"Great, more running!" Varian screams as they take off through the wooded area away from the Kirlok.
"You know, for a two-thousand pound flesh eater he is quite nimble!" Eugene says.
Suddenly, Rapunzel gets an idea. "Guys, the trees!" She says. The others scramble up the nearest tree they can, while Rapunzel grabs Calliope and lassos her hair around a tree branch. They swing up the tree, and out of the Kirlok's reach.
"We made it!" Calliope says with a laugh. But when she looks at Rapunzel, the princess is still glaring at her. "Oh, right... Uh, I lied to you."
The Kirlok then begins to ram the tree they're up with its horns, shaking the branches.
"Now, I can explain," Calliope says, hugging the tree tighter.
"Yeah, I'm sure you can... in twelve languages, no doubt," Rapunzel remarks as the Kirlok rams the tree again. "Listen, I don't know who you are, but I trusted you! And I had to endure your condescension, and—and your insults. And I went against my better judgement, all because you said that you were the Keeper of the Spire!" Her voice raises with her frustration.
Calliope is quiet for a long time before saying, "It's spy-err..."
"Oh, for the love of..." Varian mutters, finally unable to stand it any longer. "THERE IS LITERALLY NO DIFFERENCE IN WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!" He shouts at Calliope from the other tree.
For once, Calliope is speechless. She just stares at Varian blankly, until Rapunzel sighs deeply.
"Who are you?" Rapunzel finally asks.
Calliope sighs. "I'm the Keeper's assistant. Or at least, I used to be. Before that, I was just an incredibly talented street magician..."
"'Talented' is not the word I would use," Varian whispers to Cassandra and Eugene.
"I would perform my tricks in front of hundreds of people," Calliope continues. But then she mumbles, "Eh, not really. It wasn't always appreciated... Then one day, the Keeper, the real Keeper came up to me, out of the blue, and asked me to be his apprentice! I had purpose, and I didn't want to mess it up. I wanted to learn everything I could about the Spire. I had to.
"It was going well. Or at least, I thought it was. But a few months ago, the Keeper just disappeared. And once again, I had no purpose. That is, until you came along. Seeing you, someone with such a clear purpose, inspired me. Maybe I could be the Keeper! Maybe I could help you get that scroll!"
Rapunzel's expression softens, and Varian recognizes the look of compassion Rapunzel is giving Calliope. She has given him that look a few times. "Why didn't you just tell us you weren't the Keeper?" She asks.
Calliope looks away, ashamed. "Would you have accepted help from an apprentice?" She asks. "Especially if you knew she was abandoned by her own master?" She leans her forehead against the tree.
"I don't know," Rapunzel admits. "But we probably wouldn't be up this tree right now."
"That's actually a really good point," Calliope says, staring down at the ground below them.
Varian realizes that, while he and the others were eavesdropping on Rapunzel and Calliope's conversation, the Kirlok gave up and left. They climb back down the tree, and stare up at the girls.
"Calliope... I still need that scroll piece," Rapunzel says, offering a kind smile.
Calliope returns the smile. "And I still have one key I haven't tried!"
"Great! That's great news," Eugene yells up at them. "Why don't you use it to unlock the door before that thing comes back?"
After Rapunzel and Calliope come back down to the ground, they all run as fast as they can to the Spire Vault. But before they reach the door, the Kirlok rushes in front of them and blocks their way. It roars loudly, and slams its front paws on the ground.
"I specifically said before the thing comes back!" Eugene shouts.
"Gotta give it points for persistence," Cassandra says as they back away from the creature.
"I'll give it more points for letting us go nice and easy," Lance adds.
"Something tells me that's not gonna happen!" Varian yells as the Kirlok rears back, preparing to attack. As it pounces, the gang rush away and back to the safety of the woods again.
"That's a lot of points you just lost!" Lance shouts at the Kirlok.
The Kirlok snorts, and stands guard in front of the Vault doors.
"We have to get it away from the door," Rapunzel says. "Ideas, anybody?"
"Don't look at me," Calliope says. "I'm just a failed magician. If it doesn't involve flash, panache, and sleight of hand, then I'm pretty much..." She pauses as she considers this. "Wait a second... Guys? I think I have an idea."
As she explains her plan, Varian realizes ways that he can help out. When she says she wants some kind of fog, he hands her a small sphere from his pocket. "Just throw this, and that should do it!" He tells her.
"What, are you some kind of magician too?" She asks him.
"Nope, it's not magic," he replies with a smirk. "It's alchemy."
Calliope shrugs, and throws the sphere onto the ground. It creates a black fog that billows around them and towards the Kirlok.
"Kirlok, Protector of the Spire!" Calliope announces dramatically. "It is I, Calliope!" She stammers as she tries to think of what else to say. "Uh... Apprentice of the Keeper of the Spire, and legerdemain artiste extraordinaire!" She sighs heavily, beginning to lose her nerve, but Rapunzel squeezes her shoulder reassuringly and she continues. "And do you know what time it is?" She steps out of the fog so that the Kirlok can see her. "Time for wonder!"
Calliope thrusts out her hand, and a tiny spark flies up. The Kirlok stares at her, unimpressed.
Varian facepalms from their hiding place in the bushes. "I told her to flick them out, not toss them out!"
The Kirlok steps toward Calliope menacingly, and in a panic she tosses a whole deck of cards out of her sleeves. As the Kirlok is distracted with shaking them off of its head, she sticks a bouquet in its mouth that suddenly pops into bloom. She chuckles, which only makes it angrier. But when it rushes at her, she throws something on the ground that explodes in its face, allowing her to run behind it.
"Did you give her that one, too?" Cassandra asks Varian.
"Nah, she actually had that one already," he replies.
"Yoo-hoo!" Calliope taunts the Kirlok. When it turns around, she is waving a blue blanket. "Et voila!" The creature rushes at the blanket as she shouts, "That's French for 'There it is'!"
In its attempt to attack the blanket, the Kirlok slams into the doors head-first. It shakes its head, and turns to Calliope in shock. She pretends to pull a coin from its ear, and then boops its nose. It growls furiously, and chases her as she runs back through the woods. "Come on, almost there!"
"Now!" Rapunzel shouts, swinging from a tree by her hair to swoop up Calliope.
With Eugene and Varian holding one end of Rapunzel's hair, and Cassandra and Lance holding the other end, they all pull.
The Kirlok trips over the hair, and tumbles over a nearby cliff... right into a patch of Poison Elm. It growls at the instant red blotches that break out all over its body.
"Try not to scratch!" Lance yells down to it. "You'll regret it."
"Nice job facing the Kirlok, Calliope," Rapunzel says from their perch in the tree. "And those tricks weren't so bad, either."
"Hey, I helped with some of those!" Varian shouts up at them.
"Oh, there's more where that came from," Calliope tells her, pulling out a coin. "Just an ordinary coin, right?"
"Yeah, hmm... Maybe later," Rapunzel says, jumping down from the tree.