The Magnus Archives - The Magnus Protocol 56 – Structural Assessments

Episode Date: September 24, 2026

CAT2RC2256-19062019-02072024architecture (recursive) -/- isolationIncident Elements:·  isolation·  decay·  temporal/spatial distortion·  altered realityTranscripts available at https://rustyquill.com/transcripts/the-magnus-protocol/You can find a complete list of our Kickstarter backers https://rustyquill.com/the-magnus-protocol-supporter-wall/Created by Jonathan Sims and Alexander J Newall  Directed by Alexander J NewallWritten by Mark Anzalone, Steven Anzalone, and Walker Kornfeld (of Maeltopia, for more of their work visit https://www.maeltopia.com/) and Alexander J Newall Script Edited with additional material by Jonathan SimsExecutive Producers April Sumner, Alexander J Newall, Jonathan Sims, Dani McDonough, Linn Ci, and Samantha F.G. Hamilton Associate Producers Jordan L. Hawk, Taylor Michaels, Nicole Perlman, Cetius d’Raven, and Megan Nice Produced by April SumnerFeaturing (in order of appearance) Anusia Battersby as Gwen BouchardBillie Hindle as Alice DyerLowri Ann Davies as Celia RipleyMichael Looney as Night PorterJonathan Sims as ChesterDialogue Editor – Lowri Ann Davies Sound Designer – Tessa VroomMastering Editor - Catherine RinellaMusic by Sam Jones (orchestral mix by Jake Jackson) Art by April Sumner  SFX from Soundly and Freesound: Lynx_5969, chris_dagorne, daboy291, CAT-FOX_ALEX, Nox_Sound, kyles, Breezy2000uk, danielad, 1bob, cupido-1, WavJunctioncom, Robbyjames14, MTJohnson as well as previously credited artistsSupport Rusty Quill directly by joining our new membership platform at members.rustyquill.com or on Patreon at patreon.com/rustyquillPre-order links for From the Library of Jurgen Leitner: https://rustyquill.com/novelCheck out our merchandise available at https://www.redbubble.com/people/RustyQuill/shop and https://www.teepublic.com/stores/rusty-quillSupport Rusty Quill by purchasing from our Affiliates;DriveThruRPG – DriveThruRPG.comJoin our community:WEBSITE: rustyquill.comFACEBOOK: facebook.com/therustyquillX: @therustyquillEMAIL: [e-mail] The Magnus Protocol is a derivative product of the Magnus Archives, created by Rusty Quill Ltd. and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share alike 4.0 International Licence. For ad-free episodes, bonus content and more, join members.rustyquill.com or our Patreon.Pre-order FROM THE LIBRARY OF JURGEN LEITNER, a Magnus novel releasing October 27th: rustyquill.com/novel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rusty Quill presents The Magnus Protocol. Episode 56. Structural Assessment How did you know I was there? Rigged a mirror so no one can sneak up on me. I wasn't sneaking. A, you were, and B, what do you want, Gwen? I'm busy with the caseload. That makes a nice change. Would you rather have stopped?

No, I don't think that would be a good idea, given Celia's truancy. Cool. Then if that's all you came to nag me about, why don't you sod off back to Lena's office? I'm sure there's some paperclips that need straightening or something. Yesterday, you interrupted Harvey's interview. Yeah, I did both of you a favour by scaring him off. You interrupted Harvey's interview to tell me something important. What was it? Alice.

We're out of blue roll. Thought ordering more was about your speed. Anything else? I guess something nice. None of that government issue, one plan. nonsense. I see. Alice, I know we don't always see eye to eye. Uh-huh. But I am genuinely trying to help with all this. Debatable. So if there is something important you know that could help, I need you to tell me, all right? As the manager, I'm responsible for keeping everyone safe, but I can't do that with all

these secrets in the way. You know what? You're absolutely right. Fantastic. So why do we start with you come and clean about everything at your end and go from there. All your secrets. Well, I... Because it seems to me a good manager leads by example, right? They trust their staff rather than hanging them out to dry and hiring replacements behind their backs, whilst becoming besties with a man-eating desktop. I don't know what you want me to say, Alice. Then I don't have anything to say to you, Gwendolyn.

