Gillain thanks Ermren and stows her crowbar as she enters the children’s room. She looks around at the scene... ”This is so sad... I can’t even imagine the circumstances that must have befallen these two children, to have them die like that, preserved in each other’s arms”.

She looks over to Tio, as she hears her name, “What?.. Yes, if I have time to study the ritual, then I should be able to perform the ceremony. I need... time to.. Yes it would help. I think”, she’s almost moved to tears but she holds it together, just.  ...”Can we move them? Please, someone. We will need the remains. Can we lay them in a blanket? Carefully, we should take them with us. Then we could lay them to rest, as you say...”.

Gillain just stares at the children’s remains...

Tio will grab her bedroll from her pack “You can use this to hold the remains.” Tio will look at the doll house and the toy chest perhaps something could be if use.

Investigation: 8

Gillain takes the bedroll gladly from Tio and moves over to the children. When she’s about a foot away, she kneels beside them, and lays out Tio’s blanket on the floor nearby. She bows her head and spends a brief moment with the remains in silence...

Then she takes a deep, hitching, sigh, and reaches slowly towards the two bodies.

As she touches them, (assuming nothing unusual happens), she will attempt to move them whole, both together if need be. If they remain intact, she will lay them both together in the blanket and fold the edges over them slowly, wrapping them as tightly as she dare. If they don’t stay intact, she will slowly and carefully - methodically - collect the bones one at a time and make two small bundles, laying the bones in a distinct pattern that is both functional and respectful, compact and beautiful.

That done, she stands, stows her shield and spear, and lifts the tiny bundles and cradles them in her arms and just stands there silently where they died.

Bob watches in solemn silence as the children's remains were tended to with care and respect by Gillain, ever the exemplar of duty of honor. He wipes a single welling tear from his crinkled eye and nods to her as she stands with the bundles. "We'll commit them to the earth where they belong, don' worry, lass. Maybe there's some consecrated land somewhere in this wretched country; I'd hate to lay them to rest in this cursed place."

With a heavy sigh that hitches slightly in his throat he turns and leaves the room, still breathing the scent of decay as he heads toward another door. "But we cannae do a thing about it unless we get through this maze of a house!"

Ermren's face sets as he stares at the two skeletons, eventually shaking his head, equal parts anger and sadness in his face as he turns to Bob, "If there is consecrated land, yes. If there is not, we will make some."

“And the something moving around the building? It might still be here.” James keeps an eye out.

Ermren shakes his head and nods, "Right, right. Time enough for funerals when we've made sure everyone who ought to be, will be present." A grim finality creeping into his voice.

As soon as Gillain touches the remains a voice comes from out of the darkness in the southeast corner, the voice is that of a young girl:

"What are you doing?" it asks. The voice's tone seems more curious than angry. 

Looking up the party sees a translucent figure come out of the corner. The figure, a white glob of energy, slowly transforms into the image of the girl that the party met outside the residence, pleading for the party to come and help them deal with the monster in the basement. 

A second glob of energy follows the first, slowly transforming into the form of the young boy you saw outside as well.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1acMJ6LCQg-g_A-YXmJrOCY1ERaCAlnm97xaeM7ZO5xw/edit

Gillain looks up from beside the children’s remains, and looks kindly on the two translucent figures, “Rosavalda and Thronboldt,  I see you... I’m so glad you’re here... We’re looking for Walter, your baby brother, just like you asked... And then we’re going to take care of the monster for you, in the basement...”.

She looks from the figures, to the remains, and back to the figures again. “Would you like to rest?... Once we’ve found your brother, and dealt with the monster, I can help you to rest... You must be so tired. You must have been so worried... When you’re back reunited with your brother you can all rest easy... together...”.

”Will you allow me to collect these remains? They should be taken care of... I’ll take good care of you now. You don’t have to worry.... You’ve done the right thing asking for our help. We’ll fix this for you... ... ...”.

After a pause, and if they don’t object, she will continue with her work tending to the remains.

She will answer any questions they might have...

