1453: Revival of Byzantium

Chapter 241: Do You Enjoy the Feast?

In the middle of the night the mass concert is still on going in the Bath of Paradise. With the aroma of food, sweetness of wine and the exotic scene of young lass dancing around making all the participants melt themselves thoroughly in to this sea of joy, embracing the delight of the night gulping down jar after jar of wine feeling the softness of squandering their time and energy under the moon until their exhausted heart and mind called for the luxurious touch of bed and the chaos of their entwined dream lands. 

Mean while Nikolas is still engaged in meaningless negotiations and debates with the local influential figures and lords on the topic of allowing Rumelian merchants to increase the quota of selling agriculture products such as grains and fish produced by local fisher men. 

"Your highness." Nikolas smirked shaking his wine cup. "I must urge you to reconsider my proposal, with this restriction lifted thousands and thousands of local peasants shall be saved from starvation. What do you think?" 

The mayor lays cozily on the laps of a maiden getting fed with fresh grapes with his eyes closed and replied. "Don't try to fool me Rumelian, I know that if I open the market your products shall flush in to the local market eating it up entirely, then earn all the filthy money for yourself, and the peasants? Stop kidding me, you too care no less about them right. You see, your request puts me in a very hard position my friend."

'You stingy old goat, I will have your filthy goat head chopped off in a few hours.' Nikolas groaned and cursed in his mind, but on the surface, he still showed a smiley face to the lord.

"You see Nikolas, the market of Thessaloniki is small, and only that amount of fish is needed by the citizens every day, I cannot sacrifice the quota set for my year Ottoman fishr men for your convenience sake, However~" the lord rolled his eyes and continued. "I can see that you indeed put in a lot of effort setting up this entire feast over here today, a festival that this city have not seen for a long time I can give you some exemptions, of course."

Nikolas hurriedly stood up pretending to be joyful and bowed. "Thank you, my lord! Thank you, I can assure you that I will bring prosperity back in to the city with my growth of trade."

"I am not done yet, boy." The lord interrupted abruptly and got himself up on the couch with the support of the maiden beside him. "Although I am contented by your service providing such a jovial feast, but still I have some small issues, you know, there is a war going on and the damned pests of the pirate rogue Antonius have burnt down Gallipoli, so there is a higher quota of taxation for us making our job difficult." 

Nikolas stood up again giving the lord a toast raising his cup high in the air. "Of course! All my fellow merchants and I shall start a donation drive run for the most majestic Sultan in order to prove our loyalty!" 

The lord laid back his head in the laps of the maiden and smiled satisfactorily again closing his eyes. "Alright now, I am feeling tired now, you may now leave." 

"Tired, why don't you tire yourself until death." Nikolas cursed the Ottoman lord again deep under his heart, but he still forced a smile, bowed and left the room walking backwards.

Nikolas walked straight out of the sector for the nobles greeting all the lords consistently as he pas by them, offering them a few more high alcohols level drink in the process. After turning a few rounds making sure that there are no one following his trails, Nikolas pushed open a back kitchen door down the alley where rodents and roaches hides, walked briskly straight down until he met Julian and his gang. 

"You have drunk alcohol" frowned Julian as he pinched his nose disgusted by the thick smell of wine. "A lot of wine." 

"Of course, I am there to drink wine, that is a part of the plan how it going to work." Nikolas retorted as he sipped his head in to a bucket of water.

"Every thing working as per normal according to the plan?" 

Nikolas shook violently awaking himself up from the drowsiness of the tipsy. "No Ottomans in charge of this place shall be able to find us trouble tonight, most of them are drunk losing their consciousness totally, with no realization to the outside world and things happening around him." 

"Is that officer of the gates inside with them also?" 

"Yes, why? He is in the second private cabinet with his uncle, if I am not wrong."

"Just to be sure." Julian displayed some baleful emotions on his usual stony cold face. "Just to be where can I find him later on so I can let him have a taste of how it feels like to be seating in a hay stack getting pierced by a blade, he who did this to me shall bare his own fruits, mark my words." 

"No! You cannot kill him!" Hissed Nikolas trying to control his volume. "His family is an important client of mine! Killing him would mean thousands of less revenue for me!" 

Julian did not reply him. 

Nikolas continued grumbling suddenly making himself look like a saint trying to convince Julian to do less killings, though every one here knows that he is only caring about his money. "Why does you uncivilized menacing pirates on the seas are so damn alike to the monkeys in the jungles? Can't you people adopt a more tender and forgiving posture to your foes? Come on just leave him" 

Julian did not bother replying him and walked away getting to the next step of the plan. 

Seeing this Nikolas too stomped his foot and followed behind, he too knows that he has no turning back now. 

The two men ventured carefully through the dark valleys down to the section of wall near the Port of Constantine, and gathered every local volunteer giving them a final rally before they go for action. 

"Gentlemen, I hope that you all are very clear about the mission we are going on today." Julian scanned through the faces of the volunteers. "Do take in mind that we are going to carry out a dangerous task, that if we make one single mistake in the process, all of us might die together. This before we go, I shall give you one last chance: Those who want to draw out of this operation, step one step backwards." 

No one moved an inch. 

"If not, lets go!" Julian drew out his cutlass, torn away the hood covering his body and bounced in to action with the men he brought raiding and Lott long the first torch of the night shining the path, followed by a fleet of torches behind which grows in an amazing speed as more and more local volunteers join in. When the patrolling guards noticed these people, the rioters have already occupied the entire street spreading towards the other regions of the city. 

"Rebellion! Rebellion! Sound the alarm! Inform the officer about this!" Cried out one junior officer as he tries to set up blockades along the path of their advancement, but their inferior size proved to be of no match to these rioting peasants making them fall back step by step. 

"Sir! I was just there twenty minutes ago! There are no one in the government building! It seems they the lordship have went to attend the feast hosted by that bloody Rumelian tonight! " 

"The feast?" The junior officer is startled as he looks back towards a distance away at the Bey Hamam, which is already being covered by an even bigger sea of torches and weapons. For now, the junior officer knows, that they have to rely on themselves., hold against the menacing angry crowd marching fast towards them they might tear their puny line of defense at any moment. 

While in the bath holding the feast, those who are still half awake from the alcohol scattered around the place like a nest of bees looking for the where about of Nikolas bearing the rowdiness of outside, as they found out they all the gates to the outside have already been locked meaning that there is no way out. They observed the crowd of rebels outside the windows cane coming closer and closer. They can literally see the fire of vengeance in these peasants' eyes, and still Nikolas is no where to be found. 

Finally, a door came burst open as Nikolas re emerged himself. However instead of showing up as a life saver he is follows by a massive group of rebels armed with pitch forks, cleavers and wooden rods. 

"Good evening! Lords and nobles of Thessaloniki! I am your host today, Nikolas, tell me lords, are you enjoying this feast?"