Barry heard the footsteps reach the end of the stairs and draw closer to him, but he kept his head down and continued to cry.
"You've put me in a very difficult position Barry, my wife thinks I should take your head. That being said she can be a bit, well, hot headed and temperamental at times. Therefore, I've decided to spare you're life." Mr. Preda said.
Hearing that Barry looked up with a genuine look of shock on hi face to counteract his feigned crying just a moment ago.
"However," Mr. Preda continued, "it comes with conditions. Deny even a single one and I will give my wife her way, understood?"
"Yes sir, whatever it is I will do it!"
"Firstly you will continue working for this household. However, you will be demoted down to an entry level servant with no eligibility for promotion for one year, you will work for free for the next year, you will be confined to the inside of the house and it's interior courtyard for one year. You will also be supervised at all times for the next 6 months and finally, you will tell me everything you know about the so called Pizza Baron and his operations. If you are found to be in violation of any of these or to be lying to me about the Pizza Baron you will be immediately and publicly beheaded. Is that understood?"
Barry gulped but was elated on the inside, 'Not only do I get to live, they don't know about the messenger on the inside. This is perfect!' he thought to himself.
"Yes sir, I won't disappoint you again," Barry said bowing his forehead to the floor.
Charlie sat at his desk in the kitchen pouring over a list of notes mumbling to himself while his two most trusted apprentices, Mark and Ryan, were preparing the dough for today's pizzas.
"There must be contrast. Can not be something so simple. Must have easily accessible ingredients."
Danny, the Pizza Baron, walked into the kitchen and seeing Charlie mumbling to himself stood in the doorway watching quietly. After a few minutes a light bulb suddenly seemed to go off over Charlies head.
"I've got it!" Barry yelled jumping out of his chair. "I know what the second Pizza should be! It's a perfect contrast and we already have all the ingredients we need right here! I must tell the Baron at once so we can start gathering the ingredients!"
Turning and running to the door Charlie almost ran straight into Danny. Charlie blinked as he stopped his momentum and realized who was blocking the doorway.
"Danny, what are you doing down here?"
Hearing the Baron's name the apprentices immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed to the Baron.
"Resume your work. You are working for the most critical man in my territory. Your work is the key to numerous trade deals, don't stop working just because I'm here. In fact don't stop working unless you're explicitly told to!"
"Yes sir!" The apprentices said immediately resuming their work.
"I came down here to see how things were coming as Otto told me you have been having some struggles, but it seems as though I've saved you a trip." Danny chuckled
"Yes, I was just on my way to find you. I figured out what I believe the second pizza should be!"
"Spit it out man! What is it!"
"It's so simple it's a wonder it's eluded me for so long! Meatlover's! It's not an overly simple pizza, we have all the ingredients available with a local source, and it perfectly offers a direct counter to the supreme. Instead of loading the pizza with vegetables we load it with meat!"
"It's genius! I will alert our meat sources that we need them to increase production and I will alert the other Barons that it will be available for order for the next round of pizzas, in limited number of course until we get ingredient production ramped up."
"Of course sir, have you found an answer to the olive shortage situation?"
"I have. No need to worry yourself about the specifics, just know that they will be here. How are you're apprentices doing? Do you have enough?"
"I believe I have enough for the moment. The two making the dough, Mark and Ryan, show some promise. Two of them on ingredient prep are making some decent progress though I haven't bothered to learn their names yet. The other two, well, they're grasping the ingredient prep slowly. They've got it down for the most part but I doubt they can do anything more detailed. I'm hoping to be able to move the more promising pair of ingredient preppers to dough making soon so I can move Mark and Ryan to making sauce, that way I can focus on the baking process and supervising the apprentices."
"It seems as though you have everything handled down here."
"As much as I can with the current facilities and apprentices. I would like to hold my own tryouts for apprentices in the future. Especially as the facilities expand, I know that's a ways down the road but you don't sound like the pizzas will stop anytime soon."
"Not if I have anything to say about it."