Kessintra will take a few moments to check around the bedroom and dining room for any other valuables or things of note.

Perception: 22 with help from Amelia 

Dining room: 

Dust assaults your lungs. A sweet yet pungent smell of decay fills this room, in the center of which stands a long oak table. A blanket of dust covers the tabletop and its fine china and silverware. In the center of the table, a large, tiered cake leans heavily to one side. The once white frosting has turned green with age. Cobwebs hang like dusty lace down every side of the cake. A single doll figure of a well-dressed woman adorns the crest of the cake. Suspended above is a web-shrouded chandelier of forged iron. An arched window in the south wall is draped with heavy curtains. Resting in a wooden stand by the window is a dusty lute, and standing quietly in the southwest corner is a tall harp shrouded in cobwebs. You're able to find a matching figurine of a man in a suit on the floor. 

Bedroom: 

Sweet smells waft from this delicately lit room. A great arched window along the west wall is covered by heavy red draperies, their golden tassels glinting in the light of three candelabras sitting atop small tables about the room. Tall white candles burn with bright, steady light.

A large bed, canopied by silk curtains, sits with its headboard against the north wall. Carved into the headboard with great skill is a large “Z.”

(posted this in OOC chat, but in case anyone missed it, everyone can add 12gp, 30sp, and 500cp to their inventory from the found coins)

"Looks like Strahd has tried this wedding business before," Kess remarks, studying the cake with equal parts interest and disgust, "Guess we know how that turned out." She leans over to study the male figurine before turning to the instruments with faint excitement. "It's a shame for these to sit around unused." She takes the lute and stares sadly at the too-large-to-carry harp before running a hand along its strings as a sort of goodbye and heading to the bedroom.

"Z?" Kess frowns at the carving on the headboard for a moment in confusion as she immediately thinks of the mail woman. "...Oh, for 'Zarovich'."

Kess heads out of the bedroom and approaches the secret passage. "Might as well check it out." She cautiously heads inside, keeping an eye out for traps with Amelia's help.

Perception: 20

Still concentrating on detect magic Chipper takes a look around for any senses of magic.

"Seems the last time didn't go too well. Possibly the lady he mentioned got burned?" Looking at the candles he says, "Seems he still uses this area curiously enough. I have to wonder how long ago those may have been lit."

Investigation: 8+6 = 14
//trying to get a gauge for how recently the candles were lit, just in case the lighter might be returning soon

[[ Added the loot Garrick found. ]]

The lights have been lit recently. 

You notice something odd about this hall: there's only one door at the end of the hall. However, through the webs you can see a hidden door to your left.

Kess will move to check the hidden door first, lock picking it if necessary.

Sleight of hand: 16 + 4 guidance= 20

Make a DEX save.

Kess dex save: nat 20 + 6

The webs are a bit stickier than you thought, but you're able to maneuver through them and unlock the door. This ten-foot-square room overlooks a vertical shaft to the south that plunges into darkness and continues upward.

Kess casts dancing lights once and sends them as far down the shaft as she can (max 120 ft) to try to see how deep it is, then does the same for the upper shaft.

40 ft up, too far down.

Kess tilts her head curiously and ends the spell. Wondering if this may be some kind of lift, she and Amelia will look around the small room more closely for a switch or something that might activate it.

Perception: Nat 20 + 3

There's nothing in this room to activate it. Then, you hear some gears turning, and a small stone box is shot up to the top, only giving you a moment to look at it.

Perception: 16+3 guidance= 19

You catch a glimpse at someone in an orange jacket holding a sword.

Kess frowns and heads back down the hall to tell Garrick and Chipper what she and Amelia found. "There's a hidden room down there with some kind of magic elevator. We couldn't find a way to activate it, but maybe you two can figure out how it works. I thought I saw someone in orange go up. Esther maybe? They had a sword." She will then head to check the non-hidden door at the end of the passage, lock picking it if necessary.

Sleight of hand: 23 + 3 guidance= 26

(Goodness, these rolls.....)

There's no lock. You can hear the rain and thunder outside, and the air here is cold and damp. Veils and curtains of webbing fill the room, making it hard to gauge its width and depth. A single, narrow path leads to the dark center of the room, where a rope dangles from high above.

"Well I have feather fall so the drop down the shaft could be a potential route, but if we get stuck down there we might get squished when the lift goes back down"