Aimrah is an extremely unremarkable town. Whatever stories you've heard of its supposed history are mere exaggerations.

Huh? He wasn't in the cargo hold? So, it seems that the boy isn't being held captive by captain Obedur after all. However, there's still Obedur's brother -- Barandas Marvus. I'm sure he must be involved in this. I reckon you might want to ask him about Jelyn. He's always outside, tending the guar by the town entrance. Always keeps his apartment in the complex here locked, too. It might be worth searching; perhaps they're keeping poor Jelyn there?

I originally thought the pact with the Dreugh of the Lake was made in response to the Arnesian War -- to protect Aimrah from the Argonian threat -- but now I can't help but wonder if the true origins of this horrid union don't go further back in history...The details of the pact may very well be forever shrouded in mystery. Perhaps it's for the best.

I already told you all you need to know. During the Arnesian War there was a secret pact made with the Dreugh of Lake Andaram to protect this town. The Marvus family supposedly spearheaded the deal.

Am I implying that Jelyn is going to be fed to the Dreugh of the Lake? He he he. I'm not sure of any of this, my friend, but even a blind man like me can tell there's something fishy going on. I can feel it in my gut -- the boy is in grave danger. If he's still alive, he must be onboard the Paruddma. So long as the ship is docked here there's hope. Search it, %PCName. He must be there somewhere. In the cargo hold, perhaps?

They are monsters, my friend. Monsters. To them we are naught but meat. Flesh to devour. That's the only thing land-dwellers like us could offer them. Our very lives.

You're either a fool or a joker for saying that, and I'm afraid that Aimrah has no need for either. No, the Dreugh seek no friendship. They are monsters, and to them we are naught but meat. Flesh to devour. That's the only thing land-dwellers like us could offer them. Our very lives.

Exactly so, my friend. Exactly so. They are monsters, and to them we are naught but meat. Flesh to devour. That's the only thing land-dwellers like us could offer them. Our very lives.

He he he. You'd think that, wouldn't you? But I've heard tales of the coral palaces they live in -- surrounded by eons worth of sunken treasures! I don't think those devils are in want of gold. They are monsters, and to them we are naught but meat. Flesh to devour. That's the only thing land-dwellers like us could offer them. Our very lives.

Jelyn is not the first one to go missing like this! There's been a good handful of lakefaring souls like him who have simply vanished. Some of them poor fellows were sailors working for the Marvus family just like him. As I recall, it all started not long after the Arnesian War ended. Now, if a secret pact was indeed made with the Dreugh, what do you reckon was offered to them in return for their favor? I ask of you: what could monsters like them possibly want?

You see, it was none other than the Marvus family who pushed the deal. It's said that ol' man Marvus, captain Obedur's father, was the main instigator. I don't know what sort of deal he was supposed to make with those lake devils, or with what means of communication, but ever since those days the Marvus family has been blessed with wealth and good fortune. In thirty years not once have I heard of any of their ships sinking or getting stranded. And their divers bring up pearls the size of my fist!

That's when some of the local families wanted to act instead of just waiting. They were saying that we should make sure that the Argonians never crossed Lake Andaram. There's Dreugh in the lake, you see, and they reckoned they could strike a deal with them. They knew the Temple wouldn't like it, so it'd all be a secret. Pay the Dreugh tribute, and they'd protect us. Now, I don't know what really happened in the end, but what I do know is that we never saw so much as a sliver of a lizard in Aimrah.

You probably know of the Arnesian War. It's one thing to know and a whole other thing to remember. It's been over thirty years since the war with the Argonians ended, but the further south you go, the more recent it still is in people's minds. Even now I can recall the sense of impending doom as we got news of fighting in the Deshaan Plains and the horrors that took place in the siege of Tear. Soon, we thought, the Argonians would lay waste to Ald Horak, cross the lake, and the war would come to Aimrah.

He he he. Not so fast. Buy me a jug of mazte first.