Horror hangs about this house... (Closed, see OOC)

[Pretzelparty]

 

"Hmm... I'll have to make note of that. It could be important" The mare was about to pull out a notebook from her saddlebag but quickly stopped herself as she felt a droplet of rain splash on her muzzle. The Ivory mare wiggled and scrunched her nose before nodding at blueblood with serene smile. "Agreed... it'd be safer to write down notes inside anyway." 

The pony carefully made her way up the steps and winced a moment as she heard the door creaking, Sweet hayseed, it was almost like the house was screaming... possibly another thing to remember for the future. The first step she took inside the house's door she froze up and her body shook like a leaf in a strong wind, a visible tremor overtaking her body as her eyes grew wide and her irises and pupils shrunk down. "W-well... interesting. "The mare coughed and calmed herself down. "Goodness... I know this feeling." The mare had a hunch but she decided to get a better feel of the house's atmosphere before drawing a conclusion.

 

Foxglove wasted no time in heading over to the fireplace, folding up her umbrella she laid by the side of the fireplace to dry a bit. She shivered slightly as she felt the warmed herself by the fireplace, smiling and sighing in relief. She narrowed her eyes a bit as she saw the shadows dancing and trembling in the firelight... they seemed a bit darker than they should be. She looked to the prince and chuckled, "Well I actually know a pony who's knowledgeable about that sort of thing, maybe I should have brought him along. Don't worry though, if someplace is especially moldy or full of spores, my nose will let us-ahh ah..." The mare turned away from the prince and covered her mouth and nose with the crook of her foreleg... 

 

"Chiew~"

 

"... That was just a random one." She chuckled, a blush falling upon her pale cheeks before she picked up her now dry(er) Umbrella and put it at her side. "Well... Your highness, I've good news and bad news for you. Based on the information you've given me... this isn't a ghost haunting. The bad news: It's actually a curse, most likely based around the building and the blood ... or blueblood of those who built and occupy it, which is why all of us have a difficulty seeing anything you see." The mare stepped over to one corner of the room and placed a hoof on the wall, she could feel the age on the wallpaper. "We're safe in here, relatively. It seems weaker in these old rooms... I felt a stronger presence..." she lifted up a hoof and pointed in the direction of one of the newer additions to the house, past a few rooms.

"What worries me... is that curses aren't spells a lot of ponies in equestria learn... some even doubt they exist. So I'm wondering who, or what could be sustaining a curse like this and for as long as you've had it..."

[tacobob]

 

 

Following Star Crusader's lead, the red mare decided to leave her shoes at entrance as well. Hooves made enough noise as is, adding a layer of armor just made the noise unbearable. Once she entered,  Fire Walker scanned the area while the other guard spoke. "I would also probably leave the fireplaces alone. Unless, we are sure the chimneys are clear of any debris. If we go and light a flame and the stack Is stuffed, we might end up losing our lives to a invisible killer that does not go 'boo' in the night." Along with the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning there was also the risk of fire, falling debris, nasty vermin, sharp rusty objects,mold, standing water, and other toxic chemicals left over. It was odd how her favorite haunted house stories never mentioned these real risks.

 

Once her favorite brown stallion was tended to, the mare smiled ever so politely as he thanked her, "Ah come on Dunders, you'd know I'd do anything to..er..", she cleared her throat, "For you." How long was it since their last adventure together? An even better question would have been, how long had it been since Dunder's last adventure? He would need to get his adventure legs back. Still, it was always good to travel alongside the silly stallion. "Erm.", she muttered to herself as an welcoming fire could already be seen from the gloomy darkness.

 

Fire Walker slowly headed to where the others were at, and gave the old fireplace a good looking at. So far the flames and smoke were going up. Which was a good thing. Maybe the old house was in better shape then they had suggested. And now Foxglove had a suggestion. This was no haunting. This was a curse! Thankfully curses could be stopped. One would need to know who made the curse, why the curse was made, and how to end the curse. Of course, all of the mare's 'knowledge' when it came to curses were all from her horror novels. The fiction novels.

 

The officer addressed Prince Blueblood, "Your Grace, I was wondering if you by chance brought a copy of the floor plans? Would be useful...And have we decided on our first action yet?". she was worried that she may have missed something while tending to Dunder.

