🍁Nine Ancient Obelisks

- Don't let the glittering regalia fool you, Asmidul. Most rulers are idlers, whether they are monarchs or elected representatives. - The king didn't specify whether he considered himself one of them. - The time of my active administrative work is long gone, and my attention is now focused on completely different matters. - Looking up at the ceiling for a moment, he then returned his gaze to the guest and gestured for him to sit down opposite him. - Relax. Kings, peasants, laborers, slaves, travelers, warriors, sorcerers, theologians... We are all just mortals, each with our own unique destiny. - Clenching his right hand into a fist, Thiozar told the young man to do the same, after which he touched his fist first to the top of Asmidul's fist, then to the bottom, and completed the strange ritual by touching the knuckles of both fists. - In the last novel I read, there was such a greeting, it seemed quite curious to me. The one who is higher in status starts from the top, and the one who is lower starts from the bottom.
- This form of greeting is not very consistent with what you were just trying to convey.
- Oh, come on, don't nitpick... Ah, you reminded me that there was a thought about trust in that novel that I liked. Asmidul, what do you think - who can you trust in this world?

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- To wit, - he recalled his grandfather's interjection, uttered with a sound that evoked the image of an ogre's club descending on the head of a random weakling. - The question is settled. I like it when problems are solved instantly.
The "old man" pondered the riddle for a while, which required a little more IQ than he currently possessed, and when he figured it out, he clicked his tongue:
- As if there weren't just one monstrous mistake here. Well, what can you do, sometimes you have to pay for them. That's why I'll take "Shiris," - saying his pick, he nudges Girru. - She couldn't have made such a big mistake, right, buddy? Such entities are not prone to this.

Buddy didn't answer, as he was too busy solving the riddle, straining all his mental powers to process the information he had read.
- A... A... Hey, there seems to be something about Ako here.
- It's about you. - Kami prompted him.
- Oh, yes, that's right! We are inseparable.
The riddle implied the following:
Akimitsu must go on a quest to "The Storm".
The rest should go to Calcite and participate in a tournament that will be held in the citadel of pleasures (a cover). The main goal of the mission is to kidnap the girl in the photograph. After that, they must return with her to Asuguh.
- Beautiful... - said the fire thief suddenly. - What do you think, Su... I mean... Zibaba...