The revolutionaries turned their attention to Vonitsa, but when they got there Tsogkas found the town deserted and the castle occupied by the Ottomans. When the governor of Arta was informed about the beginning of the revolution in Aetolia and Akarnania, he beheaded many notable citizens of Vonitsa he held as hostages. The town’s Christian population panicked and abandoned their homes, while the Muslims sought safety behind the castle walls. Tsogkas realised that he had neither sufficient men nor control of the sea to attempt an attack against the castle, so he left without attempting to capture the fort. Over the next months and years, wild boars roamed the streets of Vonitsa.