[Dunder]

Dunder's held out his healthy wing to the fire as it crackled lightly in the dismal room. Foxglove's soft sneeze enough to break the pony's concentration, "Salud." He responded to her sneeze. And to Blueblood, "If you wanted a mycologist, you shoulda asked. My brother probably knows a few. Maybe he could have came out here and contributed."

 

Already, with the warmth, the pegasus felt no longer like death. Curled up, his hooves under his torso, his wing outstretched towards the fire. But still, he felt something missing. The pony took in a deep breath, looking over at the red mare talking to Blueblood.

"A curse? Like a hex? Or is a hex different?" Dunder asked, to nopony in particular. "Floor plans? First action? Are we devising a strategy?!" This brought an excited Dunder to his hooves, "That sounds like fun! And this fire has made me feel like a million bits. I'm ready to get this dog and pony show on the road." He suddenly shivered, his whole body jolting, "Whooh mama, I think the curse just sent a chill down my spine or something. I just want to get moving, that'll warm me up."

[Blueblood]

A family curse... more than one old Canterlot family could drag out a tale or two about those.  Lacking a personal interest in the lives (and deaths) of other ponies' ancestors, Blueblood had rarely paid attention to any of those tales.  It'd be hard to say that he actively disbelieved them, but he had certainly not thought them worth his time.

 

He was regretting not stocking up on that foreknowledge right now, to say the least.  "Odd... my parents never really talked about anything in our past that might have led to a curse, though they probably would have gone out of their way to not mention any such thing.  You say it's coming from the new wings...?"  The Prince turned around by the fire, to dry his other side while he thought through this.

 

"Hm, floor plans?  Ah, yes, right you are."  He levitated a folder over from the drawing room table, where he'd been compiling a few documents retrieved from the moldering archives of the library, giving it to Fire Walker.  "I believe I've gotten it up to date on the latest renovations."  The central, stone-built area of the house was relatively straightforward, with few spots where the structural integrity was any real worry.  It was a largely rectangular block, with a drawing room and dining room at the front of the first floor, and the kitchen and library at the back.  The heat of the kitchen was used in the ventilation system of the library, meant to warm the room and used to circulate and dry the air within it.  Now that the summer house had been abandoned, however, such measures were rendered useless.  Bedrooms were on the floor above, and the attic held, among other things, a small observatory.

The wings were another story altogether.  The floorplan was asymmetrical, partly through the original architecture, and partly because some passaged would not stand up to hoof passage.  Some room's purpose could only be guessed at, and many alcoves seemed inaccessible.  

 

"I think our next stop would be the library, once everypony's dried off."  Blueblood said after a while, noting Dunder's impatience.  "I can't say I know what happened... but I've got a pretty good idea of when..."  

 

 

Once everypony was as dry and warm as they were going to be, Blueblood retrieved a few lanterns that he'd stored under the table, lighting them with embers from the drawing room fire.  "I don't trust the alcove lights, they tend to sputter and go out at most inopportune moments."  There were four lanterns; the Prince let the party sort out who wouldn't get one.  He certainly wasn't going without one, though, as they set off down the hallway.

 

The light from their lamps shone upon walls with peeling paint and fallen decorations.  Most of them were carpets from Saddle Arabia, which in better condition would fetch good prices for the artistry.  Many seemed to date from the same time as the brickwork, or a little earlier.  On the way, Blueblood explained his hypothesis.  "Nothing I found really mentioned anything like a curse, but I'd mostly focused on the early history of the house.  The furthest I got before.... well, all this happened, was in my great-great grandfather's time.  He was...." The stallion paused, trying to select the most judicious phrasing.  "Not a respectable sort, before he married into the family.  To be perfectly honest, he was a pirate.  Great-Great-Grandmother was a pirate hunter.  You can guess how that relationship started."

[moonshineTheleocat]

The mare lifted her head, then raised a brow to Fire Walker after hearing a comment that she caught herself mid-sentence. Sadly… Star Crusader has enough of her mother in her blood that she was easily able to caught what it may have been and… fearlessly add onto it. It probably doesn’t help that she said it with a near deadpan tone, and a smirk so thin it would require a microscope to see.

“It seems like you two shared a night or two alone. Curious on the oddities it may have brought.” Just as she was about to turn her head, she paused midway, her gaze only partly drifting away from Dunder… before resetting it’s self back onto him with a new thought.

