Object 142

The Holder of Balance

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to visit someone who calls himself "The Holder of Balance". Upon this request, the worker will insist that you must be here to see the Holder of Love and begin leading you down a small corridor. If you do not quickly interject before the worker has left the room then you will forever lose the chance to complete your task. Following him can only lead to the Holder of Love.

Should you speak in time, the worker will slam the door to which he was headed and remove a large umbrella from his left breast pocket. Steal it from him and open it horizontally before he has a chance to take it back. The inside of the umbrella is the doorway through which you must pass.

The room to which you have come is dark and moist. All that is visible is a decaying head protruding through the wall, his left hand covering his eyes and his right holding a set of golden scales. As you approach him you will notice two small men, one on each side of the scale, about an inch-and-a-half tall. The man on the left is clothed in black, and the other is in white.

Walk into the light that illuminates the men and let them see you clearly. The man in black will threaten to end his life with a shiny black pistol he will pull from his pocket. Should he die and fall off the scales, the imbalance will cause the room to collapse. To keep the scales from tipping, you must convince the man in white to kill himself or the man in black to spare his own life.

If the balance is kept, say to the man holding the scales, "I have kept the balance." He will open his mouth to respond, but only a feather will float from his mouth.

The feather is Object 142 of 2538. Keep it should you ever need balance.