Stone Bones cave is a location in Zion Canyon in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.
Background[]
Sometime between November 2095 and February 2096, Randall Clark moved from his previous campsite in Two Skies cave to the northern Narrows in Zion, where he made a new camp in the cave. While residing there, he apparently continued to watch over the Mexican refugees that came to Zion too. However, events turned for the worse around early February when Clark discovered the refugees had been nearly wiped out by another group that came to the canyon, composed of armed expeditioners wearing blue jumpsuits marked with "22" (though he was not aware of its significance). He observed them for around four days as the armed group killed all the men and some of the women; a couple of women had managed to arm themselves and fight back but were killed soon after. They caged the remaining women and children, and then set up camp with fortifications and armed patrols, convincing Clark of their threat. He also noticed the expeditioners were suffering from a severe cough, believing it was tuberculosis. While initially planning to infiltrate at night and rescue the hostages, by the fourth day, Clark discovered the expeditioners had killed and eaten the remaining Mexicans.[1][2]
Consumed with anger, Clark initiated a months-long guerilla war against the 100+-strong group in retaliation for their killing of the Mexicans. In the first 10 days, he managed to confirm 24 kills, around a third of their number through a combination of ambushes and rigging the dead bodies with mines as booby traps to kill the ones who went looking for them.[1][2]
In late February of the next year, though, Clark had a close call when he took a 10mm round through the leg, but it ended up being non-fatal and he was able to bandage the wound to prevent leaving a blood trail that could lead back to him. Further trouble came later in early March when a small patrol lost one of their men to a deadfall trap he had set up close to the cave. The ensuing confusion caused them to panic fire their weapons into the cave, ricocheting shots off the walls of the cave; one narrowly missed hitting Clark. Alerted to the presence of enemies, he snuck up and killed the rest of the patrol with SMGs. Realizing his camp was compromised, Clark gathered any supplies he could carry (leaving behind the combat armor he'd been using for protection) and fled out of the Narrows, going south as far as Cueva Guarache.[3][4]
Layout[]
Situated within the Narrows north of the Sorrows camp and slightly northwest of Glass Chime cave, the cave entrance is located on a ridge above the general area. Upon entering the cave there are some pillars and a path to the left. There is a tripwire connected to a grenade bouquet across the entrance to the path. The grenades will fall behind the player character. The initial room can be reentered for cover.
Straight down the path, three bear traps are immediately ahead on the path. Behind the third bear trap lies another trip wire. The path then slopes upwards and forks into two directions. Immediately at the top of the slope is a plasma mine, behind a pot.
The right path leads down a slope and into a cavern with water at the ankle level. There is a plasma mine on the way down the slope, along with yet another trip wire. The cavern itself has a number of water purification systems and a shotgun trap on the left upon entering the cavern. With the exception of the shotgun trap, the plasma mine, and the water, there is nothing else of value in the room.
The left path goes via a slightly winding path into a room with more purification systems and a column of rock dominating the center. To the right of the column is a workbench, a workbench crate, and a reloading bench, with miscellaneous items and a broken laser rifle on the floor next to the reloading bench. (The broken rifle cannot be picked up.) A pair of explosive crates on the far side (from the entrance) of the room contain explosive ammunition including a 25mm grenade pack and variants. A short set of steps leads up to a platform with a terminal next to the bedroll.
Another path, with a tripwire and grenade bouquet, on the left near the entrance for the left cave, leads back out into Zion.
Notable loot[]
- Desert Ranger combat armor and helmet - Found in the back of the campsite chamber on the elevated platform.
- Survival cache - Found on the elevated area, next to the bedroll behind the reloading bench.
Notes[]
- All items that are dropped or stored in the cave will disappear when one completes Departing Paradise and returns to the Mojave Wasteland.
- The cave can serve as player character housing during Honest Hearts, with all three crafting platforms placed right next to each other, and a couple of containers for storage. As mentioned above, though, all stored items that one wants to keep will have to be removed before leaving Zion or they will disappear.
- The grenade bouquet near the unmarked entrance in the cave that is normally out of reach can be disarmed by using a barrel or other object for more jump height.
Appearances[]
Stone Bones cave appears only in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Honest Hearts.
Gallery[]
