Just outside Megaton, Jason ran into a merchant with a bodyguard and two-headed cow in tow.
"Hello, traveler!" The merchant greeted him. "My name is Lucky Harith. I buy and sell weapons and ammo. By any chance, are you in the market for those items?"
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Harith," Jason said. "My name is Jason. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds to purchase anything right now. However, I recently acquired a load of energy cells that I have no use for. Would you be interested in buying them from me?"
"Of course!" Lucky Harith said. "I'll be happy to relieve you of whatever you've got! Just give me a minute while I get the caps off my brahmin."
After a quick transaction, Jason moved on.
"I think I finally have enough caps to buy that information from Moriarty," he thought. "I just need to take care of Lucy West's letter and Moira's first chapter. Then, I can get back to looking for you, Dad."
Passing through Springvale, Jason checked in a Nuka-Cola vending machine. He found two regular Nuka-Colas and a Nuka-Cola Quantum. His journey from there was mostly uneventful until he reached a trainyard. His pip-boy registered it as the Meresti Trainyard.
There, a lone raider charged at him, brandishing a tire iron. Jason drew his baseball bat. Their weapons met with a combined WHACK! and CLANG! After several more attacks and parries, Jason managed to knock the raider upside the head. Stunned, the raider was unable to counter Jason's next attack. He brought the bat down hard on the raider's head, splitting his skull open. Jason put away the bat as the raider bled out into the dirt.
"You should've left me alone," Jason said.
Jason moved away from the trainyard. After a while, he ran into a bridge that led to an area enclosed by towering rocks. Curious, he crossed the bridge. He found a small house nestled in the enclosed area. It appeared rundown, so he opened the door and went inside.
He was startled to find an elderly woman inside. She was equally startled to see a strange man entering her dwelling.
"I'm so sorry," Jason said. "I thought this place was abandoned."
"Oh, it's okay," the woman said, realizing he meant her no harm. "I wasn't expecting a visitor today, is all. Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Agatha."
"My name is Jason," he said. "I was just out exploring, when I happened upon the bridge that leads to your house."
"Oh my," Agatha said. "If you're exploring, I can save you time and trouble. There's nothing out here except dirt and rocks. That's why my husband built this house here."
"Thank you," Jason said. "I'll keep that in mind. Is your husband dead then? I'm sorry about that."
"Yes, my husband is gone," Agatha said. "We kept each other company, but we didn't want to be around too many people."
"Surely you're not completely cut off from everyone though?" Jason asked.
"Oh heavens, no," Agatha said. "I get supplies from traveling merchant caravans. I don't have much to trade, but I play music for them whether in person or over this radio my husband built. It transmits over the entire wasteland. My husband was so excited when he got it working! Oh, but listen to me ramble. You probably have better things to do."
Jason smiled. "It's no trouble," he said. "I'm curious about something though. What do you play music with? Instruments aren't exactly in ready supply these days."
"I play music with this handcrafted violin I made," Agatha gestured toward a makeshift violin.
"A homemade violin probably isn't quite in tune," Jason said.
"No, unfortunately not," Agatha said. "I'm always having to work on this old thing. If only I could get a new violin."
"Is there anything I can do?" Jason asked.
"You mean you'd go out of your way to help me?" Agatha asked. "I suppose, now that you mention it, there is something you could do for me. I happen to know where one of the last, if not the last, violins in the world is. Well, not exactly. You see, my great great grandmother, Hilda, owned a Stradivarius violin known as the Soil Stradivarius back in 2077."
"You have records from 2077?" Jason asked, astonished.
"Of a sort," Agatha said. "You see Hilda sent letters to her daughter. They were passed down to me. In the letters, Hilda talked about an invitation she received from Vault-Tec to move into Vault 92. Vault 92's mission was to preserve the greatest musical talents from around the world. Hilda wanted to meet other talented musicians, so she accepted. Then, the bombs fell, the vault was sealed, and our family never heard from Hilda again."
"How do you know the violin has survived this long?" Jason asked. "It could have rotted away by now."
"Well," Agatha said. "She had a pressurized case that kept it at the right temperature and other atmospheric conditions."
"I have to admit," Jason said, "I'm intrigued. I could try to find this violin for you."
"Oh wonderful!" Agatha said. "You'll need to give me your word that you'll bring it back to me if you find it."
"Yes," Jason said. "I give you my word. If I find the Soil Stradivarius, I'll bring them to you. Now, where is Vault 92?"
"I don't know where Vault 92 is," Agatha said, "but I do have the location of Vault-Tec Headquarters in the ruins of D.C.. I got it from some of the merchants. They say it has heavy security and something called a mainframe. Maybe you could get Vault 92's location from there, though it sounds dangerous."
"Alright," Jason said. "I can't go in search of the violin anytime soon, but I'll get to it as soon as I can."
"Oh?" Agatha asked. "You're a very busy man, I take it?"
"Yes," Jason said. "I'm helping a friend research for a book she's writing, which means I need to get over to Minefield. Then, I need to find a missing family and deliver a letter to them. After I've got those two things taken care of, I need to get back on my original track and find my father."
"Oh dear," Agatha said. "Your father is missing?"
"I'm afraid so," Jason said. "I know of a man who knows where he might have gone, but I have to pay the man a lot of caps for the information."
"What an awful man!" Agatha exclaimed.
"Yeah," Jason said. "Still, it's an obstacle I need to overcome. Anway, I'll get that violin for you as soon as I've taken care of my other responsibilities."
"Don't rush on my account," Agatha said. "And be careful. I don't want you dying because of me."
"I'll be careful," Jason said. "Have a good day, Agatha. It was lovely to meet you."
"Yes, you too," Agatha said. "Good luck with finding your father and your other responsibilities! I look forward to seeing you again!"
"Goodbye," Jason said.
Jason left Agatha's house and resumed his journey toward Minefield.
"Wow," he thought. "The tasks just keep piling on. I guess that's what happens when you decide to be the single-handed savior of the wasteland." Jason rolled his eyes and plodded on.