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of the board, the giff brought up huge amounts of dirt. Teldin squatted beside Liam, then took the opportunity to ask the giff questions.
    “Where do you come from?”
    “The void,” Gomja tersely answered, driving the board into the dirt.
    “More likely the Abyss,” Liam hissed from his perch.
    “Quiet, Liam,” Teldin softly cautioned. “The void?” Teldin asked Gomja. The human pointed toward the sky.
    “Sort of,” Gomja grunted. “Out where the stars are.” The giff didn’t stop his work.
    Teldin knew the giff was lying. Only the gods lived among the stars. Paladine’s, Takhisis’s, and the others’ constellations shone brightly every night. “If you are from the stars, what are you doing here?”
    The giff stopped shoveling for a moment. “The ship was damaged in battle. Captain Hemar tried to bring us down for a safe landing, but the damage was too bad. We lost control and missed our target.
    “Your target. You were going to land that thing?”
    The giff nodded. “There is a large body of water north of here. The Penumbra could have landed there.”
    “Whole thing’s crazy,” Liam warned. “There ain’t no lakes around here. I tell you, Teldin, this thing’s lying.”
    “North of here, eh?” As a soldier, Teldin had seen quite a bit more of the world than his friend. “Liam, I think he means Vingaard Bay.”
    “But that’s way up by Kalaman! It’s a good dozen leagues from here,” Liam argued.
    “Where else, Liam? Like you say, there aren’t any lakes around here. Besides, it did fall from the sky,” Teldin pointed out. “It’s not like other things are impossible for it.” The giff ignored the pair and went back to work. Liam gave up the argument.
    “You said the ship was damaged in battle. I want to know who you were fighting and why,” Teldin demanded in the most authoritative tone he could manage. Getting facts kept his mind from other things.
    Gomja pondered a long time, scratching at the dirt with his board while he thought. “We battled a ship of the neogi. They sought to board us and take our crew prisoner.
    “The neogi again!” Teldin said softly, remembering the warning given him by the dying captain — “You must keep it from the neogi” — as she pressed the cloak on him. “So what are neogi?”
    Gomja looked surprised at the question, his ears wiggling. “The neogi are ravagers of worlds,” he answered, as if explaining the facts every child should know. “They do not seek trade, only to enslave and devour everyone they come across. They are the enemy of all folk in the void. Even the illithids deal with them cautiously.”
    “Illithids?” Teldin started. “Oh, never mind.” Every question seemed to lead to more. Neogi, Illithids, it was all getting too confusing. Teldin wanted to keep the conversation on the neogi, since at least the captain had mentioned them. “These neogi, will they come here?”
    The question was obviously beyond the giffs estimation. “If your world is rich in life, I suppose they might appear someday.”
    Teldin shook his head. “No, I mean now. Will the neogi come after your ship?”
    Gomja still looked puzzled. “The Penumbra ? I do not think so. The Penumbra was only a small merchantman. They are certain to think it was destroyed. Besides, I do not think their ship could land here.”
    Then why did the captain warn him, Teldin wondered. It didn’t make any sense. But then, since last night, nothing in his life was making sense. More confused than when he started, Teldin gave up his questioning. He needed time to sort out what little he’d learned so far, then maybe he could try again.
    Liam loudly kicked the chest he sat on. “Look what I found, Teldin. Must be a load of jewels and gold in it – and maybe steel! I found some other stuff, too.” Liam eagerly laid out his discoveries. A few pots, knives, two swords, and a handful of spearheads was the limit of Liam’s treasure. Teldin looked it all over and gave a