As she speaks, Gillain’s heightened senses kick in again. Perhaps due to her charged emotional state, or being confronted with both the remains beside her and the presence of the children before her.

Her perceptions widen and broaden, but for a moment, to sense things that others cannot...

((Using Divine Sense (full details below, but particularly interested in the presence of celestials, fiends, or undead (in the room) and/or desecrated 'places’ or objects) ))

Gillain sense that these apparitions are indeed undead, ghosts, but she senses no evil from them.

"What do you mean we asked you?" Rose asks. Then an expression of understanding comes across the apparition's face. "OH....no we didn't ask you, the house did."

Rose pauses for a moment then Thorn speaks up: "Walter is dead too. We all died long time ago." 

Gillain continues with her work, but slowly (assuming there are no objections from anyone, and no hint of panic or anger from the two ghosts)...

She’ll ask “The house asked us? What do you mean?... What’s happening here exactly??”.

And more conversationally, “You’ve all been dead a long time, eh? How long? Can you remember?... .... Can you remember what happened to you? to this house?”.

Any panic or fear is dropping away from Gillain gradually. The party now see a paladin at work (even though technically she’s maybe still only a squire). This is who Gillain is... not the shield and armour, not the spear-play... She works calmly, like a nurse tending to a patient: holding a pleasant conversation while bandaging a wound. Although actually she’s speaking with ghosts in a cursed house, while preparing their remains for their last rites.

The children seem a bit detached as Gillain starts moving the remains into the pack.

"The house is a monster," Rose says. "It lures people here. Those people always head down to the basement to fight the monster but, they never come back," she states. 
Rose pauses for a moment then continues. "Papa would lock us in here to protect us from the monster in the basement. One day he locked us in here and never came back."

While Rose is speaking Thorn starts walking among the party, looking at them and moving around them. He seems just like a curious little boy, just a ghost.

“Well the house may have got us here, but we’re here now! All of us!” Gillain says almost cheerfully, indicating the party. “..and since we’re here, is there anything we can do to help you? Are you safe? Do you you want to leave this place? Do you want to pass on?”.

As she speaks, she continues to work, but also watches the boy walk amongst her friends, and as he does, she looks at each one of them in turn, a peaceful smile on her face, and a kind nod to each of her companions, as if to say, ‘it’s fine, they mean us no harm’, and opening the discussion up to the others, if they have any questions or comments.

“The basement... if we leave it, it could lure in someone else.” James says his thoughts out loud for the others.

Bob had flattened himself against the wall - no mean feat considering his portly belly - when the childrens' ghosts appeared once again, his fear of the unnatural and unknown faltering only slightly as Rose explained the true nature of the house. He edged along the wall toward the door so he could once again take up the rear of the group and crouch behind the threshold of the door.

The dwarf moans anxiously as James states the obvious, looking toward the stairs with a gulp. "I s'pose we can't just leave. That would be unseemly," he sighs.

Ermren chuckles sourly, "And that's assuming the house would even let us. Not being able to get out earlier makes more sense now. Anyway, anything else up here before we storm the basement and solve this mystery?"

Rose speaks up to answer Ermren's question:
"I don't know what else could be up here. The way to the basement is through a secret door." Rose says this but seems reluctant for some reason like she is not telling the full story or there is something else she is holding back saying. 

Tio will ask Rose “Where is the entrance child? Once we finished dealing with the house. Moving on will be the best outcome for you.” Tio will pat Rose’s head if Rose lets her.

Gillain finishes wrapping the remains of the children ((did the remains stay together, as two intact bodies, or did she end up collecting the separate bones?)). She also collects everything that was with them too: clothes, toys they may have been holding, etc.

She stands, stows her shield and spear properly, and then lifts the tiny bundles and cradles them in her arms.

At an appropriate moment, she'll ask the two ghosts, "Would you like to come with us, or stay here in your room?...... And your baby brother? Where might we find him?... ... His remains...  ..or his spiritual being?". She smiles kindly, in a matter of fact kind of a way...