The Medieval Marine - Cauldron Simmering
Copyright© 2025 by somethin fishy
Chapter 14: Hot Pursuit
“He who learns and runs away, lives to learn another day.” – Edward Thorndike.
Mosul, Uqaylid Dynasty. October 1078
Morvarid waited until she was sure everyone was in position before taking a deep breath, opening the door a crack, and looking out. Opening the door was always risky, and Morvarid was justifiably nervous. Still, she opened it, only to find the commander of the city’s garrison and some guards standing there. She had seen the commander when they arrived in town, and he gave her the creeps.
“Hello, can I help you?”
“Yes. We are looking for the man that rents this room. Is he in?” Morvarid felt as if a hole was opening under her.
“No, he is not. May I ask why you are looking for him?”
“The business of the city garrison is none of your business. When do you expect him back?”
“I do not know. He only said after nightfall.”
“Then you will not mind if we wait here for him.” With that declaration, the commander forced Morvarid back. She stepped straight back so she wasn’t in Luke’s way. The way the commander looked at her, she was sure he intended to rape her while waiting. When the door behind the last guard shut, Luke sprang into action, and Guzal released an arrow into the commander. There were four guards plus the commander, but since the room was dark, no one saw Luke or the twins.
Shooting at point-blank range, Guzal’s bodkin-tipped arrow punched straight through the commander’s armor but didn’t kill him since she didn’t hit anything vital. Nevertheless, he fell to the floor, out of the fight for the time being. Luke’s first sword thrust buried the blade to the hilt in the back of the guard he was after. Instead of pulling the blade out, Luke pulled a pair of knives and stepped into the group of remaining guards. There, he slashed and thrust as quickly as possible until the others were dead. Since Guzal couldn’t safely get a shot off without the possibility of hitting Luke, she held her fire.
Luke had just finished with the last guard and was wiping the blades of his knives off when the commander groaned. Guzal was drawing to shoot another arrow, but Luke waved her off. He came up behind the commander and picked the commander up by grabbing him by the back of his shirt.
The commander groaned in pain as he was lifted to his feet. At first, he thought it was one of his guards, but when he turned, he was looking at the largest and angriest man he had ever seen and became scared. The commander had spent part of his life as a member of the roughest part of society, only becoming garrison commander because of his perceived loyalty and wits.
“How did you find us?” Luke asked.
“Who are you?” Luke slapped him hard across the face.
“You do not ask questions. How did you find us?” When the commander decided to be stubborn, Luke nodded, and before the commander could react, Luke had him gagged. Quickly, Luke tied the man’s hands to the room’s rafters, causing him to groan loudly. Tying a rope to each of the man’s ankles, Luke gave each twin a rope and instructed them to pull. The twins pulled the man’s legs apart until Luke told them to stop. When they stopped, Luke delivered a brutal kick to the man’s unprotected genitals that made him squeal like a stuck pig.
Morvarid was shocked at Luke’s behavior, but she didn’t interfere.
“Once again, how did you find us?” Luke demanded. When the commander nodded, Luke removed the gag.
“The smith whose shop you used reported you. He thought you were acting strangely and on the run from the authorities.” The commander squeaked.
“So you thought forcing your way in here with my girlfriends would be a good idea? You are not very smart. The smith was right; we are on the run. The black-haired beauty you met at the door is Sultan Malik’s sister, Morvarid Khatun, and possibly the mother of one of my children. One of her former servants was the one who shot you, and I am Field Marshal Luke MacDougall, commander of the British Army and husband to Marion I of York, Queen of Great Britain.”
The commander gasped. There were so many things wrong with the large man’s statement that he didn’t know where to begin, so he tried to scream. Luke saw him take in a deeper breath and ran a knife through the man’s throat before he could scream, silencing him forever. The commander was dead before his blood hit the floor.
“We need to get the hell out of here.” Luke declared to everyone in the room. “Take a moment to loot the dead, then pack. We leave in ten.”
The women didn’t bother arguing with Luke, not after seeing what he was capable of. While Luke didn’t scare Morvarid, he made her nervous. When he was slicing his way through the guards, he seemed more like a machine than the man she loved.
On the commander’s body, Morvarid discovered a piece of paper. When she opened it, she gasped. It was a message from her brother to the garrison commander warning him to be on the lookout for Luke, Morvarid, and the twins. It also stated that Luke’s reward was now up to 750 Gold Dinars, while Morvarid’s was 350. Luke and Morvarid would be returned to Isfahan for trial if captured alive. If the twins were captured, they were to be sold into slavery.
The message had just arrived, prompting the commander to follow up on the smith’s suspicions. Thankfully, the message hadn’t been spread to the population, but if Luke’s group was still in town by the morning sun, everyone in the city would be looking for them. All the dead men had full purses and produced a number of swords, knives, and other small tools.
