In the quiet study of his home, Clone Number Three's projection hovered like a silent observer, keeping tabs on Crafty and his companions. The group huddled in a sparsely furnished room, trembling with fear, their faces pale.
"They're just sitting there," the clone's creator muttered, disappointment tinging his voice. "Useless."
The lack of action from Crafty and his group mirrored the stagnation of other players in the drama unfolding across the kingdom. Plink remained hidden, Wisebell seemed content to bide his time, and the dragon's path of destruction appeared strangely methodical but slow.
"Talking dragons," mused the creator aloud, breaking the silence in his workshop. "It seems like a waste to kill one outright. Imagine the stories it could tell—history, ancient knowledge, things we couldn't uncover otherwise."
