DISCUSSIONS on “Rules for online games in HoMM3 and formulas for calculating player rating.”

2.7. Visiting locations and collecting items (resources and artifacts).
“Visiting a location” means entering it and gaining the ability to take the corresponding bonus.
Locations and items on the map are usually guarded. It is possible that several locations, resources, or artifacts are guarded by a single group of neutral monsters. In this case, the locations and items are adjacent to each other by at least one cell, and at least one of the locations or items is adjacent to the common guard of all the treasures by one cell.
If it is possible to take a guarded item or visit a guarded location without destroying the monsters, the guard is considered to be “displaced.”
Some locations also have internal guards, for example, the Crypt, the Griffin Conservatory, the Serpent Hive, Monster Treasure Vaults, and the external dwellings of creatures of levels 5-7.
2.7.1. It is allowed to “stand” on locations (i.e., position the hero directly at the entrance of the location) without breaking through the external guard, for locations where breaking through the internal guard is necessary to enter and receive the bonus.
2.7.2. It is allowed to receive bonuses in Mystic Gardens, Watermills, and Windmills, Pavilions, and to take Chests, Campfires, and resources without destroying the guard, either as if the guard were displaced or by using the spells Fly, Dimensional Door, and the artifact Angel Wings.
2.7.3. Before
- “standing” at the entrance and visiting any location without an internal guard (except for those specified in 2.7.2),
- entering any location with an internal guard to fight the guard and gain the ability to take the corresponding bonus there,
- taking the Pandora's Box, Magic Scroll, or Artifact
by any means (including using the spells Fly, Dimensional Door, and the artifact Angel Wings), the corresponding guard must be eliminated.
2.7.4. The Border Guard is considered equivalent to the guard of a location or item, and it is not allowed to take Pandora's Boxes, Magic Scrolls, Artifacts, or visit any locations behind the guard without visiting the corresponding Guardian's Tent and removing the Border Guard.

In the center of the screenshot, we see two close guards:
- fairies guarding the scroll;
- minotaurs guarding the Boots, Naga Bank, and Prison (the prison is adjacent to the boots).
It is not allowed to free the hero from the prison by destroying the fairies, as they are not the guard of this location. Taking the prison, if the player kills the fairies but leaves the minotaurs, will be considered a violation of the rules. The minotaurs must be destroyed.