After everything was packed, Luke led the way out the door, with the twins following and Morvarid bringing up the rear. Thankfully, their heavy gear was with their horses. Unfortunately, their horses were at a stable four blocks away on the other side of the town square.
As Luke left, he left their key near the inn’s front door. The door had been recently greased, so it opened quietly after Luke had taken the bar off it. When Morvarid exited, she gently pulled the door shut behind her.
Sticking to the shadows, the four began their trek to the stables. To have a chance, they had to have their horses. The first thing they noticed was the patrolling guards, who seemed more alert than usual. Guards who could cause problems later. Still, the trip to the stable was quiet. Luke was thankful that the city was nowhere near the size it had been when he first visited.
It didn’t take long for Luke to break into the stable, and they began readying their horses. However, thanks to the number of horses they had, it took time to get everything around. Time they didn’t have. Guzal was standing guard when she saw several guards approaching. Apparently, they had heard the horses making noise.
Guzal signaled the rest of the group to hide, but it was too late. The guards were at the door and entering. There were three guards, and once the last one came in, Guzal let an arrow fly, hitting the man in the throat. The guards heard the arrow but didn’t see where it came from. It was then the group got a bit of luck when neither guard ran to sound the alarm. If one of them had, it would have been very tough for the group to get out of town.
Seeing the men hadn’t run, Guzal shot another arrow but missed when it deflected off a rope hanging from the rafters. After the second shot, the guards charged toward Guzal, and she panicked. She turned to run but tripped and fell. Before she could get up, the guards had her arms and were hauling her upright. They didn’t realize anyone else was in the stables until Luke’s sword took the head off of one of the guards. The last guard was intelligent and swift. He managed to get his sword and cut Guzal deep across her stomach before Luke took his head off.
“Shit!” Luke exclaimed quietly, seeing Guzal lying on the floor.
“You must leave me, Luke. I’m so sorry.”
“Shut up, Guzal. You are not going to be left behind.”
“I have to. With me, you will never get out through the gate.”
“Again, Guzal. Shut up and be quiet while I get a bandage on this cut.” As far as Luke could see, the cut was deep but straight and clean. He tightly wrapped a bandage over the cut after spreading some honey in the wound.
“Why are you doing that, Luke?” Morvarid asked curiously.
“Honey has anti-microbial properties that will help keep Guzal from becoming infected. Once we leave, we will find a secure place and take care of her properly. As far as I can tell, the cut doesn’t penetrate the abdominal cavity, drastically reducing the risk of infection. Of course, if Guzal doesn’t stop insisting on leaving her behind, infections will be the least of her concerns.” Guzal had the sense to look embarrassed when Morvarid glared at her. “Okay,” Luke grunted. “She’s tied off until we can get to somewhere safe. Morvarid, help me get her on a horse.”
Luke gave Guzal a piece of leather to bite down on before lifting her on her horse. Guzal cried out in pain, but the leather kept her cries down. Tuija was concerned for her sister but had to finish with the horses. The work was good for her, keeping her mind off her wounded sister.
By the time Guzal was as comfortable as possible in the saddle, the horses were ready, but when Luke went to open the doors to let them out, the owner, woken by the noise, burst in and began screaming at the top of his lungs. Luke turned toward him and let a knife fly at the same time. The knife hit the man in the chest, puncturing his heart. While the man was still alive, he wasn’t long for the world.
Luke knew he didn’t have the time to get the knife, so he left it. The group rode out, and Luke told Tuija to ensure she had the pistol ready, just in case. There was no way four people on horseback could hide, especially when they had two remounts apiece, so they didn’t bother trying. Instead, Luke focused on riding as fast as possible. To that end, he had his bow in his hand with an arrow nocked.
It didn’t take long for Luke to use it, either. He saw a guard approaching, so before trouble started, Luke ended it with an arrow in the guard’s throat. Nocking another arrow, Luke pushed his horse to go faster. The sooner they reached the gate, the better.
To everyone’s dismay, there were seven guards at the gate’s guard shack. Luke opened the attack with an arrow into the alert guard and another arrow into a sleeping guard. After that, Luke dropped his bow and drew his sword. His bow was tied to his saddle with a thin rope, so Luke knew he wouldn’t lose it.
Sword in hand, Luke spurred his horse forward and began slashing. Being a big man in almost prime physical condition, Luke could deliver massive amounts of power with each slash. One of the guards got his sword up to block Luke, but Luke cut through the guard’s sword before taking the man’s head off. Another guard had his head cleaved in two. Things seemed to be going well, but then everything changed.
