A short story (in script/audio transcript format) inspired vaguely by The Magnus Archives. The story starts when Barley’s filing a few artifacts in the basement. They find a book containing death runes, so curious, they try out a few spells. It… well, it doesn’t go as planned. In this script, Iggy (it/they/star) is the head investigator for Wilzer and Co. Investigations, an investigative organization Iggy founded with it’s sister, Jo. Jo (she/her) is away looking into a crime scene. Barley (he/they) is the archivist, so he mainly focuses on organizing and making transcripts of statements. This pieces is an exploration of my own original characters.
Iggy (it/they/star): a netherian hybrid with fire-manipulation. It has short tusks, pointed ears, and a hog’s tail.
Barley (he/they): a nature fae with an affinity for plants. Pointed ears and hands that look as if they’ve been dipped in green paint.
[click]
Iggy: Oh hey Barley! I was-
Barley: I need… [panting] help. One of the artifacts Jo sent got… weird.
Iggy: Glad I was recording.
Barley: You were recording?
Iggy: I always am. Bring the recorder, will you? I’ll handle the artifact.
[a muffled crash]
Barley: Uh oh. Um, guess you’re coming with.
[several minutes where the only sound is the rustling of fabric and Barley’s breathing]
Barley: Okay, so whoever’s transcribing this- probably me– is gonna have a tough time figuring out what’s happening. So. Let’s see. There’s a giant… decapitated deer? I think? With a floating human skull. And- oh! Not the shelv-
[crash]
Iggy: [faintly] Ow! Hey!
[the deer roars]
Iggy: Why are you trying to be a hoglin?! Stop it!
Barley: Yep, just gonna… move… um, so the skull has green flames for eyes and there’s a book, what, embedded? Yeah, embedded in the base of it’s neck. Where the shoulders are. With tree branches. The book is what made the deer, so-
[louder] Hey Iggy, go for the book!
Iggy: Duh! I’m going in again, wonder if-
[a crashing, splintering noise]
[several minutes of muffled noise and static]
[The noise trails off into the whirring of the recorder]
[click]
Barley: Okay, so I lost the recorder. Well, I dropped it, in the storage room, so now I need to go find it-
Iggy: [darkly] You’re still banned.
Barley: It wasn’t my fault! How was I supposed to know it would react to fae magic?
Iggy: You shouldn’t have been using magic.
Barley: There were death runes in there. What was I supposed to do?
Iggy: [annoyed] Bring it to me!
Barley: You would’ve done the same thing.
Iggy: I- that- yeah! That’s beside the point!
Barley: I think that’s exactly the point. But now it’s just a pile of magical ash. Can’t do much with that.
Iggy: There’s a lot you could do with that.
Barley: [sigh] You can’t read ash, Iggy!
Iggy: Eh.
[click]
