Chapter 21: The Encounter
The servants and guards in Prince Ahmad’s party who buried the dead bodies in the makeshift cairn had to be purified before they could prepare dinner that evening. Even this ritual had to be improvised, as Umar did not have the proper materials at hand. In the end he scattered ashes from a less-than-pure flame over them, and he hoped the length and sincerity of his prayers would make up for the physical inadequacies of his actions.
He and the prince, not wanting to panic the others, had devised a story to explain their upcoming actions. In order to further purify the men who’d handled the dead bodies, they would make a detour to the shrine of Sarafiq, where the prophet Muhmad himself would help them in a cleansing ritual. To minimize the temptation to other band
