_ 85 _ Item: On 1 August we left this place and camped in a plain near a lake of rainwater. There were some thunderstorms and rains which came from India, where at that time it was winter. A brother of the captain of the castle mentioned before arrived to accompany us with two horsemen and fifty archers to protect us from thieves. For this the caravan gave him one hundred and fifty xains. We travelled on for two days, to the north, and then to the north-west across mountain-ranges and desert plains and arrived on the third day at a river of very good water and a plantation called [Caçan]. This is already in Persia and in Shah Tamás’s territory, which begins here. There was a married Moor living here who sold fruit and supplies; there were bad melons, but the chickens and goats were good. For the last three days we had had only rice. Here we parted company with the guard, for it is not the custom to be escorted beyond this point; the way ahead is considered safer, or perhaps it is because up to this point is the territory of the King of Ormuz. From here onward we began to feel some cold in the early mornings, but there was little difference by day. From here I wrote a letter to Ormuz and sent it by the guard. We stayed in this place for three days, because the camel-drivers went to their homes a league away. On 7
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