"No, the food and baths will suffice!" Boyce told Burman. "We depart early and we should rest -- unless you would prefer some company tonight, Lloyd?" Lloyd smiled at them both. "Maybe, but they'd probably tire me too much and that would make the trip harder on both of us!" "We'll find out if that means 'yes', later!" Boyce joked with Burman, and all three of them laughed. "Good sleeping then, my friends!" hailed their host then left them go to their chambers. They thanked him and entered. They both bathed before eating and Boyce put on some sweet sounding music from a time long before the Twentieth Century, and they lay down on their respective couches and listened. "Of all that we found in this place," Boyce began, "the music archive must've been our greatest discovery." "True!" was all that Lloyd said and they fell asleep. CHAPTER FIFTEEN The next day came early. The two men woke up in the hour before dawn and after having their fill of good food for breakfast, they readied themselves for their long trip to Pomperaque. They made up a list for the rations supervisor to fill for them before they were to leave Alugean. The list was common to them both and they were comprised of field hiking packs full of dried meats, fruits and vegetables, two four-litre water sacks and two electric lights. When Lloyd and Boyce finished giving Burman and the library steward the final details of how and when they would be notified about their own advance on Pomperaque, they left the city, hailed with luck from each worker within. It was an unusually hot day and it wasn't yet nine o'clock in the morning. Not far from Alugean, they took their first break by a stream and sucked back a few healthy gulps of water from their sacks. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air felt thick to breathe as they slowly advanced south. They took to walking in the shade of the trees that were all around them on their path, and only after Boyce noticed a dragonfly fanning itself on a boulder, were both of the men aware that there was a strange lack of insect life. The men didn't speak. Boyce just pointed to the big beautifully coloured insect and Lloyd knew what was on his mind. It seemed, to the men, that they were stopping every few minutes to drink their water but they did indeed walk a long distance, losing sight of Alugean several hours into the afternoon. All the vegetation around them was dry and brittle, especially that which was under foot. The trees and shrubs, however, were still green and were waxy looking, and sap ran sown the bark of some of those trees. Their feet burned and it wasn't until the late afternoon that they finally came across a stream that was to give them some relief. They stayed at the little river for an hour, partaking of its fresh and crystal qualities, and Lloyd caught, with his bare hands, a couple of good-sized fish for their supper.