I was running AL twice a week when CoS was the "season".... It's still not a thing with any reasonable chance. He's overlooking why they are there, what they are doing, and how they interact with the party to throw a hook that is little more than "go kill some stuff[where the most will grab you]".I am mostly going off 2e, fine, so there is a slight chance then, that does not really change anything about my argument that it is far from guaranteed / highly unlikely that you know messengers. Not sure why you think this is important to point out, it changes nothing relevant.
it isn’t, It is not about Ravenloft at all, Ravenloft is just an example…
The important detail is why there are multiple hooks and it's not do visitanti can be buds. The reason was so wotc could integrate the adventure league "factions" into the adventure. At the time players got magic items based on their faction (not really the adventure content). The whole thing is pretty awkward because they never really show up again and have no presence in ravenloft.