Sturm Strike (Musket Men Book 10), page 20
“Back from us?” Lima said. “We don’t actually own it yet.”
“So, you want to charge ahead like we did at Hekt?” Caldor asked.
“No,” Sturm decided. “What I want to try and do is to get around behind the city and capture those important people trying to flee south from it.”
Everyone took a long moment to think about that.
“Getting south of the city offers a large number of advantages to us,” Sturm argued. “First, they absolutely would not expect to have the enemy appear there.”
“That’s true,” Gunner said. “It would probably convince them that we are twice the size we really are.”
“And men who have been beaten in battle already tend to inflate the numbers of the army which defeated them,” Faust added.
“If our approach from the north was not enough to drive the mobs into rioting,” Lima noted, “then our coming from north and south will certainly push them over the edge.”
“And again, I ask, is that really a bad thing?” Sturm pressed him.
“I don’t know,” Lima said. “On the one hand, massive riots should absolutely paralyze High Sheik’s Rami’s ability to strike back against us. But the crowds cannot be controlled. They may end up burning down the city you’re trying to rule.”
Sturm considered that answer. “Obviously, that’s not something I want to happen, but I think it would be far better for us and for Kriegsturm than simply turning around and going home. Or than us pushing in to try and loot the place and not doing a very complete job.”
“You’ll get the blame for what happens here either way,” Faust assured him.
“Oh, I’m sure, I will,” Sturm said. “But there are limits to what we have control over. I’m willing to take the chance that the mobs will stay out of control and demolish the city for us.”
He turned to Lima. “This all assumes, of course, that there is a way to circle the city and approach it from the south.”
“Of course, there is,” Lima assured him. “This part of Ahl-Alnaar Ashomal is riven with long relatively flat areas. But I don’t see how we can avoid being seen getting there.”
“We could move at night,” Ruus suggested—his first contribution to the discussion.
Lima shook his head. “Night maneuvers are always difficult.”
Sturm ignored him. “We leave Faust with the two militias and Ruus and his cannon here. They can actually set up to control the bridge the way these Ghulam should have done. Caldor, I’ll leave you here as well to scout for them and give you a quarter of the musket men to strengthen your position. Everyone else—musket men, regular army pikemen, and Granite Knights circles the city to prepare our ambush.”
“You’re gambling here, my Lord,” Lima warned him. “This could become a disaster that wipes out everything you’ve gained so far.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it,” Sturm answered. “I don’t think we’ve gained anything if we just turn around and go home. I think we need to do something spectacular if we’re to truly punish Ahl-Alnaar for what they did to us back in Cidade Fortaleza and what they tried to do to us with Jiniral Darwish.”
Lima nodded. “I have followed you this far. The Granite Knights will see this through with you.”
“Thank you, knight captain,” Sturm told him. “Now let’s get moving. We have a lot to get done by nightfall.”
Epilogue
South of Madinat Alharir
The Strawberry Moon, Day 9, Year 1197
Sturm examined the long train of evacuees through the spyglass he captured at Steil Pass. The line went on for miles and had clearly started before dawn. “I think we underestimated the reaction to the news that we are coming,” Sturm announced to Lima. “In fact, there are so many people coming, I’m not sure what to do with them all.”
Lima, looking through his own glass, agreed with Sturm. “We can’t just take them all prisoner. I think what we should do instead is strip every one of their valuables, kill all the men, and—”
“We’re not just killing all the men,” Sturm cut him off. “Here’s what we’re going to do. First, you and your knights will be our reserve. Then we’re going to use our regulars—who until recently were the scum of the Kriegsturm army best known for their ability to bully and extort from the citizens of Al-Andalus—to put their particular skills to work stripping these people of all their valuable leaving them only the clothes on their backs. Anyone who resists gets shot or otherwise killed. Anyone who runs gets shot or otherwise killed. I don’t know how we’re going to move all of these goods yet, but we’re going to make certain that the enemy doesn’t have the use of them. Understood?”
Lima nodded grimly.
“Good, then let’s get—what have we there?”
“What?” Lima asked, looking through his glass again.
“Those litters, they are out of the ordinary.”
