The Tyrant's agents arrive, then head to town to stay the night.

Three years later, Musides' work on the statue is complete. An especially large branch hangs over the villa and Musides' statue. From the burial place of the twigs an enormous olive tree grows at an incredible rate. Musides builds the tomb and buries the olive twigs. Soon after, Kalos dies in the olive grove. Kalos asks that twigs from specific olive trees in the grove be buried near his head. When Kalos' death seems imminent, Musides weeps and promises to carve for him an elaborate marble sepulchre. Despite the efforts of his doctors and his friend Musides, Kalos weakens. Despite Kalos' weakened state, his visitors detect in him a serenity that contrasts Musides' dismay. The work proceeds, and although Musides is still social and active, he seems morose-apparently because Kalos has fallen ill. Secretly, the Tyrant expects the sculptors not only to compete but to cooperate, resulting in statuary that will be truly magnificent. The statue, they are told, must be 'of great size and cunning workmanship', since it is to be 'a wonder of nations and a goal of travellers.' The most beautiful statue will be erected in the Tyrant's city, Syracuse. One day, emissaries from 'the Tyrant of Syracuse' ask the sculptors each to create a statue of Tyché ( Greek: τύχη, lit.'fortune fate'). It was there he was said to receive his inspiration. They were devoted friends, but different in disposition: Musides enjoyed the nightlife, while Kalos preferred the quiet of the olive grove.

Both men created works that were widely known and celebrated. The narrator explains that the beekeeper who lives next door told him a story about the tree: Two renowned sculptors, Kalos and Musides, lived in the colonnaded villa, which was 'resplendent' in its day. There, one gigantic tree resembles a frighteningly distorted man, and the roots of the tree have shifted the blocks of the tomb. On a slope of Mount Maenalus in Arcadia is an olive grove that grows around a marble tomb and the ruin of an old villa. This olive tree on the Greek island of Ithaca is believed to be more than 1500 years old.

H.P. Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi