Maryam 5b79b2
Guild 🇷🇺Desperate🇷🇺

Day 5:
Back in the Stronghold, Elias found himself in a new conundrum. He had to ask a question to decide his path, effectively to decide his future. He had previously seen two alternatives: one life where he had power but was hated, and the other life where he had a normal life with a loving family. He definitely did not want the life of a tyrant, but did he want an ordinary life? Wasn’t that a bit boring? Elias was a rather impulsive and adventurous person, someone who preferred uncertainty to routine.
On the table that was placed in the middle of the room, he noticed a glowing flower, a daisy. It was labelled ‘Interrogative Astrology’. Elias understood how to use it. He had to ask his question and then remove the daisy’s petals one at a time, alternating the answers ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. The last answer obtained when pulling the last petal would be the final response to his question. He liked the unpredictable, random nature of the game and was ready to play. He then asked, “Is it possible to be a benevolent ruler loved by all?”
He proceeded to remove petals, one after another, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, …….. He pulled the last petal and the answer was a resounding ‘NO’. Elias was frozen for a minute. Then he thought “I refuse to accept that answer. I will take the path I want to take and, one way or another, make a success out of it”.
He turned around and left the fortress feeling like a master of his own destiny.

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Maryam 5b79b2

Guild Quest.  Day 5. Zodiac Fortress Stronghold - The Price Of Choice
Guild: Double D's

🔮 DAY 5 — “THE LAST QUESTION”
Theme: Heads Full of the Heavens

FOUND: Interrogative Astrology

The star road returned us to the Fortress.

One final door awaited .

Beyond it stood a tiny table beneath an impossible sky.

Four books rested there :

Secret Astrology .

Astrology of Birth .

Relationship Astrology .

And  Interrogative Astrology .

Words appeared among the stars.

ONE QUESTION .

Tara gasped.

“Anything? ”

The stars rearranged .

ONE QUESTION FROM ELIAS .

“Oh. ”

Lala patted her shoulder. “The Fortress has learned.”

Elias picked up  Interrogative Astrology .

The pages were blank except for a single silver circle.

He placed his hand upon it.

Stars filled the pages .

“What are you going to ask?” DeNae said.

Elias didn't answer .

And then it began .

Seven people offering possibilities.

“Ask which choice makes you happiest,” Laura suggested.

“Ask which makes you live the longest,” Tara said.

Julie considered. “Those might not be the same thing.”

“Ask which decision costs you the most money,” DeNae said. “Then don't make that one.”

“Ask when Lala is going to touch something she shouldn't,” I suggested.

“Yesterday,” Lala said.

Oksana laughed .

Then Elias looked at her .

“And you? ”

Oksana shook her head .

“No. ”

“Nothing? ”

“This is the last room.”

Elias waited .

Oksana looked around at us.

“I think perhaps we've advised him enough.”

Slowly, everyone understood.

Laura nodded .

Julie stepped away from the table.

DeNae closed her mouth on whatever practical suggestion had been coming next.

Tara actually closed the Handy Dandy Notebook.

Lala put both hands behind her back.

I looked at Elias .

“She's right. ”

Elias smiled .

“The Destiny Advisory Committee has adjourned?”

“Without ever reaching a unanimous decision,” Julie said.

“That's how you know it was a real committee,” I replied.

We moved away .

Elias stood alone beneath the stars.

For a long time he said nothing.

He could ask which job to take.

Whom to trust .

Which opportunity to refuse.

When he would die .

Whom he would love .

What mistake would hurt him most.

He could know .

And then Elias realized that wasn't what he wanted anymore.

He looked at the seven of us.

Then at the stars .

And asked:

“When I face the choice that will change my life the most, how will I know which path is the right one?”

The Stronghold answered immediately.

Every star disappeared .

Darkness surrounds us.

Then a single sentence appeared overhead:

YOU WILL NOT .

Tara whispered, “That's it?”

Another line appeared.

YOU WILL CHOOSE .

Then another .

AND WHAT YOU DO AFTERWARD WILL BECOME PART OF THE ANSWER.

Elias stared upward .

“So there isn't a right path?”

The stars gave no answer .

I couldn't help myself .

“That's two questions.”

Elias started laughing .

Laura joined him .

Then Julie .

Then everybody.

Even Oksana .

