Chapter 7: The Widow
In due course a rider arrived at the gates of Ravan with an urgent message for the regent from King Basir of Marakh. He was guided through the arched marble hallways of the royal palace into the presence of the regent, Kateb bin Salih, where he relayed his somber news. King Basir sent his greetings to the people of Ravan and explained that, when Prince Ahmad and the wedding party did not arrive in Marakh when they were expected, he had dispatched a troop of his finest guards to discover what the delay was. The soldiers found the prince’s party slain down to the last man by a pack of brigands who had robbed them of all the treasure they’d been carrying.
King Basir naturally sent his condolences to the people of Ravan on the loss of their prince and future king and, to
