Finishing the Manor?

Aera put the amber shard into the heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet. Skeleton with leather armor sticking out of the chest. Filled with books that crumble at your touch.

There was a letter in the chest that read

My most pathetic servant,

I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to immortality. However many souls you have bled on your hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured in your dungeon, know that you are not the one who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but a worm writhing in my earth.

You say that you are cursed, your fortune spent. Your husband took solace in the bosom of another woman, sired a bastard son, and drove you to abandon love for madness. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.

Your dread lord and master,

Strahd von Zarovich

From the letter the party concluded that the monster must be Elisabeth Durst.

The attic has a hallway with a door held shut by a padlock. There are multiple other doors creaking. It was unclear if the door was opening of its own accord.

There was a room with a bed, a desk and a music box and doll. It reminded everyone of the doll Rose was holding in a portrait they saw earlier.

Aera shan Ravanór quietly says “Rose” and then a pattering of feet can be heard.

Schlopkht investigated the music box, attempting to muffle any noise it makes while opening it. Inside the box is a rusted hunting knife and a key that looks like it matches the padlock. There are two parchments as well. One parchment is a crude map showing an altar connected to a shrine connected to quarters, and another about recruitment.

A chamber with a large trunk covered by a sheet and a stove. The trunk contained a corpse with wounds like the spirit of the third floor. One of the sheets had a mirror under it. Schlopkht saw an apparition of Elisabeth Durst in the reflection of the mirror while also feeling a cold touch on his shoulder. He reacted by breaking the mirror and wrapping a shard of it in cloth to take with him.

Another bedroom without anything interesting, so the party unlocked the last door to see spectral figures of Rose and Thorn. There is a bricked up window and a toy chest with windmills painted on the side and a doll house that is a perfect replica of the house we are in. Then there are two skeletons, one of which holds a doll. We concluded they were left there to starve to death. Rose was able to mend a toy that Thorn broke using a mending spell.

The dollhouse has miniatures of everything in the house.

From talking to Rose the party learned that the nurse maid taking care of Walter was not Klara, but we did conclude that Walter was Klara’s son. Rose asked Weeble Wobleston to promise to bury their bones in the garden, and in return showed a secret stairway down into the basement. Then Thorn asked if he and Rose could accompany us as spirits that join with one of our bodies. Thorn joined with Olfin Darning while Rose joined with Aera.

The party then proceeded down the staircase for what seemed like three or more floors and continued for what felt like hours to a dirt tunnel. There was a noise that sounded like chanting.

There is a crypt with puss coming from it and something that indicates it belongs to Walter.

There are some alcoves near a well down some stairs with a rope and pulley. Aera dropped a stone with the light cantrip and saw it drop 30 feet, then splashed and went out. Perhaps a creature took it.

A footlocker in the room contained a journal of all the victims of the cult, some of which were fed to Walter. At this point the party believes the monsters name is Walter.

The chanting gets louder as the party proceeds. There is an area of the room where no footprints can be found. Possibly a sign of a trap. The trap was trigered using mage hand and it opened up to a pit of sharp sticks. The party jumped over the pit to a new room with bones and teeth marks as well as a mirror.

Investigating the bones resulted with a worm dropping. Looks like it is the remains of Gustav Durst and it tried to drop onto Schlopkht. It then attacked the party with its tentacles and beak. After a long fight Schlopkht was knocked out and Aera shot the creature through the beak for a killing blow.