ANGEL CAVE - Leaving Follows-Chalk behind you walk up the narrow path to the back of the cave. Condensed water drips down the rocky walls, reflecting the ghostly glow of the cave fungus.
SHIVERS - The sound of worn out steps still echo through these caves centuries after they were taken. A man wearing patched up military gear stops to collect some filtered water from the walls. Wind and isolation have protected this valley from atomic annihilation, putting a halt to the radiation as if nature had read the message carved on the old man's rifle. ARRÊT! It's a protective spell. The man puts the filled canteen away. He needs to go hunting and he declared it out loud hoping someone would hear him. It's been eleven years since he last spoke to another human being.
YOU - Who's he?
SHIVERS - I'M YOUR BROTHER IN TIME, COURIER. I'VE SEEN YOU WALK INTO THE VALLEY, AND I SEE YOU NOW THREAD THROUGH THE CAVES, THE VEINS AND VOWELS OF ZION. THE WIND CARRIES MY VOICE TO YOU, LISTEN, YOU MUST LISTEN. I NEED YOU TO PROTECT ZION, TO PROTECT MY CHILDREN. MY BONES REST SOMEWHERE IN THE VALLEY, BUT I CAN SEE IT ALL. DON'T TURN BACK. THEY NEED YOU.
THE BURNED MAN - Before you a striking man, covered head to toes by dirty-white bandages, is sitting behind an improvised workbench. His hand reaches for the pile of .45 automatic pistols and stops for a second when he notices you. Blue eyes snap up at you, acknowledging your presence.
CONCEPTUALIZATION - It's like walking up to a cliff and being received by the entire ocean rising up and clashing against the rocks.
HALF LIGHT - Ab irato. What have you done coming here?
ENCYCLOPEDIA - That's Joshua Graham, known formerly as the Malpais Legate, who led Caesar's army in the year 2277 during the First Battle of Hoover Dam. The Legion had the numbers, but ultimately that proved insufficient against the superior tactics of the NCR. The defeat was unprecedented, and Caesar had his former legate covered in pitch, set on fire and thrown down the Grand Canyon. An estimate fall of 8,600 feet.
HALF LIGHT - THE BURNED MAN WALKS. YOU WON'T SEE DEATH COMING.
ENCYCLOPEDIA - Malpais — a word derived from the Spanish language — is a landform of volcanic nature found in Spain, Mexico and the Southwestern United States consisting of —
HALF LIGHT - SHUT THE HELL UP! Listen pal, you need to run. You can't kill this anomaly. AB IRATO. HE IS MARS HIMSELF. BELLUM SE IPSUM ALET. VOS ESTIS SAL TERRAE.
JOSHUA GRAHAM - The man in front of you seems unfazed by your shock.
EMPATHY - He's used to it.
JOSHUA GRAHAM - As much as the bandages allow it you read a bored expression on his scarred face. It's almost anticlimactic how unbothered he's by your presence as he grabs another pistol.
PERCEPTION - The gun he's tinkering with is about five seconds away from being fully operational. He's kept it loaded.
REACTION SPEED - So is yours.
AUTHORITY - Are you sure you want to challenge that?
JOSHUA GRAHAM - *We should have given you a better welcome on your first visit to Zion, but from what I hear, the White Legs beat us to it.* His manner of speech is polite and agreeable, but underneath his eloquence you discern the conviction of a man who would set the world on fire if he considered it appropriate. *White Legs seem to be the only visitors we have these days, and I wouldn't have expected anyone from the Mojave to come looking for us. And you're a courier no less.* For some reason, he goes on a tangent.
EMPATHY - He's lonely, doesn't get many chances to interact with new people. Talk to him. He doesn't want to scare you.
HALF LIGHT - Yet.
VOLITION - Don't listen to him.
BULLET IN YOUR BRAIN - Oh my, that voice, cowpoke. Are you hearing what I'm hearing? That sweet beautiful voice makes me rattle inside your skull. It's like being fired again. I'm literally fucking your brain as he speaks. If you never leave this cave we could listen to that sweet voice for the rest of our days.
VOLITION - Don't listen to her either.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY - No, let her speak. I like how this "fucking your brain" sounds. Let's find out if he can get an erection. Drop to your knees praising Holy Mary, grab the .45 in his jeans and get ready for round two of getting shot in the face.
BULLET IN YOUR BRAIN - Yes, cowpoke! Let's get shot in the face again. Faster, pussycat, bang, bang, take it right between the eyes.
HALF LIGHT - DON'T FUCK THE ANOMALY. YOU CAN'T DEFEAT IT.
VOLITION - For once I agree with him.
- How do you know so much about what happened to me?
- [SUGGESTION] - I want to have fuck with you.
- Faith? You don't even *know* the half of it. How does your god intend to fix the 2mm hole in reality?
- (Don't say a single word. Put this Legion dog down.)
Thank you @local--deer for the perception and reaction speed dialogue.