“A side note…” She began, her eyes narrowing into a suspicious concern. She knew that some ponies tend not to care too much for their bodies. But even the subpar health would prevent ponies from catching colds and cramping up so badly. She hadn’t even known Dunder for having an ‘off day’ when it came to being healthy. Perhaps there was something else to it? “What have you been doing to your body lately? I don’t recall you ever getting this ill from a rainstorm.”

[Pretzelparty]

Foxglove smiled softly and rubbed at her muzzle, "Thank you very much, sir."

 

"Hm... It may be more centered on the new wings of the building... I'm not sure yet if that is where it's coming from." she said, looking a bit saddened at her own admittedly vague advice. There were plenty of times that Foxglove wished that her profession was more of an 'exact science'... and this was one of them. "hmmm... well the knowledge of your great great grandfather may prove useful... in the little episodes that you experience has there been anything that consistently appears in them? a certain object, or image perhaps? If so try to think if you have anything in your family history that is even tangentially related to it."

[tacobob]

 

'A Brother?', the red coated officer's snout scrunched up a little as she heard of yet another sibling of Dunder's that she never got to meet. She knew he had a little sister. How many other brothers or sisters did he have? She was a little bothered that while he got to meet both of her parents and several of her siblings, the mare never got to meet any of his family. "I would avoid getting near any fungi while here, considering the ones that grow in houses usually aren't the ones you want to touch.", she shivered a little bit as memories of the underground temple Lady Lanceguard, Lieutenant Steel Dagger and she had explored awhile back. Hopefully gross moss and mushrooms would be the nasty things they would find. No pony skeletons please!

 

Star Crusader's comment made her simile. While she wanted to point out that she had spent more than a night with Dunder, it probably wasn't the time nor the place to do so.

 

"Would be a good idea to know where everything is.", Fire Walker responded to the brown stallion. She looked rather pleased to see that the good Prince had come well prepared.  Once she had more light, the R.E.A officer quickly scanned the plans before she rolled the up and let them rest in her waterproof pack. Blueblood had an interesting little family tale going as they slowly made their way through the house.

 

"While pirates usually were a rather motley bunch, their captains tended to be former navy officers, governors and even gentle-colts of high stature.", the mare mused, "I remember hearing the story about Captain Bloodhoof. He was one of the nastier pirates to scourge the seven seas. He tried to retire to the life of luxury, but when his new bride discovered his wicked past, he had her bricked in.." Thankfully there was more of an happy ending to Prince Blueblood's ancestors. Seeing the Saddle Arabian carpets in such a sad state broke her heart. If they were in decent shape, just one of them would be worth an officer's entire yearly salary.

 

"Pirates love to hide things, so I wouldn't be surprised if we wander into any hidden rooms not listed on our map.", Fire Walker felt a slight rush! This was now very exciting! They weren't just rambling through some old vacation home, they were in the den of an pirate captain!

[Dunder]

Dunder wasted no time dibsing on a lantern. He quickly slapped the knob on with a wing and grabbed the bail in his teeth. surely enough, the path in front of him was illuminated, wherever he turned his head. When Foxglove thanked Dunder, he let off a happy muffled blab back at the mare before trotting off next to Fire. The cramp in his wing subconsciously reminded him how vulnerable he was, and next to fire he felt safe. He would have gotten close to Crusader, but after what she said, he glared at her to let her know how he felt.

But when Crusader showed some empathy, his gaze softened. He spat the bail onto his healthy wing, "It's just because we went from warm and dry-ish to wet and cold. It's my body temperature changing too fast, makes me more sensitive to the cold. I've always been pretty sensitive to the cold." The pegasus reminded his friend. He pushed the lantern bail back into his mouth with a shaky wing.

As Blueblood talked about his ancestry, Dunder felt butterflies in his stomach. Still, Dunder didn't know much of his family history, other than his grandparents were all farmers. It wasn't fair that some ponies knew so much of their history. Though, Dunder wouldn't and couldn't vocalize these sentiments. So all he did was sigh longingly.

To get his mind off of it, he thought about what Fire said. Hidden rooms, hidden trasure! That's what real exploring was. Except this time it was in his friend's house. A few notches up from when Dunder was a colt trotting through houses looking for the hidden.

[Blueblood]

Blueblood tried to think back over the episodes he'd suffered while staying here.  He was grateful for the presence of the others, as that kept him from relapsing into a state of fear again.  Even the somewhat trivial discussions of the past relations between Dunder and Fire Walker helped, though he did have to wonder what happened to put an end to them... at least in that degree.

