She gave him an exasperated look that made him smile inwardly. As though explaining something obvious to someone junior in years to herself, she said, "The Island of Dragons is just to the left. You can see it even halfway through what your people call the Valley of Baruk. The land of my people lies far to the south, along the coast. It is a small land of shepherds and fishermen. Its green hills are surrounded on all sides by high cliffs, and on the west side it faces the treacherous seas. Except for our little fishing dories, the journey north along the coast is the only real journey that our people can make, because that passage is protected from the ravages of the open sea by a long chain of islands that begins with Hollind's most southerly beaches and ends at the Island of Dragons."
She fell into thoughtful silence for some time. At last, she frowned, and said, "You know, our ignorance of the west is as complete as yours is of the east. I'm surprised, now that I think of it, that none of my people ever seemed to wonder what lay west through the valley your people call Baruk." She dropped to her feet, listlessly, bored once again.
Seeing this prompted Baldric to ask, "How old are you?" He wondered if she was as young as she appeared, though because of her petite stature and elven heritage he was loath to guess at her age.