“I don’t believe it,” Lima told him. “I think that’s High Sheik Rami and his household. Do you see the guards, plus the strong litter bearers? That may also be some of his highest officials.”
“Well, this certainly changes things,” Sturm said.
“Does it really?” Lima asked. “Does this mean you don’t care about the rest of these people hurrying down the road toward us?
“No,” Sturm said, “that part of the plan works just the same. The difference is that I am going to have High Sheik Rami in my possession and that is going to cause a lot of trouble for the opposition.”
“You’re thinking of using him as a puppet?” Lima asked.
“What? No, that would never work. But I do think we can confound many of his followers, open negotiations to ransom him, make it difficult for anyone to simply replace him because he’s not dead—even that rival of his he’s supposed to be fighting in the south.”
Lima nodded. “Interesting idea. It may even work.”
Sturm shrugged. “We’ll see. Don’t make the mistake that anything we’re about to do is going to be easy. Now we don’t have much time so let’s get the regulars organized, back them up with a company of musket men and then you and I and the rest of our men can go capture a high sheik.”
High Sheik Rami pulled the curtain back in confusion when he heard the panicked scream about Granite Knights. People were running in all directions and there were indeed an entire troop of armored horsemen riding up the side of the Spice Road laying into people with their swords.
Even as the high sheik watched, a brave soldier went down in a fountain of blood, but horrifying as they appeared, it was the sudden thunder of muskets that caused Rami’s heart to clench in fear. Also marching on either side of the road were rank upon rank of men in white shirts and dark pants holding the musket he’d been hearing so much about.
“How did they get here?” he wondered.
“Exulted one,” his servant approached him. “Vizier Ali begs you to abandon this litter and retreat with him into the city.”
For once, Rami was not in the mood to argue. He slipped out of the litter where guards quickly surrounded him, trying to protect him with their bodies.
But then the Granite Knights were there, hacking and slashing as they came, spilling over the other litters which housed High Sheik Rami’s fourteen favorite wives. It took only a very few minutes for the knights to have surrounded him and killed his guards. Musket men began to arrive with most moving on past Rami and his household to seek out threats further up the road.
“I am a wealthy man,” Rami reminded everyone in his proud voice of command. “I can pay a great ransom for my freedom.”
Two men, one in the heavy armor of the Granite Knights, and one wearing the uniform of the musket men rode up to him. “Before you take on new obligations,” the blond man with the cold blue eyes warned him, “I think you should pay the debts you’ve already incurred. How big was the bounty he placed on me, Knight Captain Lima? Five hundred thousand besans?”
Rami shuddered. How could this be happening to him?
“I believe he promised double if you came to him alive,” the Granite Knight answered without any humor.
“Well,” the man returned his attention to Rami, “as you can see, I am still alive. So, I claim the bounty and all the rest of your territory for the crimes your agents committed in Al-Andalus and Cidade Fortaleza.”
The Kriegsturm Calendar
The Wolf Moon—January
The Snow Moon—February
The Worm Moon—March
The Pink Moon—April
The Flower Moon—May
The Strawberry Moon—June
The Buck Moon—July
The Sturgeon Moon—August
The Harvest Moon—September
The Blood Moon—October
The Frost Moon—November
The Cold Moon—December
Ranks in Kriegsturm and Anjou
Private
Corporal
Sergeant
Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Colonel
General
Master General (Kriegsturm)
Marshal (Anjou)
Ranks in Ahl-Alnaar
Mulazim (Lieutenant)
Qutab (Captain)
Rā’id (Major)
Kulunil (Colonel)
Army Units in Kriegsturm and Anjou
A platoon has 50 men
A company has three or four platoons
A battalion has three or four companies
A regiment has two or three battalions
A unit is considered full strength at 80%
Army Units in Ahl-Alnaar
A Katiba has three or four companies
A fwij has two or three katibas
About the Author, Gilbert M. Stack
Gilbert M. Stack has been creating stories almost since he began speaking and publishing fiction and non-fiction since 2006. A professional historian, Gilbert delights in bringing the past to life in his fiction, depicting characters who are both true to their time and empathetic with modern sensibilities. His work has appeared in more than a dozen issues of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and is available online. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Michelle, and their son, Michael. You can find out more about Gilbert at www.gilbertstack.com.