For goodness sake, Alice, what do you want from me? I'm working with the same information you are. I don't believe you. What, you think I've got some secret room hidden in the office, stuffed with boxes full of answers? God, I hope so, because if you are genuinely as clueless as you're acting, we are so utterly screwed that it's not even funny. You don't really think there could be one, do you? One what? A secret room.

Have you looked? Not thoroughly. Well, then maybe start looking, because it sounds like you need answers more than any of us. And you're sure as hell not going to find them hiding behind a little. as a desk all night hoping will clean up your messes. You're impossible. Better than incompetent. Fine.

Suit yourself. Elriccap.com. From Liza Knight, L.night at Elrickcap.com. Date, July 21, 2019. Subject, the Dower House Surveyor's Report. Veronica, I think you're going to need to find an alternative warehousing solution. After two weeks of silence, I finally went and checked the... place out myself. No sign of the surveyor, but found this report wedged in the door.

I've attached the scans of what I managed to recover despite the staining. With your permission, I'd like to burn the originals. Sounds like there's enough hidden footprint, but you're going to struggle with dry goods. I'd suggest a pass on purchasing, but it's obviously up to you. I know you like a challenge. Either way, I'm not taking the account. Attachment reads, Dawson and Furthington Property Consultants Limited. Level 3. Structural Building Survey. RICS, regulated firm registration number 7656281. Client.

Knight, Liza, they, them, on behalf of Elric Capital Investments Limited. Property address. The Dower House, Stoke Park Estate, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS16, 1EH. Surveyor, Furthington Thomas M. He Him. B.S. Ons Building Surveyor FRICS, RICS membership number 548-1359. Date of inspection, 19th June, 2019. Property status, occupied, multiple tenants. Introduction. Purpose of the survey to assess structural integrity and property condition, special client request for original notes, ray, basement, sizing. Scope, non-invasive, visual inspection only. Inaccessible or obstructive.

areas not inspected. Executive summary. Overall condition, the Dower House is a grade two listed building which has been maintained to a reasonable standard. Some areas require attention due to text obscured. Over 20 years as a chartered surveyor, I have seen my fair share of oddities. But nothing like this. It's one thing to surveyor building, it's another to face something that text obscured.

Property description. type. Detached, multi-story building converted into residential apartments. Age, constructed in 1553, rebuilt circa 1760 and converted into apartments 2004. External elements, drainage. Functional surface water drainage, some down pipes require realignment to prevent water ingress. Boundaries, clear stone boundary walls with some mortar joints needing repointing. Exterior walls. Distinctive yellow rendered masonry. Text obscured.

It's coming out of the walls. I'd suggest getting in a specialist to confirm it's not biological or text obscured. Internal elements. Floors. Suspended timber ground floors, signs of repair. No significant deflections. Timber joist upper floors with minor deflection. Internal walls, generally sound, minor cracking and detachment of plaster in communal areas.

Damp. Some signs of rising damp due to inadequate damp-proofing and historic construction methods. Main structure. Foundations. Presumed period-typical shallow strip foundation. Condition. Text obscured. Definitely wrong here.

Discoveries. Gained access to basement using key provider by client. Initial examination found sizing consistent with previous estimations, however, discovered a trapdoor leading to undocumented sub-basement. Sub-basement is extremely large and extends beyond stated boundaries of property. Construction elements consistent with Tudor text obscured, replica of the house above, situated entirely underground. There's a pungent, mold-like odor and odd sounds which might have been caused by structural text obscured. Not even sure what part of the house this is.

It retains expected attributes, high ceilings, ornate cornucing, etc. However, the state of text obscured appeared structurally sound, but showed sign of damp and potential infestations. I'm not sure, text obscured. A third house nestled within the second, the repetition is uncanny. Each house is an echo of the last, like walking through a time-lapse of rot. The air is colder, and I am certain I am being observed, though text obscured, beyond anything I've ever seen.

