Polo noticed that everyone showed the signs of a hard and uncomfortable winter. Polo then asked Eleonora:
“Eleonora, how are things?”
“Very hard, but we would rather be here than in the mainland at the mercy of the Longobards. Almost all the men have perished, and their families have found refuge here in the lagoon islands…”
“Every village is overcrowded, Polo,” Paulina jumped in, “not just Equilium and Torcellum, you should see farther west. It used to be basically uninhabited swamps, now Murano is a village, and so is Olivolo, you know those islands before you get to Metamauco…”
“This evening I stop here,” Polo continued, “but tomorrow I must go survey those areas before I return to Heraclia and report to the new tribune about the situation.”
“You are leaving again?” Aurelia interjected.
“Aurelia, you are definitely coming with me back to Heraclia. You will be much more comfortable there. We brought more soldiers and there is much more manpower. They are preparing new living quarters as we speak.”
Aurelia looked at her mother, while Polo continued his explanation.
“Eleonora, you are most welcome to come too. Aurelia will need help…”
“Without Bruno and Elio and all other men…” Aurelia explained, “…my mother has become the de facto village leader, I don’t know if she can leave…”
“Aurelia, I will come often to help Equilium and Torcellum,” Polo reassured her. “There are many boys of working age. I will bring supplies, don’t worry.”
The next morning Polo kissed Aurelia as he was leaving to survey just west of Equilium. It would be a short trip of a couple of days, he reassured Aurelia, and then they would move together to Heraclia. Claudio, Marcia and Paulina accompanied Polo on this short trip to the western parts of the lagoon.
They floated in their small lagoon boat through the canals. They spotted more people than usual, most in precarious camping conditions. There was a feeling of solidarity. People did not feel threatened by the upcoming boat, as they all felt bonded against a common threat that had marginalized them to those swampy edges of land.
They arrived in Lido Albo, an island that was sandy on the seaside, but quite vast and fertile on the lagoon side.
“I always noticed how this fertile island is unused,” Polo thought out loud. “It is high enough that the winter high tides have not ruined the ground with salt. We should farm over here…”
“So you gave up on trading, and you admit it is better to fish and also farm?” Paulina replied sarcastically.
Polo understood that Paulina was attempting to restart their jesting, but the situation was too serious and he was not in the mood to give a smart answer.
“Eventually we will, but now we have to provide food for everyone, and there are more people now… We need to do a better job of farming locally, for now.”
“Claudio, stop over there and let’s take a look,” Marcia told her younger brother who was steering the boat.
They descended and made plans for farming.
“Let’s begin clearing the field,” Polo ordered. “Next time around we will bring some of those new lads from the village and start planting. Paulina, why don’t you and Claudio start the work, and let’s use all these dry weeds to prepare a fire and bedding for tonight. We will camp here. In the meanwhile, I will take the boat and survey Olivolo and the island behind it. There is probably more suitable land over there.”
“I am coming with you, Polo!” Marcia immediately reacted.
Marcia hopped in the bow of the boat, while Polo stood at the stern with the long oar and they departed.
They navigated by Olivolo, and the situation was the same. It was starting to be inhabited, but mostly by women and children, and it was very precarious camping. Polo greeted people without disembarking, and gave encouraging words that there was a new tribune in Heraclia, and that help was on the way. They went on and started navigating inside a very large canal that snaked through a much larger island.
“This must be the old river bed of the Sile River, or the Brint River! Look how wide this canal is!” Polo wondered.
“And look after that turn, up there right before the canal turns again, look how high that bank is, it must be the highest point in the island,” Marcia answered.
“Yes, that high bank looks like another good campground…”
As they approached the high bank right before a second large turn of the canal, another boat appeared, with a woman sitting at the bow, and a man with an oar standing at the stern. Both couples for a moment believed they might be seeing a mirror image of each other. As they came close, they recognized each other.
“Polo!?” Primo exclaimed.
“Primo!!!” Polo yelled back.
Polo could barely contain his excitement. He had had no idea whether his brother had made it. They both quickly brought their respective boats toward the high banks, and without securing them, they ran toward each other, knee deep in the water. They embraced each other for several seconds, without exchanging a word. They knew there was too much to say, and they would have a chance to catch up later. Now it was time to let their emotions out. It had been a full year since the tragic departure, and for months, they expected the worst while hoping for a miracle.
