Episode 11 ~ The Puppeteer’s Melody

The scent of cookies and deli meat filled the air as Calliope stood there, counting the beats of her heart. Inside the shop were Elizabeth and Arnos. Arnos, wearing a flashy yellow blazer that almost seemed out of place, asked the Sandwich Artist if he had ever heard of the “Kumite.”

“The what? Do you want a sandwich?” The sandwich artist continued

Calliope ran her pink-manicured nails through her honey-brown hair, staring at him. Had he been watching too many Jean-Claude Van Damme movies on VHS, or was he being serious? She couldn’t tell, especially with Gideon sitting next to Elizabeth, Kuresh still puzzled, and Sumit ordering a meat-filled sub.

Calliope ordered a dozen assorted cookies for herself, tucking them into her backpack. Her sweet tooth was still very much alive. After a few moments, another Gideon came out of the bathroom. She stood there, staring at them both. The other guests in the sandwich shop paid them no mind—they couldn’t see magic.

“I am Gideon,” one said.

“No, that’s me!” the Gideon near the bathroom replied.

“Gideon, show me the marble in your pocket,” Calliope asked, standing between the two women.

The Gideon near the bathroom hesitated for only a moment before pulling out the marble. The trapped kobold inside began cursing again, its voice muffled and angry. The other Gideon, seeing the marble, bolted for the door, slipping into the city outside toward the subway. There was no time to give chase—Calliope knew they had bigger concerns. They still had to finish their current mission.

With a sigh, Calliope turned and made her way back into the abandoned subway system. The caravan was resting, and the time for sleep had come.

Deciding to take the last watch, she kicked Sumit awake. The darkness around them was eerie, oppressive, the quiet almost too thick to bear. She scanned the shadows, unease prickling at the back of her neck. Something felt off, but what had happened during the other watches, she couldn’t say.

Sumit muttered, half asleep, "I could really go for some tea."

Calliope forgot about the enchanted teapot she had brought back from Mt. Diablo. She quickly brewed a cup for Sumit, the steam swirling from the cup as she handed it to him. But the moment the hot tea touched his lips, something strange happened. His muscles seemed to shrink, his height diminishing rapidly until, in the blink of an eye, the tall, buff man had transformed into a tiny fairy hovering in the air, wings fluttering frantically.

Calliope stared at the small figure in disbelief, trying to maintain her composure. "Well, so far, this watch is going just swell," she muttered to herself, her gaze scanning the darkness.

The silence stretched on for a moment longer, but then came the muffled, distressed cries. It was a sound she knew too well, a sound that sent a wave of dread through her. She should have known better—being underground, in this strange, eerie place, was starting to make her a little bit crazy.

She followed the sound to find the goblin from earlier, bound and tied up, struggling against his restraints. A sinking feeling settled in her stomach as she realized that something was very wrong.

Before she could process what was happening, the ceiling above them creaked, and six kobolds descended from the shadows above, their sharp teeth glinting in the dim light.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Her heart raced, each beat louder than the last. It was all happening too fast, and the pressure was mounting.

Calliope felt the weight of the situation settling on her shoulders. She was about to fumble this encounter, she could feel it. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself. But before she could react, a kobold javelin slammed into her left thigh, then another into her right thigh. The pain was immediate, sharp, and searing, but she couldn’t afford to let it slow her down.

She gritted her teeth, fighting to keep her composure, but the pain was relentless. Blood began to pour from the wounds, staining her clothes and dripping onto the floor. She tried to scream, to call out for help from the camp, but her voice faltered. Only one person stirred—Gideon, who groggily blinked awake from the sounds of the chaos.

Calliope’s voice was barely more than a whisper as she muttered into the darkness, the weight of the absurdity sinking in. "My boyfriend is going to be very unhappy about this."

She blinked at the words she'd just said, trying to make sense of them. Boyfriend? Was this really happening? What in the Days of Our Lives moment was this?

The blood poured from her wounds, but she fought to stay focused. Every instinct screamed at her to act fast, but the throbbing pain clouded her thoughts.

Then, amidst the turmoil, a single, sharp note rang through the air, followed by a crescendo of melodic piano notes, almost as if the world itself was playing a twisted tune to match the chaos unfolding around her.

She was back in his sanctum, the room vast and opulent, the air thick with the echo of piano keys. Orion's fingers moved gracefully over the keys, the sound filling the space with a haunting melody.

“Orion,” she whispered, almost unsure if she should disturb him.

“Shhh, it’s my turn now,” he responded, his voice smooth and calm, as his white hair swayed gently with his movements. There she was, standing in her crimson dress, framed by the dim candlelight. The music seemed to pulse through the chambers, resonating deep within her, and for a moment, the world outside—the subway, the kobolds—vanished into nothing.

"Don’t call me for such trivial things, darling, but don’t stop calling on me," his voice trailed off, fading into the sounds of the piano.

Then, just as quickly, she was back in the subway. The sanctum, Orion, and the music were all gone, like a dream that had slipped away. She stood there in the dim, flickering light, holding her wand, her heart racing. Gideon and Sumit stared at her, both clearly unsettled, and she could feel their confusion.

The kobolds were dead, their bodies strewn across the ground. In front of her, a massive hole had been blasted into the wall, a jagged opening that seemed to go on further than she could see, stretching into the unknown. The echo of the piano still lingered, a faint memory of something far away, but now it was just the quiet aftermath of battle.

Sumit was back to normal standing next to Gideon and he looked Calliope as he healed up her wounds. She hated being underground

The rest of the caravan moved quietly as they made their way out of the safety of the forest, following Zeenthala’s lead. The crisp air was refreshing, a sharp contrast to the lingering tension of the journey. Calliope paused for a moment, letting the cool breeze wash over her, taking in the moment of calm.

Roy had come over to speak with them, informing the group that they'd be in the city in a few hours. It was a college town, known for its magical university, which stood as the focal point of the area. The others began asking questions, eager to learn more about the place, but Calliope's curiosity led her to ask something else.

“Do you know anything about the Puppeteer?” she asked, her tone edged with curiosity, her voice low but deliberate.

Roy paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he thought. "What I know is he's part of an old children’s tale around these parts," he said slowly, his drawl thick. "Kids who didn’t go to bed when they were supposed to, or who misbehaved... they’d be taken by their stuffed animals—like they'd been puppeted." His voice dropped to a near whisper, as though the story itself held a dark weight.

Calliope’s clockwork heart felt like it stuttered for a moment, a pang of unease tightening in her chest. She took a slow breath, the air suddenly feeling thick with foreboding. What exactly was she to Orion, the Puppeteer.

Next Episode 12 ~ The Clockwork Pulse