The final door has opened .

But before we left, Elias turned back.

The four books had disappeared.

Only the Drawing Board from Day 1 remained.

His drawing rested upon it.

Thousands of possible lines stretched ahead.

None was highlighted.

None was marked correct.

Beside his line ran seven others.

Ours .

Sometimes together .

Sometimes apart .

Sometimes crossing .

Sometimes disappearing beyond the edge of the page.

Elias didn't touch any of them.

“Not curious?” Lala asked.

“Very.”

“Then why aren't you looking?”

Elias smiled .

“Because I'd rather find out.”

Lala considered this .

“That's annoyingly sensible.”

Coming from Lala, it might have been the greatest compliment Elias received all week.

🌌 CONCLUSION – THE PRICE OF CHOICE

We had entered the Zodiac Stronghold thinking Elias was the one being tested, but somewhere between the Drawing Board and the final room, the Fortress had quietly included all of us in the lesson. Elias discovered that freedom without purpose could become its own prison, that an ordinary life could require extraordinary courage, and that no choice belonged entirely to one person once its consequences began touching other lives. Laura had reminded him that people mattered inside every decision; Julie had taught him to look beyond the obvious meaning of what the Stronghold showed; Tara had documented enough alternate realities to fill several Handy Dandy Notebooks; DeNae had repeatedly dragged temptation back into the practical world; Lala had somehow managed to touch almost everything except the one thing that actually might have erased us; Oksana had known when advice was useful and, more importantly, when it was time to stop giving it; and I had entered as the skeptic who thought destiny was probably an elaborate celestial confidence trick. I wasn't entirely convinced otherwise when we left. But as we crossed the threshold, Elias looked back once at the stars and said, “I suppose knowing every possible road wouldn't make choosing one any easier.” “Probably harder,” Laura said. “Definitely more paperwork,” DeNae added. “More notebooks,” Tara corrected. Julie smiled. “More dogs, potentially.” “More forbidden things to touch,” Lala said hopefully. Oksana just looked at me. I sighed. "Fine. Maybe the Fortress had a point." Tara's notebook was open before I finished the sentence. “JOHN ADMITS—” “Don't write that down.” She wrote faster.

🌌🔮 EPILOGUE – “TODAY, OURSELVES”

The stars above us faded .

For one strange instant, Elias was alone again.

He stood in the Hall of Temptations.

Five pedestals waited before him.

Upon them rested the very things from which everything seemed to have begun.

The Drawing Board .

The Icon of Abundance .

The token of Purpose and Meaning.

The Hercules Constellation.

The book of Interrogative Astrology.

Elias looked down at his hands.

Empty .

Only a few minutes had passed.

There had been no bargain.

No payment.

No wealthy, meaningless life.

No other family behind the window.

No future question.

And perhaps, in whatever sense the Stronghold understood reality, there had been no Explorers Guild either.

Yet Elias could still hear us.

Tara insisting there was a conspiracy.

DeNae telling her to eat something.

Julie worrying about the dog in an alternate universe.

Laura asking whether he was certain.

Lala reaching for precisely the object everyone had told her not to touch.

Oksana quietly refusing to answer a question that belonged to him.

And John reminding him that consequences had an irritating habit of inviting other people along.

Elias slowly walked around the pedestals.

He stopped beside the Icon of Abundance.

Thought about it.

Then glanced upward.

“Can I look at luck separately?”

The Stronghold remained silent.

“I thought so.”

He laughed and walked toward the exit.

Years passed.

Elias did not become cautious.

Not exactly.

He still changed direction when a road stopped making sense. He still accepted risks that made sensible people nervous. He still preferred his own mistakes to someone else's instructions, and he never developed the proper respect for anyone who explained a disaster by shrugging and saying, “It was fate.”

But occasionally, at an important fork in the road, Elias waited a little longer.

Not because he was afraid to choose.

Because now he understood that choosing your own destiny and controlling it were two entirely different things.

A choice could be yours.

Its consequences rarely were.

Then one evening, several years later, Elias received an extraordinary offer.

It promised almost exactly what he wanted.

Money.

Freedom.

Influence.

Very little apparent sacrifice.

The kind of offer that sensible people called once-in-a-lifetime and Elias normally accepted before somebody had time to reconsider.

His pen was already above the signature line.

