The two entered the school moments later with only a glance to each other to acknowledge that their first hurdle was done. Entering the building they both kept up the air that they knew what they were doing and that they knew where they were going, both of which was untrue. But as Mira told Adam the best way to enter a place is to simply act like you were meant to be there. With that in mind they began to explore a bit without looking suspicious.
As they walked around the building it was very clear how this space was once a community and had been co-opted by religious fanatics. Actually it reminded him of how Hell looked. A community that had been taken over by a group different from the one who built it. It was a mishmash of religious symbology that was confusing and meaningless to Adam combined with weird meritocratic royal symbology carved into the walls and clearly too difficult to get rid of for the cultists. Or perhaps they liked it that way.
In either case everything they were seeing from what religious art they were seeing around was where humans were being uplifted. There were art pieces of humans bare handed fighting deathclaws, and some where humans all surrounded a lone ghoul, hands clasped, clearly in prayer. Some of the art was made by kids, some was made by professional artists. But it all painted one picture. That their belief was the superiority of humans, in some fashion.
Aside from just the art tour they noticed the heavy infrastructure that went into making this place a settlement. From bedrooms to logistics centers, to a communal kitchen. There was even a market. However the market was strange no one seemed to be spending money, instead they just took what they wanted? He was unsure, but they didn’t stick around long enough for him to find out, after all they wanted to find where this sermon was behind held.
Luckily, after a little while of wandering rather aimlessly and exploring this strange community the school bells rang overhead and then a flood of people began to move in the same direction. Adam could only imagine that they were going to the sermon. Mira seemed to think so too as she motioned with her head to follow along with the crowd.
After following for a short time they arrived at what once was an auditorium, now converted into a strange mix of a throne room along with a church. There was a large iron throne that stood prominently on the back of the auditorium stage, however it was not in the spotlight, instead a simple wooden podium was, right up at the edge of the stage. Near the ceiling were long thin windows meant to allow natural light to filter in for whatever function was being held in the auditorium, however those had been completely removed and replaced with what looked to be custom stained glass artwork. The art was confusing to say the least, but one thing was clear that this religion, whatever it was about, was formed in the new world. Iconography of nuclear bombs, super mutants, some weird computer, travelers under a radstorm, and plenty more was lit up by the light of the sun. It was actually quite pretty in a grim sort of way.
However Adam was broken from his thoughts as they all shuffled into the auditorium and packed in quite heavily. It was not uncomfortable, nor were they pushing against one another but it was clear the space was over capacity, and, as if prophesied, there were people lined up out the halls to listen to the sermon. However due to the crowd pushing people around he was split up from Mira. She was not far away, still very much in sight, but it was enough that he could not rely on her for advice. He was on his own now.
Moments after they all settled in, a man wearing a green robe with purple flames, similar to the one he saw being worn by the leader of the cult forces back at the battle against Famine, walked on the stage. His robe was, as noticed, very similar, however it also had a bit of gold trim giving it a flare the other robes up until now had lacked. Surprisingly it was not too gaudy but instead it was just enough gold to pop without being distracting.
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Regardless, the man, who looked to be no different than any other person Adam had seen, walked over to the podium and pulled down his hood, revealing his bald head.
“Children! It is gratifying to see you all gathered here today for our most sacred traditions.” He said with arms outstretched and a powerful and magnanimous voice. “Let us begin with a moment of silence for our brothers and sisters valiantly fighting against the lost sheep who know not their sins in our never ending quest to bring the people of these godless lands salvation.” He said before bowing his head to let the moment of silence sit. The others in the crowd did the same so Adam followed suit and bowed his head in silence.
The silence continued for maybe a minute before the man spoke up again.
“Please, my children, raise your heads. Your prayers have been heard.” He said with a warm almost fatherly tone as he spoke to the congregation. “Today we will praise those that created the elixir that brings us salvation. That which we nourish ourselves on to grow and survive in this most inhospitable of world. We raise our voices in objection to the old gods that gave us such a land to inherit, and hold to our heart the truths that we know to be self-evident. To Thrive we must Survive. To Survive we must Adapt. To Adapt we must Grow. To Grow, we have our lord to guide us.”
“Amen.” The congregation said in unison, Adam was late to say it along with the others but did do so as soon as he noticed it was happening. It was not too out of place, after all even among a congregation of fanatics, it is possible for the mind to wander, or perhaps someone wanted their voice to be heard over the others. In either case his was not the only voice who was saying ‘amen’ too late.
Regardless no one even glanced at Adam as the sermon continued. The sermon seemed to be about nothing and everything at the same time. It was all about being able to walk when you are tired, being able to endure when you are hurt, being able to fight when you are beaten. And, as mentioned at the start, he kept mentioning some sort of ‘elixir’ that helps to advance their congregation to survive the wastes. Even though Adam had no idea what he was referring to, the energy and passion of the speaker was powerful and energizing. Honestly, even though Adam was not a believer of… whatever they believed in, the speaker did a great job in giving the sermon. Even Adam felt a bit energized by it. He can only imagine the effect it had on the true believers.
Eventually, after about an hour of a sermon that both did and didn’t feel like it dragged on too long the man seemed to transition to the end.
“And now, my children, the blessing from our guiding light. Allow us to drink from the elixir that he has brought to us and grant us the strength to push on. The Holy Flame never burns out, for Father Hope lives on in us ALL!” He said as he raised his arms up and wide in jubilation with a passionate tone. The congregation did the same, raising their arms wide and looking up at the ceiling. Adam started to do the same before he heard the sounds of sprinkler system arming. He was unsure what that meant but it was probably not going to just be water… right?
He spared a glance at Mira across the way and saw her staring at Adam intensely, her eyes wide and worried. Her head gave the tiniest little shake to him she could manage all without even moving the hood of her cloak and then took up a mock position that simulated the position the other cultists were taking but without fully lifting her head up to the ceiling.
Adam was unsure what she noticed but he was about to take no chances so he did the same, taking up a position that simulated the same skyward gaze without fully exposing his face to the ceiling. In addition, because he had no idea what was going on, he also held his breath.
As soon as he took up position and closed his mouth to hold his breath the sprinklers turned on and a faint mist began to fall on the congregation, a light, bright green mist.