It was insufficient to distract from the main concern, though, as long as Foxglove was still on the case.  "The only image I recall clearly is the Fanged Skull... although it wouldn't surprise me to find out that Great-Great Grandfather brought home one of those.  Relics can be even more valuable than gold, and I'm pretty sure he had to have come across at least one with a curse."

 

Indeed, now that the Prince thought about it... it made a great deal of sense.  If the decline of the Summer House coincided with the settling down of his pirate ancestor, then it was likely that he brought a curse upon it from his old career.  A thin thread of explanation, perhaps, but it was enough for him to hang his hat on.  Going from total confusion to a working hypothesis provided a bit of a confidence boost to the stallion, and he picked his head and pace a little as they headed for the library.

 

"You're probably right about the hidden rooms, Fire.  My ancestor never really let go of his piratical ways; family legend has it that he sold off all our stock holdings and put the proceeds into gold, because it was the only treasure he could trust.  The market soon crashed, which seemed to justify his attitude, although I can't help but wonder myself if he didn't know that the big sell-off would trigger something like that.  It certainly didn't prevent the family from using that gold to buy up the devalued assets of our fellow peers..."  The story of financial roguery didn't exactly paint his ancestry in the best light, Blueblood had to admit.  Still, he couldn't help but be a little proud of rascality on that large of a scale.  It was vice alright, but vice on a properly aristocratic scale!

 

 

The party soon arrived in the Library, where Blueblood immediately headed off to light another fireplace.  This one was larger, and designed to do a better job of heating the room, as books needed to be kept dry.  Unfortunately, neglect had negated the good intentions of the architect, and the air was filled with the smell of decaying paper and dying books.  The Prince wasn't the sort to be horrified by such things, however, and he soon called his posse together to discuss the battle plan.

 

"Foxglove, can you tell whether the presence is stronger in the East or West Wing?  I've brought some measurement and surveying instruments," He pointed out a box underneath a nearby table.  "We'll systematically search each room, looking for.... well, I guess we'll know what when we see it, but it will likely be in a hidden nook that we'll have to sniff out."

[moonshineTheleocat]

Crusader frowned at Dunder. She found the reasoning... to be rather strange. Such conditions were typical of taking flight with Pegasus. Going up high, where the air is much cooler, Diving through clouds, going low very quickly where it can easily be significantly warmer. If anything, it'd be a fair assumption that a pegasus in Dunder's shape would have no trouble navigating this weather. But still... no use in hanging on such details for long. Then again... and as she was reminded, Dunder was rather cold blooded when it came to temperatures.

 

She sighed and gave a brief nod before slinking a foreleg under Dunder's body. She lifted up as gently as she could. She folded her wings a bit to cover up the metal on her back and carefully set the stallion down. Once he was in place, she continued walking after the others. She clearly had no problem with the added weight. But rotting floor might have other stories to tell. The creaking the mare used to have underfoot, now became much louder with Dunder's added weight.

 

Once they were in the next room. Crusader lowered herself, next to the fireplace to allow Dunder to step off of her. "This may be a crude joke. But if you are planning on renovating, we can just tear down the walls. I've once heard tales of noble families burying the dead inside the walls of their homesteads. Not the crypts. Same with secrets."

[Pretzelparty]

"An interesting tale if anything."Said the mare, shivering a bit as she felt the presence in the house creeping into her bones. She'd been in situations like this before and she usually hadn't felt an atmosphere so... oppresive. Despite her increasing tremors she pulled herself up from the warmth of the nearby fireplace and took a deep breath. Fire walker's thoughts on hidden rooms made sense. If there was anything that nobles seemed to like, it was hidden passages and corridors. The curse hanging over the house and simultaneously clinging to the prince was likely to in some way make finding anything much more difficult than usual.

"We should keep an eye out for anything odd... even if you're not entirely sure you saw something, speak up, if you would." She said , addressing the collective group with a slight cough.

"A cursed relic... that would make sense. Most Curse magic would take much longer to  reach the point of this much aggression towards it's target... but typically relics cursing others requires the target to have been in contact with at least a small piece of it or whatever it is part of."  Foxglove nodded at the prince's request, "Just a moment, Your highness." The mare opened up her saddlebag and removed a small leather pouch. "Forgive me for this mess." The pony undid the knot and carefully moved it around, creating a pattern on the floor similar to her cutie mark with the sand. As it fell to the floor the ones present would see some faint sparkling grains in the mix.

