OOC: Lumen rolled a survival check earlier, and combined with the investigation checks, he was able to spot the trampled grass and determine that most recently, the horse likely traveled across the grasslands from the north, rather than coming straight up the road.)