5. New Regime

  Over the course of January 6th and January 7th, the army quickly deposed Stephen Pateranos, the speech was highly inflammatory provoking riots from the Orthodox and Catholic sections of the city. Stephen Pateranos was captured and given the option of exile.

  “Surely you should kill him,” Butros said. “Or at least imprison him. You are just going to send him away?”

  “I am going to do the Christian thing and spare his life,” Adaneus laughed, “replace the banners on the walls, let us confuse Guiscard a little bit.”

  He had only gained 500 followers, food and water once again distributed to the city, but the soft approach had perhaps soured over the harsh words.

  “Everything you said is true,” Kwame said, “but harsh.”

  Adaneus had his followers secure Stephen to the harbour, where he would be under arrest until he could be successful repatriated. There Adaneus gave a speech to angry Orthodox followers.

  “Unlike the Imperial regime, I will not blind or castrate him, I send him unharmed and unmolested, You have freedom to worship what you like, but by the faith of Magec, Helios will prosper. Our time under the sun has begun, and Bari will be its launchpad!”

  A few scuffles happened, but religious tolerance was granted, Adaneus feeding the city and having another announcement.

  “Tomorrow we build ships,” Adaneus

  “Tomorrow we build ships!” Kwame shouted in proclamation, amazed by the words.

  The new administration took over the government, and the army, the new green flags adorning the walls, much to the confusion of the Norman army outside. Adaneus made plans for the next day. To Christian mobs, Adaneus shouted:

  “What kind of bread do you eat?” This is was obviously provocative, but it played on the sects already within the city, he knew about the Catholic and Orthodox schism about bread, and deliberately provoked them, much to their fury.

  The city’s Eastern Roman flags were put down. The Magec cult paraded around with their new green flags, chanting the new slogans of the new regime. From Bari he reorganised the funds, but Stephen’s lackeys had stripped the treasury bare, Andreas had likewise evacuated any kind of loot.

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  “The tithes will end, Magec, Helios does not demand what he freely gives. What the church takes, I will not. I will merely give, and trust me my followers, I will give a lot.”

  January 7th was consolidation, the town was in chaos, Guiscard was utterly confused and the Norman spies attempted to rush out and inform the army outside of the city of what was going on.

  January 8th, Adaneus dedicated one of his crystals to food, and another to a small forest. Men immediately cut the new trees, he realised that his crystals could only make a limited amount of wood, and they would need at least 30 ships to beat the Normans that way.

  “How many ships do they have?” Adaneus asked, curious and slightly irritated.

  “20-30 from what I know,” one of the sailors said.

  Adaneus’s eyes widened at the insanity.

  “And how many ships do we have in the harbour?”

  “4, including yours.”

  “That’s not going to work,” Adaneus hissed, frustrated and looking around for answers, “we’re just getting to get slaughtered, I have another idea, get the carpenters to make some mangonels, we are going to give these people a mighty show. That I promise.”

  Adaneus took a while making mangonels, there was metal, stone and wood necessary to compile, but while the city struggled with its newfound independence, the besiegers outside wondered what was going on. He tried to assemble them in secrecy, the materials gathering and the mangonels not put in easy to see positions. Carpenters made the beasts of war, four being assembled by the siege lines and two near the harbour in hopes of clipping the naval blockade.

  January 9th the Magec supporters gathered in the squares, once again Adaneus converted roughly 500. 3500 supporters in a city of 10,000 was not bad, but still the majority did not accept the new faith. The artillery waited in position, hidden under sacks while the day went by. Adaneus made some speeches to not arouse the suspicion of the spies. Food was distributed, water was running low but Adaneus did not need to do much for it rained a bit in the day. They collected oil and rocks, big boulders. Knowing the fleet and army couldn’t communicate with each other Adaneus had one more catapult put on the side of the army, but he changed his mind. Kwame agreed with his decision, since the land route had no chance of merchants coming in, he repositioned the catapults to the sea walls, and had more built which would be put on the military ships.

  January 10th, once again Adaneus waited, his craftsmen quietly put the artillery on the ships, and the crowds once again enjoyed the free food and water. It would be a calm day, the Norman camp was confident of soon finishing the siege. Still there was skepticism about the new regime, soldiers adorned the new flags, the golden lightning bolts on a green flag had an obvious Pagan touch to them, a touch of Paganism and a touch of rebellion. Bari had fallen to some strange new power, and the Adriatic was about to see something beyond their wildest dreams. Ships were prepared, artillery were prepared and the scouts said something to the Norman army camped outside the walls, the movements on the walls had the army spooked but the navy didn’t know anything. Nor would it.