Into the Void

Into the Void by Nigel Findley is book two in the Cloakmaster Cycle, a six-book series for the Spelljammer campaign setting. It is set in the Forgotten Realms. "Plunged into a sea of alien faces, Teldin Moore isn't sure whom to trust. His gnomish sidewheeler is attacked by space pirates, and Teldin is saved by a hideous mind flayer who offers to help the human use his magical cloak&mdash;but for whose gain? Teldin learns the basics of spelljamming, and he seeks an ancient arcane, one who might tell him more."

Synopsis
Teldin Moore, a farmer from Krynn, leaves his home world behind as a passenger aboard a gnomish sidewheeler, the Unquenchable. As he watches his planet grow farther and farther away, a gnome named Horvath teaches him about crystal spheres.

Horvath invites Teldin to join him and three other gnomes on a smaller craft to examine the extent of damage taken to the gnomish spelljammer in a previous battle. Shortly thereafter, the Unquenchable pulls away from them, and they see that it has fallen under attack from space pirates. The Unquenchable damages one of the pirate vessels and then flees with the two other craft in pursuit. The damaged pirate ship comes at Teldin and the four gnomes. They avoid being killed and delay their capture long enough to be rescued by the crew of a passing hammership, the Probe.

After being helped aboard by the first mate Aelfred Silverhorn, Teldin is surprised to learn that the captain of the Probe is an illithid named Estriss, despite most of the rest of the crew being human. Estriss claims to be an historian and philosopher and welcomes Teldin and the four gnomes aboard.

As they travel, they encounter a void scavver, and Teldin's cloak helps him save the navigator Sylvie's life. Afterward, Estriss speaks with Teldin privately about the magic cloak. Teldin learns that the Probe is on its way to Realmspace and Toril, to the port of Rauthaven in Nimbral, because Estriss is hoping to purchase ancient artifacts of the Juna from an auction being held there. Estriss suggests to Teldin that perhaps the Juna created his magic cloak.

Shortly after their conversation, the Probe reaches the very end of Krynnspace. They create a portal and enter the "flow". Teldin learns about the dangers of the flow from the gnomes and is trained by Aelfred in the use of the short sword. Teldin asks Estriss about the arcane.

The conversation is interrupted by the spotting of a neogi deathspider. The crew quickly prepare for combat. During the bloody battle, there are heavy losses of both crew and equipment on both sides, but the Probe ultimately escapes and continues on toward Realmspace. During the battle, Teldin's magic cloak had protected him with unexplained shielding powers, and Aelfred and Estriss discuss with him the likelihood that the neogi were after his cloak and were somehow able to track it from afar.

After the battle, Teldin sleeps for nearly 24 hours. Afterward, he has a discussion about his cloak's powers with Estriss, and the two of them discover that Teldin can use the cloak to change his own appearance.

Errata

 * On pages 75 and 76, the novel describes Teldin stepping down the three steps from the upper bridge of the Probe onto its forward weapon deck to find Shandess there with his back against the ballista mount. However, the forward weapon deck of a hammership is where the forward-mounted catapult is located, which is clear both from other places in the novel and from sourcebooks detailing the standard layout of hammerships.