Tuija had been hanging back with her sister. From where they were, they could see down the road alongside the wall. As Luke got the upper hand battling for the guard post, Guzal saw a four-man patrol coming and pointed them out to Tuija. By the time Tuija saw them, they had seen the trouble at the gate and were advancing at the ready. Two had swords, while two had bows.
While Luke could dispatch the swordsmen without a problem, the archers worried Tuija. They could strike Luke at a distance and be in range in seconds. Tuija slipped off her horse and handed the reins to her sister for safekeeping. She ran through all the gun handling lessons Luke had taught her, including not shooting from the back of horses that were not accustomed to gunfire.
Tuija scurried to the corner of a nearby building so she could stabilize her shooting. She knew her first shots would have to be on target because she only had six. As Tuija waited for her enemy to get within range, she focused on slowing her heart rate and clearing her mind. Just as her targets were in range, the swordsmen began charging while the archers nocked arrows and waited for a clear shot.
Without thinking, Tuija cocked the revolver and brought it up with both hands, just as Luke had taught her. Suddenly, the gun’s sights were superimposed over the archer’s chest, who was further away from her. With the revolver’s hammer back, Tuija squeezed the trigger.
The handgun with off with a roar, surprising Tuija. The shot did two things, one, it alerted everyone in the city there was trouble at the gate, and two, the archer she had been targeting was lying on the ground with a hole in his chest. Before she could process anything, Tuija cocked the hammer back, shifted her aim slightly, and fired again. The second archer fell, a carbon copy of the first.
Not seeing the results, the advancing swordsmen were confused and frightened by the shots. Taking advantage of their confusion, Tuija shifted and shot twice more. The two swordsmen joined their archer comrades in the afterlife, and Luke’s flank was secure.
Now, knowing his time was limited and not able to lift the crossbar on the gate by himself, Luke took several small pots he had filled with gunpowder and placed them on the crossbar. Lighting the fuses, Luke ran behind the guardhouse, where the women joined him with the horses. No sooner was everyone behind cover than the explosives detonated, destroying the gate. Luke hopped on his horse and followed the women out. Before he went through the gate, Luke grabbed a torch and tossed it into a nearby warehouse that rapidly caught fire.
As the sun rose, it was painfully apparent that Guzal couldn’t ride much longer. She had slumped in the saddle and had sweat pouring off her. Luke found a suitable forest to hide in and led the women to a campsite on the banks of a stream. With the women setting up camp, Luke covered their tracks and set traps to slow down any pursuit party. He doubted any troops in Mosul knew of what happened outside of Kashan.
When he got back, he went to Guzal’s side. Tuija had her bandages removed, and Morvarid had water boiling to sterilize a needle and several strands of horsehair. Luke looked at the wound and smiled.
“Guzal, you are a lucky woman. Any deeper, and this wound would be far more serious.”
“Then why do I not feel lucky?”
“If this wound was any deeper, it would have cut into your abdominal cavity, which would have invited infections. As it is, all you have is some muscle damage. As long as it doesn’t become infected, you should be healed in a couple of weeks.”
“That is why you should leave me behind. I will slow you down and risk all your lives.” Morvarid gasped, but Luke spoke first.
“Guzal, shut up. Nobody is going to be left behind. Now, let’s get this wound cleaned and sewn up.”
Morvarid moved to where Guzal’s head was lying on her lap, and she could stroke Guzal’s beautiful hair. As Luke sewed the wound closed, Morvarid held Guzal’s hand through the pain, and when Guzal felt she had to scream, Morvarid covered her friend’s mouth with her other hand.
It took Luke twenty minutes to close Guzal’s wound, and while the results wouldn’t be pretty, she would fully recover. After Luke finished, Tuija gave her sister tea with honey added. Guzal would be drinking a lot of tea for some time, but boiling the water for the tea guaranteed she wouldn’t pick up a waterborne infection.
After Guzal was asleep, Luke and Morvarid worked to unload the horses and inventory their supplies. The horses were cared for, and everything was organized before Luke sat down with a map he had found in Mosul. It wasn’t the best, but it showed the area’s trade routes and major cities. From information obtained from the merchants, the Seljuks were battling the Arabs for Aleppo, and Luke was sure he didn’t want to go in that direction. There were too many Seljuk troops in the area, but he also didn’t want to travel to Anatolia.
There were too many mountains in Anatolia that would make it too easy for bandits to ambush them. Additionally, a large number of Seljuks were present, battling the Byzantines, and had been for years. Finding food would be difficult with the destruction that had reined over the area for the past 10 years.
Luke would have a few days to think because they weren’t going anywhere until Guzal had recovered. Shelving the travel planning for the moment, Luke got his handgun from Tuija and cleaned it before reloading and handing it back to her. She had done well; four dead bad guys with four shots.
