Sef managed to keep from sighing in relief at that, and Altaïr managed to keep his eyes from sparkling in amusement. It was a near thing, though; perhaps this was one way in which his younger son had already surpassed him.

"I do want to see, and I will," he said, squeezing the shoulders of both his sons. "But I hope you will forgive your father for bathing first. We've been on the road a long time, and hurried our pace as we drew nearer home."

At this point, he was half-certain that the dirt ran several centimeters thick on his skin.