The wooden structures are bizarrely swollen, rupturing with organic decay. A dark, viscous fluid like sap or blood seeps from text obscured. The walls aren't just decaying there, alive. pulsating like some sort of sick flesh. The air is thick, heavy with an overpowering stench. The floors also show the same disturbing, organic quality, rising and falling like the laboured breathing of a dying animal. Sections of the soiled flooring have been laid back,

open wounds that expose a squirming, greasy material that flinches when I touch it, and it's still going down, Lower into text obscured, a cyclical pattern of decay and regeneration, a continuous process of decomposition and anomalous reconstruction. The lower I go, the worse it gets. This is not a house at all, but text obscured. Staircases and corridors twist and turn on themselves. I feel like a rat in a maze, a maze designed by some text obscured, barely more than a cruel space.

pushing through the wet corridor of rot and mud and text obscured can hear the house feel its breathing underfoot my skin is beginning to grey and soften and even if i somehow get out of here it's only a matter of time conclusion and recommendations tell my daughter what happened don't let her think i abandoned her surveyor's signature ferthington thomas michael bsc and Ones building surveying. F-R-I-C-S-R-I-S membership number. 548-13-59. Dated, 26th June, 2019. Signature pending. Nigel, I'm not having this conversation with you again. This office is closed to you and your client. And if you call again, I'm just going to... There are secret rooms in the O-A-A-R. Goodbye, Nigel. I'm sorry, run that by me again.

Well, I guess maybe not technically in the OIAR itself, but Royal Mint Court? Yeah, secret rooms. I see. I don't suppose you'd care to explain. So, I was thinking about what you said. There's a first. And you remember when Colin started going round all the offices with his gear? I remember Lena telling him to stop drilling into the walls. Yeah, that.

Well, I got to wondering, what was he looking for? I'd always just assumed he was doing general teching. Teching? You know, chasing cables, refragging hard drives, funging tokens, teching. Anyway, when I went through his notebooks, it turns out, there's really not that much stuff actually running in the office, and it all just leads to the server room anyway, right? Presumably.

So you got me thinking, what was he looking for? What was he looking for? Glad you asked. Alice, couldn't you just have emailed all this? Not without Freddy getting his sparky mitts all over it. So, what do we know about this building? I know there was some talk about redevelopment that Lena really didn't like. That was rhetorical.

Please hold all pointless interruptions until the ride has come to a complete stop. The Johnson Smirk building was designed by James Johnson in 1805 and completed by Robert Smirk around 1812 after Johnson's death. Now, there's not much out there on Johnson, but Smirk. Oh, there's plenty on that guy. Turns out he was an odd duck, pissed off of him. lot of monarchists and then got into weird old cult stuff towards the end. There were even rumours he sneaked extra stuff into the buildings he worked on. But wait, there's more.

Turns out Royal Mint Court is built right on top of a pile of weird stuff, including a plague pit, a monastery, and I shit you not, actual buried treasure. What? I know, right. Now, don't get me wrong. I doubt Colin was cool enough to be hunting for buried treasure. But I do think he was looking for something.

You remember how he was always complaining about everything being too old to keep track of? Well, what if he was talking about more than just shitty 90s PCs? What if he was talking about the actual building? What if he found something he wasn't meant to and Freddy did him in for it? Well, what do you think? Oh, I'm allowed to speak now, am I? I'm serious, Gwen. I really think there might be something hidden down there.

You do realise that Royal Mint Court includes all the same. surrounding buildings and none of them are OIAR property. Like I said, might not be under us specifically. Hmm. Well, you're not wrong about this building, at least. I knew it! There are a couple of old rooms in the basement that aren't on the official floor plan. Great, well, we can start there.

Which we already knew about, because we've been dumping broken tech in them for years. What? Yeah. Ever since the council changed the disposal rules on electronics. I warned Lina it wasn't a sustainable solution, but, She didn't listen, of course. I did send a memo about it to everyone, which you would have known if you ever bothered to read them.

