And they went through the Dismal Desert, where no stream sang. . .

And in the desert they passed the Trees of the Sun and Moon, which
speak with the voices of men. And it was from the Speaking Tree
that Alexander heard of his death. And it was near there that he
and Darius fought. And they passed the Arbre Sec, the Dry Tree,
which has a green bark on one side and white on the other, and there
are no trees within a hundred miles of that tree, and it is sprung
from the staff of Adam.

And they passed through Balkh, the Mother of Cities. And they
passed through Tailian, where the great salt mountains are. And
they passed through Badashan, where the mountains of the rubies are.
And they passed through Kashmir, whose women are very beautiful, and
whose magicians weave the strongest spells in the world. . .

And moons were born and died. . .

And they came to Alamoot, the fortess of Senex de Monte, the Old Man
of the Mountain, the King of the Assassins, the greatest wizard of
all time. . .

Now this is the tale of the Old Man the Mountain.

Whenever within his dominions there was a fine young horseman, the
Old Man would put a spell on him and draw him to the Castle of Alamoot,
and outside of the castle sleep would come on him. And when he woke
up, he would be inside the castle, in the wonderful gardens. And
they'd tell him he was dead and in paradise. And paradise it would