Two days after a quarter of Mosul was burned to the ground, a messenger burst into a meeting Malik was holding with some of the local officials.
“My Sultan! Your prisoner has been found!” Malik stood so fast that his chair flipped over.
“Where?”
“Mosul. We are sure it was him. He was spotted traveling with three women, two of whom had blue eyes, although they may have changed their hair color, as both had black hair. Unfortunately, he escaped before we realized who he was, and during his escape, he burned a quarter of the city to the ground.”
“If he escaped, how do you know it was him?” asked Malik. He was thrilled that Luke had been found, but he was pissed that Luke had escaped.
“We received a report from one of the older blacksmiths that a large man paid him a steep sum to rent his forge for the day. We then received your message regarding the escaped prisoner. The similarities between your message and what the old man reported were too many to be ignored. When the guard captain went to investigate, the prisoner killed him and the rest of his men. During their escape, we believe one of the women was injured as she was seen slumping in her saddle. When the prisoner tried to get through the North Gate, he used some kind of devil substance that caused the gates to explode and several noises that sounded like thunder occurred, but there were no storms in the area.”
“That is the prisoner I am after.” Looking toward the guard at the door. “GUARD! I want every cavalryman on the road within an hour. Send messages to my army at Aleppo instructing them to spare every cavalry unit possible and have them spread out between Aleppo and Mosul. Send detailed descriptions of the prisoner and the women with the message. Finally, send messages to all forces in Anatolia. They are to turn away from the border and spend every effort to guard against the prisoners reaching Byzantine lands. I cannot afford that man strengthening Nikephoros III Botaneiates.”
“YES, MY SULTAN.” The guard snapped before leaving to send the required messages.
Malik quickly left the meeting and rushed to his quarters, where his servants were packing.
“Do not bother packing anything more than necessary. We must move like the wind, and we cannot do that with a full baggage train.” The servants nodded and moved to only pack what was needed. Everything else belonging to the sultan would be shipped back to Isfahan, where it could be stored in the palace.
Malik led a cavalry column of 230 troops out the north gate an hour later. There were no camp followers with them, and the men only carried enough rations for four days, just enough to get them to Mosul. There, they could resupply while gathering fresh information.
The ride north was hard and fast. Any man who couldn’t keep up was left behind, and most died either from natural causes or from farmers who caught them raiding their food supplies. During the trip, Malik lost 40 men to accidents, disease, or being left behind. He didn’t care about the losses as he had to get to Mosul as quickly as possible.
It had been a hard ride, but Malik arrived in Mosul three days after setting out from Baghdad and seven days after Luke had escaped. The first thing the Sultan ordered was for the number of patrols to be stepped up and for every skilled hunter to aid in the search. One thing he learned about Luke was that he was intelligent and dangerous.
Reports were also pouring in from nearby units saying they hadn’t seen any signs of the fugitive. Malik read through the reports and got a funny feeling that Luke was still nearby despite nobody having seen him. All the roads were covered with patrols from Mosul to the Byzantine border, but there were no confirmed sightings. Additionally, Malik remembered the report that one of the women appeared wounded. Knowing what he knew about Luke, Malik felt the British general had hunkered down and was waiting for the heat to die down and the woman to heal.
Allowing the heat to die was one thing Malik wasn’t about to do. He wanted to maintain constant pressure, knowing the general would slip up. When a guard spoke up and stated that the continuous pressure would drive Luke deeper underground, Malik had the man executed for disagreeing with him. The longer the chase went on, the more irrational Malik became.
He couldn’t believe that Luke had disappeared again. Malik began spending every minute going over reports and maps, trying to figure out where Luke had gone. Luke had burnt two cities and killed many of Malik’s soldiers, and so far, Malik had nothing to show for it.
Thirty kilometers northwest of Mosul, Guzal’s healing was progressing quickly. Luke had kept an eye on the local forces because it looked as if someone had kicked a hornet’s nest. They sent patrols in every direction but hadn’t discovered where Luke was hiding. By this time, Luke had moved the group into a cave that was large enough to hide all their horses and supplies. Every day, they would lead a few horses out at a time to eat. When one person was tending the horses, another would climb a tree to keep guard.
Seeing a considerable increase in Seljuk patrols, Luke became worried. It would only be a matter of time until one of the patrols stumbled on their camp. Studying the maps and his memory, Luke decided to attempt to reach the Byzantine Empire. If he tried to escape by ship, they would be subject to the Seljuk Navy, pirates, and winter storms.
Running to the Byzantine Empire had its own risks, such as being captured by Seljuk forces before they got there, bandits or the Byzantines might try to capture Luke to force him to work for them. Still, after lengthy discussions with the women, especially Morvarid, who knew more about the current political climate than Luke, they decided to head into Anatolia.