About the Cover Artist and Mapmaker, Chris L. Adams
Chris is the author of The Savage from Atlantis and other bizarre, pulp-style stories and poems, together with an ERB Inc authorized Barsoom novel titled Dark Tides of Mars. Chris also does oil paintings, a couple of which were used to create the Map of The Jeweled Cities of the North and Winterhaven. If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his artistries, you can find him online at https://www.ChrisLAdamsBizarreTales.com/
Other Works by Gilbert M. Stack
(Available in Digital and Audio Formats)
Legionnaire
1 The Fire Islands
2 The Sea of Grass
3 The Jeweled Hills
4 The Battle for Amatista
5 The Centinela Gambit
6 Morganita Burning
7 The Bridges of Morganita
8 Seneca’s Command
9 Flood of War
10 Calidus’ Stand
11 Fog of War
12 Fire Storm
13 The Seduction of Malaquita
14 River of Death
15 The Fall of Amatista
15.5 Escape from Amatista
16 The Plains of Diamonte
17 The Harrowing of Diamonte
18 Snow
19 Severus’ Way
20 Command Decisions (Coming Soon)
21 What the Storm Blew In (Coming Soon)
Green Vigil: A Legionnaire Prequel Series
1 The Jungles of Ekángá
Boxed Sets of Legionnaire
Marcus Takes Command (Legionnaire 1-3)
Marcus Goes to War (Legionnaire 4-6)
Marcus Betrayed (Legionnaire 7-9)
Musket Men:
1 Sturm Warning
2 Sturm Front
3 Sturm Shelter
4 Sturm Rising
5 Sturm Line
6 Sturm Clouds
7 Sturm Barriers
8 Sturm Season
9 Sturm Country
10 Sturm Strike
11 Eye of the Sturm (coming soon)
Winterhaven
1 Winterhaven
2 The First Snows
3 The Blood of Torons
Winterhaven: Young Tavistock
1 Steel Gray Eyes
2 Dark Treacherous Hearts
3 Crimson Steel Blades
Preternatural
1 The Devil’s Cavern
2 Blood
3 Oktoberfeast
4 Masks
5 Red Caps
6 All Hallow’s Eve
7 Widow’s Peak
8 Local Legend
9 The Unicorn (coming September 2025)
10 A Preternatural Christmas (coming December 2025)
11 Police Patrol Live (coming soon)
12 Cat and Mouse (coming soon)
Preternatural Boxed Set
The Preternatural Collection 1 (Books 1-3)
Navarre
1 The Halfling
2 The Sheriff
3 The Hero
4 The Champion
5 Dwarf Friend (coming soon)
The Unity
1 Fugitive
2 Prisoner
3 Bride
4 Empyreal
5 Cartelite
6 Armenite (coming soon)
Among Us
1 Hiding Among Us (with Marc Hawkins)
2 Searching Among Us (with Marc Hawkins)
3 Hunting Among Us
The Pembroke Steel Series
1 Lazarus Key
2 Hearts of Ice and Other Stories
3 The Shore and Other Stories
4 Leverage
5 Angelique (Coming Soon)
6 Holiday Island (Coming Soon)
No Man’s Land (with Chris L. Adams) (coming October 2025)
The Miss Pandora Series
1 Pandora’s Luck
2 Pandora’s Defense
3 Pandora’s Journey
4 Pandora’s Fort
5 Pandora’s Ghost Town
6 Pandora’s Demon
Novels and Stories:
Blood Ties
Forever After
High Above the Waters
Panic Button
Phantoms of Saw Mill Bridge
Ransom
What Child Is This?
Boxed Collections
Three Urban Fantasies (The Devil’s Caverns, Hiding Among Us, Lazarus Key)
Anthologies
“The Null” in The Trouble with Time
Contact Gilbert M. Stack
You can find Gilbert M. Stack at:
www.gilbertstack.com
https://www.facebook.com/GilbertStackAuthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/GilbertMStack
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Gilbert M. Stack, Sturm Strike (Musket Men Book 10)