“Polo… I am floating away! Can you secure the boat?” Marcia interrupted the brotherly embrace.
Primo and Polo brought the boats to shore, and introduced each other to Livia and Marcia. That night they camped on top of the high bank. Primo had brought wood in his boat, and they made a fire to warm themselves in the late afternoon of a chilly early spring day.
“Polo, I was heading toward Heraclia to deliver a message, but I am glad that I found you so much closer.”
“What is the message?” asked Polo.
“There is a betrayal among Longobards’ ranks, and the Patavium faction is going to help Heraclia regain Opterg. It will happen the day following the next full moon. The town of Opterg will be unguarded.”
“Very well, because I come back from Constantinople with the Emperor’s orders to retake Opterg…”
“You have been to Constantinople?” Primo asked.
“Oh Primo, it is the most magnificent city… But one day we will build a city just as great over here in our lands…”
“Yes! We will light up again the trade routes that made this land prosperous in the past, and this lagoon will be the central hub, between land and sea!”
“But tell us about Constantinople…” Livia asked.
“It is overwhelming in beauty,” Polo answered. “There are people from all corners of the world… Do you think the Longobards are strange looking? Wait to see African merchants, Indian merchants… and I have even seen people from the Far East!”
“What about the palaces?” Livia asked again.
“Oh! It’s gold everywhere, and the statues! They are so rich that besides statues made of stone, they also have them made of marble and of metal!”
“Tell me, like what?” Livia continued to inquire.
“Statues of ancient gods, statues of giant lions, my favorite are these four horses made out of bronze… I wish I could bring them here to show you!”
“Polo…” Now it was Primo’s turn to ask. “We can begin trading with Constantinople and bring all those fortunes over here. We can build palaces just as beautiful and have those gorgeous statues!”
“And then what?” Marcia jumped in, and asked sarcastically. “Are you going to build giant bridges to connect your city?”
Marcia was teasing, but Polo was too euphoric for having found his brother. It was not clear if he understood the irony in Marcia’s words and was playing along, or if he was dead serious when he boasted:
“Yes! We will build great bridges!”
“Don’t worry Marcia,” Primo explained. “H
e has always been like that, even at the farm. Now that he has been in Constantinople he has many more notions to fuel his imagination!”
Livia decided to play along with Marcia:
“And Polo, what are you going to build these bridges with? With boats?”
She was smirking at Marcia, as she was implicitly pointing out that unlike cities inland, there was no material around: no wood, no stones, nothing.
“Yes! We will build a beautiful, very long bridge made out of boats!”
Polo was standing up while the other three were sitting by the fire, laughing.
“A bridge with boats? Polo?” Marcia was unimpressed. “I thought you would build me at least one high bridge over this wide canal with sturdy pine wood!”
“Of course Marcia, we will definitely build a bridge with the finest wood that Primo will bring us down from the Alps!”
“And how about one of stone?” Livia asked. “How about a bridge made out of all the engraved stones in Altinum?”
“Yes! What a great idea! You see, we put our minds together and look what we can accomplish! Not one, but two large stone bridges!”
“Polo…” Primo added, “…we will be so rich, and there will be peace all around our lands, that instead of building weapons we will also build a bridge made out of iron! What do you say?”
“Why not, Primo, why not?”
Polo knew he was part of the joke, and now he was starting to play along.
“Wait! I have a better one!” Marcia exclaimed. “Polo, I want you to build me a large bridge entirely made out of glass!”
“Yes! Ha, ha, ha!”
They all could not stop laughing at the last one. The first stars had started to appear, and Primo added some more wood to the fire.
“Polo, we have brought two large wool blankets to camp out. One is plenty for Livia and me. You are welcome to use the other one, because you two do not seem very equipped for camping out in the open…”
“Thank you, Primo,” Polo replied.
“All right, Livia and I will move over there. Farther from the fire, we can see the stars much brighter… Good night!”
Marcia was sitting down by the fire and wrapped the blanket around herself. Polo was standing in front of her going on about Constantinople, the Emperor, the port of Taras and all the distant lands he had not seen, but that he learned about while in Constantinople. Eventually it got chilly and he laid down, talking nonstop. Marcia came over and covered him with part of the blanket, and snuggled next to him.
