Ring of the Artisan

Act II Ch. 15: The Strong and the Talented

i only know how to kind of play four instruments so some information might be wrong later in the chapter lol

also sorry this's late i've been playing too much skyrim

~

"It's got this little curvy line near its sharp part."

"The handle's a bit wider than that!"

"I believe it was curved slightly more than that."

You dropped your head onto the table with a heavy sigh. "Guys, please," You started. "Slow down a bit..."

"We've got to get this right if we want to find the other Fangblades!" Kai exclaimed. "If we don't know what it looks like, how'll we find them?!"

"Y'know what," Cole scooted back from the table. "I think I might have a picture somewhere..." Cole stood from his chair and ran out of the Bridge.

"While he's off doing that," Kai faced your way, "you gotta make the handle—"

You pushed back from the table with a groan. "For once in my life, I don't want to do art," You complained aloud. "Just... draw it yourself, Kai. Go collaborate with Zane and Cole or something..."

Just then, Cole ran into the room, a fairly large book in his hands. "I've got it!" Cole exclaimed. "I've got an old photo!" Cole practically slammed the book onto the table before cracking it open. He flipped through a few pages, explaining as he went, "Back where I grew up, there's this pretty big competition where, every year, the winner gets the Blade Cup. It gets passed around to whoever the next winner is. Here." Cole stopped at a page, pointing to one of the photos. In the photo stood the Blade Cup, a standard golden trophy with the Fangblade's blade sticking out of the top.

"Yeah, that's it!" Kai shouted.

"My dad's won it multiple times," Cole mentioned. "Now I remember why the Fangblade looked so familiar..."

"You've never mentioned that your dad was an accomplished athlete," Zane spoke. "What sport?"

"Oh, uh..." Cole hesitated. "He's... a blacksmith."

"Nothing wrong with that!" Kai smiled. "My dad was a blacksmith, and I kind of was, too—"

"A real bad one," Nya chimed in from a short way away. She was leaning against the Bridge's control panel, flipping through a book of maps.

"Shut up," Kai growled at his sister. "Though... I've never heard of a competition..."

"That's 'cause he's not a blacksmith blacksmith," Cole interrupted. "He's a Royal Blacksmith. He's part of a quartet of singers..." Cole turned a few more pages, soon revealing a picture of an older man holding the Blade Cup. The man seemed similar to Cole in appearance, with a mustache and lighter, thinner hair being the only two key differences between Cole's father and Cole himself.

Jay snorted. "That's your dad?"

You elbowed Jay as Cole glared at the blue ninja.

"How did the Fangblade manage to end up as a trophy?" You curiously asked, hoping to quickly move past Jay's backhanded comment.

"Well, the story goes that there's this guy who collects artifacts..." Cole pondered for a moment. "Dutch... Dutch Something... Or, no, it's Clutch. Clutch Powers. He found the Blade and turned it into a trophy for that competition."

"You know who has it?" Kai questioned.

"I have no idea," Cole sighed. "I haven't talked to my dad in years..."

You felt a slight pang of hurt for Cole. He must miss his father a lot.

"Well. let's call him up and ask!" Jay offered.