"Hold your breath a moment." The mare sat down and then lowered her muzzle to the sigil. She whispered something to the mark on the floor, a long muttering of syllables and sounds that didn't seem to have any meaning to anypony in the room. When she rose her head back up, eye in the center of the mark start glowed a moment and the sand that made up the pupil shifted on it's own towards the west wing.

There was a curious sound. Something that sounded like the house settling but deeper... more ominous. It sounded more like a growl. The sand she had put together on the floor and shifted back into a neat little mount. The mound shifted a bit before a glowing flower of somekind that was beating like a heart raised up. The Ivory pony leaned in and took a whiff and then it dissipated.

"It's strongest in the West... Much,MUCH stronger in the west."

 

[tacobob]

 

"Maybe this is a different kind of cold.", Fire kept her voice down low. "Not so much like a festive Hearth's Warming Eve chill that would send you home for a sit by the fireplace with a hot coca, but more like the uncomfortable, bitter bleakness of a graveyard.", she was a little surprised to see Star Crusader give the stallion an helping hoof. A tiny bit of jealously came upon the mare. She was touching HER stallion. This feeling quickly vanished as Fire Walker remembered things were different. And what was her former colt-friend doing with himself? She was not sure. They didn't go on their little adventures like they used to. And ol' Muggo Ale was so busy with his family tavern he did not have time to travel. Likewise with Razor. What happened to him? She knew something very bad had happened at his family estate. And what about Quillhart? Her old friends were moving on. And while she loved her dear Shift, a little part of her wanted things to be like they used to. Fire made sure to lend her own hoof as to make things a little easier for the pair.

 

Her ears perked up as the good Prince mentioned something about a fanged skull! One that could be cursed. She was well aware of the other races that existed beyond Equestria. And relics. That was always the major-danger in the old stories she would read. Some fool-hardy explorer dug up something he or she shouldn't have and hell-larity would ensue. Thankfully, nowadays these things would be checked out by professionals before they would be put out in display.

 

The next stop was what was once a library. Thank goodness a certain book loving purple princess was not with them, as the sight and smell of the forever ruined books would have caused her to drop dead on the spot. That is, if she was capable of dying. This was still a very unpleasant sight for the officer as she loved old books and she could only imagine what was lost. Rare first editions. Books that had not been republished in generations. And Star Crusader had a point, but maybe that was not enough. This old house needed to be torn down completely. Let nature reclaim the spot and clean the nastiness that had existed here for so long. And yikes! Did the writer -need- to bring up the bit about burying the dead in the walls? She heard that there were a few family crypts under the old Canterlot mansions. Thankfully her ancestors decided on an really impressive wine cellar and buried their dead at the nearby cemetery instead. Homes were for the living!

 

While keeping an eye out for anything sneaky to potter into view, the mare listened to what the writer had to say. And -she- was making a mess? Considering the poor shape of the entire estate, a little bit of dust probably made the room cleaner. What exactly was she doing? Fire Walker quickly discovered what Foxglove was doing, and the red mare was sure glad she had used the little filly's room before their trip, or she probably would have ruined the mare's display. Still, she was an officer of the R.E.A. She needed to be brave! And while she would have preferred her little story would have stayed an adventure, it looked like they were going straight to horror.

 

 

 

On 5/22/2016 at 6:37 AM, Pretzelpony said:

"It's strongest in the West... Much,MUCH stronger in the west."

 

 

 

She was PROBABLY not talking about smells. "Guess we're going west?", Fire spoke up, "And if there is anything you require of me, please say so."

 

 

OOC: Unless it's foolhardy, Fire Walker will do as asked...

 

 

 

[Blueblood]

In the flickering light of the Blazing fire, Blueblood watched Foxgloves ritual with both interest... and trepidation.  This kind of magic felt... unclean, somehow; even though it was directed against the curse causing all his troubles, the Prince couldn't help but feel some dark connection.  Perhaps he was right; it had to connect at least a little bit, if only to point the party in the right direction.

 

And to be fair, it did... in possibly the most ominous manner possible.  Even as the pupil of the sandy eye shifted, Blueblood could hear the growl, and feel the clammy breeze from the doorway, seeming to seep under the warmth in the room to snuff it out like a wet towel.  "I think you must be right about this being a different kind of cold."  The unicorn shook as he spoke, as if to dislodge the invisible, strength-sapping cloth draped over him.  "Ugh, I'm not standing for this anymore!"  He stomped over to the toolbox, bringing out a pickaxe, measuring tape, and compass.  "We are getting to the bottom of this tonight!"