Then something made him look toward the window.

The familiar constellations glittered over the city.

And among them was one that did not belong.

Hercules.

It shone for only a few seconds.

Long enough .

Elias put down the pen.

“No,” he said .

The man across the table stared at him.

“No? ”

Elias smiled .

“Not this one. ”

He walked outside .

Seven people were waiting across the street.

Laura waved .

Julie smiled .

DeNae held a bag containing something everyone was apparently expected to eat.

Tara was writing furiously in her Handy Dandy Notebook.

Lala was examining a locked gate bearing a very prominent  DO NOT TOUCH  sign.

Oksana was watching her .

And John was already watching Oksana watching Lala.

Elias stopped .

For just a moment, none of them seemed to notice him.

Then Tara looked up .

“There he is! ”

“What are you people doing here?” Elias asked.

John shrugged.

“Making questionable choices.”

“Speak for yourself,” DeNae said.

Lala's hand moved toward the gate.

“Lala,” John warned .

“I haven't touched anything!”

“Yet,” Julie said .

Laura laughed .

Elias looked upward once more.

Hercules was gone.

Maybe the Stronghold had sent the sign.

Maybe it hadn't .

Maybe this meeting had been written among the stars years ago.

Maybe seven people had simply decided to meet a friend.

For once, Elias didn't particularly care which explanation was true.

He crossed the street and joined them.

Somewhere, far beyond the city, a silver line briefly descended from an unfamiliar star.

Elias never saw it .

And that was probably for the best.

Because if the Zodiac Stronghold ever invited him back, Elias still hadn't decided whether he would go.

Then again, he had never been particularly fond of making decisions in advance. 🌌🔮

День 1

Гильдия Ёжик в тумане

Ледяной осколок

Никита уже собирался записать в блокнот «необычные отражающие свойства льда», когда осколок снова засветился.

На этот раз он увидел Снежную королеву. Она стояла у окна, а маленький Кай увлечённо складывал из льдинок слово «вечность».

— Ты ведь не уйдёшь? — неожиданно спросила королева.

— Уйду, когда Герда меня найдёт, — спокойно ответил мальчик.

Королева отвернулась. На мгновение её лицо стало совсем не ледяным — скорее, печальным.

— Тогда пусть хотя бы этот дом помнит, как ты был здесь счастлив.

Она коснулась стены, и по ней разбежались тонкие голубые искры.

Никита невольно придвинулся ближе. Вот только в следующую секунду произошло нечто совершенно невозможное.

Кай поднял голову, посмотрел прямо на него и спросил:

— А вы не видели Герду? Она ещё не пришла?

Никита замер.

— Молодой человек, — осторожно произнёс он, — вы вообще-то находитесь в оптическом явлении.

— А вы в моём окне, — ничуть не удивился Кай. — Только раньше вас здесь не было.

Мальчик протянул руку и оставил на внутренней поверхности осколка маленький отпечаток ладони.

Изображение исчезло.

Никита достал линейку, измерил отпечаток и записал результат. Затем осторожно коснулся льда.

Отпечаток был тёплым.

Он посмотрел на термометр. Минус восемнадцать.

В блокноте появилась новая запись:

«Обнаружено локальное температурное отклонение. Причина не установлена».

Никита немного подумал и добавил:

«Также не исключено, что объект наблюдения способен наблюдать исследователя».

Последнюю строчку он предусмотрительно подчеркнул дважды.

