#jon was gonna send martin on another wild goose chase but had to give it to tim instead

[arealexpression]

Every time Jon mentions Martin before the latter’s debut

Launch Trailer

Jon: [After hearing a thump] Martin? Martin, is that you? … I swear, if he’s brought another dog in here, I am going to—peel him.

Anglerfish

I’ve managed to secure the services of two researchers to assist me—well, technically three, but I don’t count Martin as he’s unlikely to contribute anything but delays. I plan to digitize the files as much as possible and record audio versions, though some will have to be on tape recorder, as my attempts to get them on my laptop have met with... “significant audio distortions.” Alongside this, Tim, Sasha, and, yes, I suppose Martin, will be doing some supplementary investigation to see what details may be missing from what we have.

Page Turner

Martin couldn’t find any records of Ex Altiora as a title in existent catalogues of esoteric or similar literature, so I assigned Sasha to doublecheck.

Thrown Away

I had Martin conduct a follow-up interview with Mr. Woodward last week, but it was unenlightening. Apparently there have been no further bags at number ninety-three, and in the intervening years he has largely discounted many of the stranger aspects of his experience. I wasn’t expecting much as time generally makes people inclined to forget what they would rather not believe, but at least it got Martin out of the Institute for an afternoon, which is always a welcome relief.

Burned Out

Martin was [pause in which Jon is clearly restraining himself] unable to find the exact date the original house was built...

Vampire Killer

According to Martin, who was here when they took this statement, it was at this point in writing that Mr. Herbert announced he needed some sleep before continuing. He was shown to the break room where he went to sleep on the couch. He did not awaken, unfortunately succumbing to the lung cancer right there. Martin says the staff had been aware of how serious Mr. Herbert’s condition was and had advised him to seek medical aid prior to giving his statement, but were told rather bluntly by the old man that he would not wait another second to state his case.

First Aid

“Veepalach” might also be a mishearing of the Polish word “wypalać,” according to Martin, which means to cauterize or brand. Admittedly, if Martin speaks Polish in the same way he “speaks Latin,” then he might be talking nonsense again, but I’ve looked it up, and it appears to check out.

Lost Johns’ Cave

…Martin declined to help with this investigation as he’s a bit claustrophobic...

Piecemeal

I sent Martin to look into this—“Angela” character. [With a smug smile you can practically hear] Not that I want him to get chopped up of course, but someone had to. Apparently, he spent three days looking into every woman named Angela in Bexley over the age of fifty. He could not find anyone that matches the admittedly vague description given here, though he informs me that he had some very pleasant chats about jigsaws. [Pause] Useless ass.

Arachnophobia

If I were of a more alarmist nature, I might think the appearance of Mr. Vittery’s corpse lent some credibility to his tale, but as I told Martin earlier, he was there for over a week, so there is very likely a perfectly natural explanation for the fact that his body was completely encased in web.

The Boneturner’s Tale

Elias: By the way, have you seen Martin? Jon: Oh, he’s... off sick this week. Stomach problems, I think.

[Seconds later, when Elias has left] Blessed relief if you ask me.

The Man Upstairs

There are no records of transactions at any supermarkets or online delivery firms, and Tim asked round some of the local butchers, as Martin is still off sick.

Desecrated Host

As it turns out the second part of this statement was simply misfiled in the next folder, which was useful, although it does beg the question of who was reading it last. Martin is still absent, but Tim and Sasha both swear they haven’t seen it before.

Freefall

Jon: [Suddenly] My God! Martin? What... What the hell is— What are these things?

#the magnus archives #jon sims #martin blackwood #jon was gonna send martin on another wild goose chase but had to give it to tim instead #total dick move lol