 

There was as much or more bravado than bravery in his newfound resolution, but to be fair, Prince Blueblood was really sick and tired of this whole business, and wished an end to it.  Such bravado didn't prevent him from sticking close to the two pegasus mares of the party, though, as he forged through the damp and musty atmosphere of the West Wing.  

In it's own subtle way, the air seemed to push back.  While the front hall had mainly the air of ruined glamour, there was something... actively corrupting here.  The walls were plaster, crumbling in the center of huge water-stains above piles of rotting wallpaper, adhesive long since dissolved.  The floor of stone soon gave way to wood, which creaked like the bones of an ancient giant.  Blueblood tried to step lightly, though a mincing pace wouldn't leave him weighing one ounce less than usual.

"Well..."  He said, considerably less certain of his future, "Here's the first door.  Star, could you help me with the measuring tape?"  He asked, magically lifting the end of it over to his honor guard.  "We'll need to measure the distance from the door to the hall entrance, then the interior of the room.  If there's a discrepancy... well, then we can start knocking down walls."

From the door to the hall entrance was fifty feet, measured in several passes with the tape.  The interior of the room, unfurnished and no less dismal than the hallway outside... was forty feet square.  "Well... we got the first result early!"  He tried to sound cheerful at the find, but even now his bravado was largely drained away by the damp chill.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could almost detect that familiar fanged shape, but he swore his eyes were playing tricks on him.  Water-stains, surely it was just a random water-stain....

[Dunder]

The stallion couldn't add onto the conversation. He flexed his wing, only managing a painful twitch to remind himself why he was holding the lantern in his mouth. The fragile peice of equipment effectively making him mute. So he couldn't voice his protest as the large mare hoisted him on her back. His expression was deadpan, neck stiffly holding the lantern straight ahead still while the mare's muscles carried the stallion with ease.

 

The light from the lantern flooded the hallway, illuminating the path for the group until they reached the library where Star set the pegasus down. Shamefully, sluggishly the stallion got back to his hooves and was all too eager to get close to the fire again. The stallion curled up, extending his wing toward the fire in hopes that the heat would help relax the muscles back into a state of function. Each movement sent a shock of pain down the stallion's back, his deadpan now shifted to a grimace summoned up when the shocks became strong enough.

But when the prince started to get excited, the enrgy of the white stallion passed onto the brown. Dunder hopped up to his hooves and trotted back over to rejoin the group, taking up a position next to the red mare. He opened his mouth to speak, but the lantern slipped so the pegasus closed his mouth instinctively. Just as impulsively, he turned his head to Fire and pressed his muzzle against hers, using his tongue to press the bail of the lantern into the grip of her mouth, just as the pair had done many times before on their adventures. Sometimes without the equipment between them.

Casually the pegasus continued, drawing his sword as any good bodyguard would do. "What would you have me do, Blueblood, mostly  since I don't know what's going on!"

[Blueblood]

The forces of science and reason had been making poor headway against the stronghold of superstition and fear.  Blueblood's generalship was hardly the best, as it was with difficulty that he kept himself from literally quaking in his boots.  "Well Dunder..."  He took a deep breath of musty air, and coughed.  Dust and mold spores seemed to hang heavy in the cold humidity, waiting like trained infiltrators to infect the lungs of the wary.  "Ach-ahem.  The face masks.  We're going to need those."

 

Paper masks like those worn by doctors and nurses were passed around to the whole group.  The Prince strapped his on, picking up one of the pickaxe tools from the pack slung over Fire's back.  "We'll begin with-"  He stopped, momentarily, and stared in shock at the plaster wall.  The water-stains were visibly growing, leaking brown liquid in streaks down to the heap of rotting wall-paper.  Already, he could see the shape that had haunted his dreams forming before his very eyes...

 

Blueblood shut his eyes, trying to block out the horrific vision as he shouted some unparseable syllables, flinging the tool in his magical grip straight at the wall.  It stuck pick-end in, the plaster around it could be said to be dissolving rather than crumbling.  It poured away like a collapsing pile of sand, opening a dark hole in the wall, through which glittered silver and gold in the reflected lamp-light...