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Свой среди своих
😉
ijn_2005

Lala’s Five Days
Day 1 — The Reflection Has Complaints
Found item: Ice Shard — “Frozen” collection
Nikita announced that the Citadel’s self-opening door was caused by a draft.
Wonderful. Double D had been welcomed by weather.
John carried Nikita’s tools, Julie brought lunch, and DeNae made sure we had enough blankets. Oksana checked the old inventory while Tara attempted to greet an armored polar bear.
The bear did not answer. This put it ahead of several people I knew.
In Kai’s room, he found the Ice Shard embedded in the wrong wall and took this rather personally.
Then a boy appeared inside it.
“Residual optical phenomenon,” Nikita said.
The phenomenon looked miserable.
After the first scene faded, another appeared: Kai at a long table, trying to assemble a perfect ice pattern. The Snow Queen inspected his work.
“One piece is crooked.”
She left. Kai knocked the pieces apart.
I understood him immediately.
Julie crouched beside the shard. “He looks so lonely.”
“Try telling her it’s a draft,” I suggested.
Kai looked up.
Nikita stopped writing.
I raised three fingers.
“How many?”
“Three,” Kai answered.
Nikita raised two.
“Five altogether,” said Kai. “Are you going to stand there doing sums, or help me?”
Excellent. The child had standards.
He pointed to a triangle near the table’s edge.
“The pieces always move back. Watch.”
He pushed it aside. It slid into its old position.
Tara slid a loose ice chip along our windowsill. It returned too. John blocked it with a tool case; it reappeared behind the case.
DeNae pulled Tara’s fingers clear before it could trap them.
Nikita leaned toward the wall, his breath clouding the ice.
Kai leaned forward too.
“Your moustache is freezing.”
Nikita wiped it. There was frost beneath his nose.
A preserved reflection could not reasonably comment on facial developments occurring several decades after its own recording.
Even Nikita appeared to recognize the difficulty.
The vision vanished.
He wrote for a long time.
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Further investigation required.”
Oksana pointed to the inventory. “Start with why the shard left its box. Something wanted us to see this.”
I added, “Boy would appreciate assistance.”
Nikita looked at my handwriting.
Then, to his credit, he left it there.

Отредактировано Lala a3d26b (2026-10-10 07:01:42)

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Lala a3d26b

Double D’s Guild

День 1
Ежик в тумане

Никита решил проверить, зависит ли изображение от угла обзора. Он отошёл к окну, присел, затем поднялся на носки. Отражение послушно исчезло, но стоило ему вернуться на прежнее место, как в стене снова возникла комната из прошлого.
На этот раз Кай был не один.

Снежная королева стояла у длинного стола, на котором лежала раскрытая книга. Мальчик держал в ладонях несколько ледяных осколков и явно пытался сложить из них что-то целое. Один кусочек никак не хотел вставать на место. Кай сердито отодвинул его, и осколок покатился по столу.

— Не получается, — тихо сказал мальчик.

— Ты слишком стараешься заставить части совпасть, — ответила Королева. — Иногда нужно понять, почему они оказались разрозненными.

Она протянула руку, но Кай вдруг накрыл осколки ладонями.

— А если я не хочу, чтобы всё стало как прежде?

Королева замерла.

Впервые за всё время Никита увидел на её лице выражение, которое никак не вязалось с легендами о ледяной властительнице. Она выглядела не разгневанной и не удивлённой — испуганной.

Изображение дрогнуло. Королева медленно убрала руку, произнесла что-то, чего Никита не расслышал, и направилась к двери.

Кай остался у стола.

Никита нахмурился. Он уже собирался записать наблюдение, когда мальчик в отражении поднял голову и посмотрел прямо перед собой.

— Ты тоже считаешь, что она должна была меня остановить? — спросил Кай.

Никита застыл.

В комнате прошлого не было ни окон, обращённых к нему, ни зеркал, ни каких-либо других поверхностей, через которые мальчик мог бы увидеть наблюдателя. И всё же Кай смотрел точно в его сторону.

— Невозможно, — пробормотал Никита.

Кай придвинулся к ледяной стене и приложил к ней ладонь.

Никита машинально поднял свою.

Их ладони совпали по размеру и положению, разделённые лишь тонким слоем льда.

А затем Кай нарисовал пальцем на своей стороне поверхности короткую черту.

На стороне Никиты иней сложился в такую же черту — сам по себе.

Следом появилась буква.

Н.

Первая буква его имени.

Никита резко отдёрнул руку. Ледяной осколок потемнел, и прошлое исчезло.

Он долго стоял перед гладкой стеной, слушая собственное дыхание. Потом открыл блокнот и зачеркнул слова «остаточное оптическое явление».

Ниже написал:

«Изображение реагирует на наблюдателя. Возможна неизвестная форма взаимодействия».

Он помедлил и добавил:

«Мальчик знал, что я здесь».

В этот момент из глубины пустого коридора донёсся детский голос:

— Никита, ты ведь не собираешься уходить, пока не узнаешь, что со мной случилось?

Никита медленно закрыл блокнот.

На этот раз он не стал искать сквозняк.

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Nikita Electrician, f328d7