The Reconquest

After the capture of Málaga in the final chapters of the Reconquista, a straggling Christian searching for the army through the mountains comes across a Muslim who has been struck by an arrow. He tries to extract from him the path his men took, but the Muslim cares only that his final moments have come and that a woman waits for him at home. The Christian, reluctant yet in need of advice for his own matters of the heart, is counseled by the Muslim on how he might win back his beloved, seeing that the dying man has known a love so steadfast. Thus, before his death, the Muslim decides to tell him about her, reaching an agreement that if the Christian delivers a token to her after he dies, he will reveal where the army went. Yet neither can be certain the other will keep his word.