The Holder of Resolve

Go to any orphanage or halfway house close to closing time. Walk up to the attendant on duty and ask to see "The Holder of Resolve". The attendant will continue with their work without the slightest hint that they've heard you. Remain as still as possible as the sentence you spoke is itself a powerful spell shielding you from the eyes of those around you.

It's advised you attempt this close to the end of a shift for you must wait perfectly still while the employees wrestle their normal workday around you. Orderlies will bump into you yet ignore your presence as their work occupies their attention. The attendant will field phone calls ignorant of the stalwart individual refusing to move. You will contemplate how you haven't seen anyone else but employees, and that the floors and walls seemed neglected by the workers to the point of dilapidation.

As the day winds down the attendant you spoke to will slide a piece of paper across the long desk that runs the length of the hall, and smile sweetly before grabbing their coat and heading for the door. DO NOT LOOK AT THIS PAPER. This is the first test that will determine if you have bothered to research the Object you seek, and to punish those vain enough to think they are immune to procedure.

When the latch clicks behind you, feel free to take a moment to stretch your legs and even have a seat. These legs won't be yours for some time, so during your reprieve, I'm sure they would appreciate a friendly goodbye.

Take any corridor you wish and walk in a straight line. Even to exit out the front door would simply lead to more halls, for now, you are in the crossroads. As you walk, doors to many rooms will throw themselves open and familiar voices will offer you peace. They will speak to you like long-forgotten lullabies in the key of a silent winter's snowfall. It will be tempting, and they speak the truth when they say they can take you away from the crossroads to an existence far from "The Resolve" where love will blanket you from the assembly. But you aren't here for peace, are you? And you understand that love's comfort is tenuous at best.

The building's walls will soon grow rampant with trees and vines 'til you feel you've been walking in a forest for quite some time. And in this forest, you will find an oak that has been hollowed to fit a grown man. Step inside and try to fight panicked urgings as the trailing plants writhe into your nostrils and down the back of your throat. It will be uncomfortable, to be certain, but it will seem like a dream when you awaken in your bed at ten years old.

You will need another break from your journey to reacquaint yourself with your younger frame, and that's just fine. You will live your life once again with the knowledge of every one of your previous days, but now you may not speak. Not once. You will exist here 'til the day you reach your age as your former self and begin the journey again.

Go to any orphanage or halfway house close to closing. Walk up to the attendant on duty and croak as best as you can, asking to see "The Holder of Resolve". The attendant will continue with their work without the slightest hint that they've heard you, but if you have done your part and let your vocal cords atrophy and die, you might be allowed entry to the Holder.

You have become Object 641. And if you could speak, you would tell another of how to find the fulcrum that could bring them together. You must never speak again.