Look, Alice, I get it, okay? You're tired, you miss Colin and Sam, and you probably feel like you need a win right now. But you're looking in all the wrong places, and this conspiracy is exactly the kind of misunderstanding that happens when you don't keep me in the loop on what you're doing. Now, I'm aware you've had to be. a lot on, and Celia's absences haven't been helping.

So how about this? You go back out there and do your caseload. Then, if you finish ahead of time, I'll let you clock out early. You can go home and get some rest, have a bath or something. Or we could use the time to visit some damp, horrible basement rooms full of rusty printers and asbestos together. Whatever you like? What do you say? I am glad you brought this to my attention, Alice.

Before you did anything too foolish, you finished. Are you? You're all right, love. Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. First train to London live until 6.30. Yeah, I checked the schedule. Right, right.

When's the first train to Oxford? 547. Or the way from London, though. You're thinking they're going there instead? Sometimes. My life is in London, though. I can't just leave. Sure, sure.

But it's hard knowing you don't belong somewhere. And when the cost is so high, when people are hurting because of it, sometimes I just feel like giving up and going back, you know? Family trouble, is it? I can't just abandon everyone. Hmm. Listen, I'm heading off,

but it sounds like you've a lot in your mind. If you've nowhere you can go, I can leave the staff room unlocked if you like. It's not much, but it's better than here. That's kind, but... It's no bother. I can leave a note for the next shift and put some coffee on before he go. You know what?

That sounds great. Thank you. Right, love. Life's hard. There's no shame in having a bit of help now and then, though, is there? True. True. The Magnus Protocol is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution non-commercial, non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international licence.

The series is created by Jonathan Sims and Alexander J. Newell and directed by Alexander J. Newell. This episode was written by Stephen Anzalon, Mark Anzalon and Walker Cornfeld, and edited with additional materials by Jonathan Sims and Alexander J. Newell. With vocal edits by Loriand Davis. Soundscaping by Tess of Room and mastering by Catherine Rinella With music by Sam Jones It featured Billy Hindle as Alistair

Anusha Batesby as Gwen Bouchard Lowry Ann Davis as Celia Ripley With additional voices from Jonathan Sims The Magnus Protocol is produced by April Sumner With executive producers Alexander Jane Yaw Danny McDonner Lynn C

and Samantha F.G. Hamilton And associate producers Jordan L. Hawke, Taylor Michaels Nicole Perlman, Cetius de Raven, and Megan Nice. To subscribe, explore exclusive extras and enjoy early access ad-free episodes, visit members.com or join our Patreon. Rate and reviews online, follow us on social media, or email us at mail at rustyquill.com. Thanks for listening.

I'm Mark Anselaun, writer and co-creator of The Gentleman from Hell, a horror fiction audio drama centered in the abandoned city of Cold Sparrow. sight of the largest mass disappearance in modern history. We deliver quiet, lingering dread, razor-sharp characters, and secrets digging their way back to the surface. If you like your horror, eerie, intimate, and unsettlingly real, welcome to the fold. I've been to a lot of bad locations in my day, but nothing sets my teeth on edge like this place. Did you hear that? Sure did.

That's the elevator. elevator that needs a complete overhaul to work. The same. Oh, Caitlin, get out of sight. You hear me? You did. What had to be done. We killed you.

Sometimes what goes down comes back up again. Hi, Alex here, founder and CEO of Rusty Quill Limited. In case you haven't heard, there is now a Magnus Archives novel. The Library of Juergen Lightner is set in the world of the Magnus Archives and written by Nebula award-winning author. Premier Muhammad, with our very own Jonathan Sims. The story follows Hugh, a university dropout, desperate to find somewhere to belong,

and his new job at an esoteric library. The books he must investigate for the enigmatic Juergen Lightner are not normal, because the library is not a vault, sealed and silent, but a hive, alive, buzzing, and ready to sting. The Library of Jirgen Lightner releases October 27th, 2026, but you can pre-order it right now in the US and UK from your local bookshop,

or by using the link in the episode description. If you live outside of the UK or US, you may be able to make an international order for this first publication, but it depends on individual retailers shipping policies.