Fallout 3 Walkthrough - Blood Ties

The Blood Ties quest is part of a larger quest that starts in Megaton. It will take you to the isolated town of Arefu and introduce to a very “unique” family. The quest itself isn't too rewarding or special. You'll get some schematics for the shiskabab and a new opportunity to make money, but that's about it.

This quest technically starts when you talk to Lucy West in Megaton. She'll ask you to run a letter through the wasteland to her brother in Arefu. This is a good way to start it, since it will mark the town on your map. You can also get the quest by walking to the top of the highway ramp into town and triggering your special welcome.

click to enlarge

Regardless, you'll need to travel to the northwest of Megaton to find Arefu. It's a little settlement built up on the remains of a highway. Climb up the ramp until you're forced to stop to avoid a grenade. It seems that they're on high alert. Talk to Evan King to learn about their situation. It seems like some gang called The Family is harassing them. We'll need to help Evan out by taking a quick census.

Visit each of the 3 houses to check in with the residents. You obviously don't need to go into Evan's house, although it should have the repair bobblehead inside. You might want to pick the lock now. The first two houses by Evan are alright. The problem is the third house in back. Naturally it is Lucy's relatives who are pushing up mutated daises. Examine the bodies to make it official.

What happens afterward changes depending on your skills. You can make special note of various things on the bodies if you have the right skill. Most of it is just a hint at what you'll be facing. For example, you can notice that they've been drained of all their blood. The only relevant one is if you have Medicine higher than 70. If so, then you'll notice trainyard residue around their bodies. You can then ask Evan if there's a nearby trainyard, which will led you to Meresti Trainyard.

You can always just go to Meresti Station and head inside to their hideout, regardless of whether your character figures it out or not. It's not necessarily any faster to find the station blind than it is to just follow the clues though. Plus, we'll find another side quest if we do it the “right” way.

If you don't have Meresti marked on your map, then we'll have to stick with the vague hints. Hamilton's Hideaway is not just a bust, but a red herring. Don't bother exploring the bunker, since it should be empty. You need to go to Northwest Seneca Station. Don't worry, this isn't another station crawl. Go up to the station and inside. Approach the door at the end to stumble across a few ghouls. This is a separate quest. Be nice and he'll offer to pay for sugar bombs as part of his drug dealing.

click to enlarge

Your real goal is past his office and in a room with some radioactive waste barrels. The waste is partially hiding a manhole. Quickly use it to access the service tunnels beneath the station. These tunnels are filled with mirelurk, but you should know how to deal with them by now. I ran into 2, but you might always find more. Just shoot them in the face when they rear up to attack you. Once you make it to the end of the tunnels, you should come out into a Meresti Station.

Stay very alert here. There are tons of traps in this tunnel leading up to The Family's hideout. I actually think that there's one of each type except for a grenade bundle. Turn on your flashlight and watch the floor for mines and bear traps. There are also a few tripwires rigged up to shotguns and pitching machines. You don't need to leave the tunnel itself though. You just need to get to the first intersection and then walk down the line of subway cars to get to the fortified entrance to the hideout. Robert, the gate guard, should stop you. You can either pass a speech check, show him the letter, or bribe him to get inside. If you kill him, then it will probably set the entire Family hostile to you. I'll also note that if you have the Cannibal perk, then you are basically a member and you can play that card for the whole quest as an instant pass.

Head on into their section of the subway.