"Cheers."
"Good health to you, Zaganos Pasha."
With aroma of the sumptuous lyutenitsa, kebapche and other traditional Bulgarian delicacies sniffed around every single corner of the dining room, the atmosphere is filled with the vibe of merriment, noises of men chortling and exchanging of drinks, it made this place almost look like a fairy land instead of making people realise that they are in the front line of a battle field.
Zaganos Pasha and Selim Pasha declared a feast tonight for every single Ottoman warrior. Despite not saying anything but everyone knows in their mind that it is a common tradition for armies to hold a feast before they goes marching onto battle field. Thus all of the Ottoman army sunk their mouths deep inside their plates of meat.
Obviously if today is the day to die eating blades and arrows, no one wants to die with an empty stomach.
And for Zaganos and Selim Pasha, they are seated right in the middle of the dining room with an independent closet seated facing right next to each other, holding a glass of, of course not alcohol Khamr is prohibited by the Holy Prophet, but a non fermented Nabidh.
"Good health to you too, may the grass of your steppe be always green." Zaganos Pasha gave a toast to Selim Pasha and the two men gulped down their drinks.
"Have you seen the reports by Ibrahim Pasha in Izmit?"
"Yes…" Selim Pasha stood up refilling both his and Zaganos Pasha's cup. "I have faith in him, pretty tragic for him though if those kind of crappy stuff did not happen he ought to be in the lands of Albania fighting that cursed Skanderbeg now."
"A round of toast to Ibrahim Pasha, for his wits and audacity!"
"Cheers!"
"oh, by the way." Selim Pasha asked. "Zaganos, how do you think of the state of our country?"
"It is like shite now, obviously." Zaganos Pasha wiped his mouth and reached for a döner on the table. "However, I do believe that our new Sultan shall grow up to be the star of tomorrow, to be serious, the young sultan is the brightest kid I have ever seen, I see the future of our nation on him."
"Indeed."
"…"
Just as the commander and vice commander is about to finish having their meal, a scout came bursting into the doors hurriedly kneeling down before their table. "Pasha! I have news!"
Zaganos Pasha frowned and placed down his handkerchief. "Report."
"Our front line watch posts have caught sight of an army consisting of all calvary flying the banners of a blue shield and around five or six golden fleur de lys, can be seen approaching fast merely one day's distance away!"
"Pioneer troops of the Bosnians." Zaganos Pasha immediately turned serious realising that the next trouble has arrived. He turned to Selim Pasha and asked solemnly unlike that casual way of gossiping just now. "Selim Pasha, how much confidence do you have that your plan will work?"
Selim Pasha hesitated.
"just give me a quick answer."
"Around seventy percent." Selim Pasha replied with uncertainty in his words. "I still have one two more steps before chaining all of these plots up and making the Serbians and Hungarians complete rivals."
"Seventy percent… Is more than enough. Selim Pasha, my friend, we have no more time to waste, now carry on with the last step of your plan."
Selim Pasha too knows the urgency of this piece of news, without further thinking he grabbed his cloak, walked briskly out of the door and vanished out of the camp right to the stables.
"Did the so called crusaders get this information?"
"Worry not, my honourable pasha." The scout grinned. "Those scouts and riders of the Serbians are a bunch of rookies when compared with us the natural riders of Osman, those Magyars are a little bit more of a nuisance, but we still solved all of them!"
"Great job, soldier!" Zaganos Pasha felt around his pouch and threw the scout a few ducats and the later hurriedly picked all of them up with greed in his eyes. "Let those infidels live in the mist of blindness and fear, now go get some rest."
"Thank you, honourable pasha!"
Zaganos Pasha walked out of the closet towards the middle of the celebration, pushing his way through the crammed crowds of Ottoman officers succumbing to their appetite for the day, Every is even a yaya infantry chieftain that accidentally bumped into him spilling some liquid onto the pasha's robes which smelled a little bit like…. Alcohol.
However, Zaganos Pasha did not seem to mind at all, he laughed and joked about the clumsiness of the chieftain, gave him a hug and helped to tidy up the food stains on his moustache and continued walking towards the stage at the centre.
One can see and feel with naked eyes on the aura and the atmosphere of this dining hall changing the moment as Zaganos Pasha set his foot on it, the room instantly quietens down all having their eyes locked and focused on their chief commander with burning flames of eagerness in their pupils.
"My brothers!" Zaganos Pasha raised his arm shouting out to everyone. "Are all of you having fun tonight!"
"Aye! Aye! Pasha!" His audience raised their cups towards Zaganos Pasha in reply.
"I cant hear you!"
"Aye! Aye! Pasha!"
"Good!" Zaganos Pasha held his arms akimbo and laughed. "Have your bones been softened by the sweet honey of tonight! Have your skin been tense by the stroking of young fine lass! Have the blades by your waist melted into wooden twigs by the long period of mental and physical relaxation! Have your movements of wielding blades turned clumsy because of those chubby bloats you have consumed today! Tell me! Brothers!"
"No! Pasha!" The atmosphere here reached another climax as almost every Ottoman warrior roars out trying to prove to their leader, some even tearing down their shirts or taking off their leather armour revealing the scars and tense muscles on them showing it to their commander.