“Marcia… when I think of all these Longobard fights, what happened to Opterg, I feel so sad. It saddens me because there is a whole giant world out there and this is only a miniscule part… The sea is the real frontier, but also the access point to everywhere else. I am far more interested in where the sea can take us, than fighting for some stupid farmland… I don’t even care as much about the land in Istria that has been taken from me and Primo. It’s such an afterthought compared to the immensity that is out there!”
Marcia loved to hear Polo talk. It had been a long, cold, lonely and miserable winter. Polo’s return was like the spring nightingale chirping in a blossoming garden. Now she did not want him to get melancholy talking about Istria, Opterg or his farm.
“Polo… tell me more about Constantinople…”
“Oh Marcia! You should see the spices they have there in the market. Father Leontio has brought some! You must come to Heraclia and taste them…”
Marcia loved to hear his voice. He told her about Egypt, now conquered by the Arabs, and the land east of Byzantium, Persia, and the land east of Persia, India. All places and names that she was not even capable of imagining correctly, but she loved hearing these new and exotic names. She snuggled closer, her left leg over Polo’s legs, her arm over his stomach, her head resting on his chest, her eyes closed so her right ear could better hear his heart give the beat to the music that came out of his mouth. She was tired, but too excited to sleep. If Polo slowed down, she asked him another question. And so on, all night. It was dawn, and they finally stopped talking, both falling asleep underneath the warm wool.
It was mid-morning and eventually Primo woke them up. Now that he delivered the message, he had to return to Patavium.
“Primo, are you sure you do not want to come to Heraclia with us?”
“It would be too long of a journey, Polo. I also have plans. Now I have free access to the mountain trade, and I want to bring down plenty of wood. Last night you have given me an idea. There are a lot of people here. Many young boys that might be too young to fight, but old enough to work hard.”
“Ok, Primo, let’s plan to meet here after retaking Opterg. I will be waiting here for you. I have an idea what to do if we have lots of wood…”
Primo and Polo looked at each other, and they knew exactly what they were thinking. Primo could not help smiling:
“I guess we can continue what we were doing that morning when we were interrupted by the taxman. Isn’t that right, Polo?”
“You read my mind, Primo!”
“Polo…” Marcia interrupted. “We have to go too. We left Claudio and Paulina all alone on a desert island. They are probably very worried…”
The two brothers saluted each other and departed. Polo and Marcia navigated back to Lido Albo, picked up Claudio and Paulina, and they headed back to Equilium.
In Equilium, Polo left Marcia, Paulina and Claudio, and the next day he departed with Aurelia and her mother Eleonora for Heraclia. They took Bruno’s old boat, which was full of the two women’s belongings. It was not much, but this was meant to be a permanent move, at least for Aurelia. As they navigated through the canals leading to Heraclia, Aurelia asked Polo:
“Polo, are you sure about joining the Tribune in the effort to retake Opterg?”
“What do you mean if I am sure? I am the one that will push to fight now, rather than wait…”
“I mean, these are the Longobards we are talking about… only a few months ago we lost Bruno, Elio and all other men from Equilium…”
Polo realized that Aurelia was questioning his battling abilities, and he did not blame her, so he preferred not to respond.
“You just came back, Polo…” Aurelia continued, “…and I have missed you tremendously. Now, this rushed wedding we have planned – which of course I am looking forward to – it feels like insurance on the likelihood you won’t come back… and I don’t like this feeling.”
Polo would have liked to tell her not to worry, that there was a plan in place, and it would be an easy victory and it would be silly and cowardly not to participate. However, he also knew that there was a chance it was a trap, and that he might not come back, so he gave another explanation:
“Aurelia, we have been pushed to the edge of the sea. You have spent the winter damp in a sandy patch of land prone to floods. If we don’t push back soon the Longobards will personally drown all of us, one by one. What kind of future is that for our child? I tell you: that is no future. So we might as well face our destiny now. If it goes well we live, and if it goes badly we die. But if we avoid our fate now, we are just surviving for the time being, just buying some time and sealing our inevitable doom.”
They arrived in Heraclia, and after greetings and arranging for Aurelia’s and Eleonora’s accommodations, Father Leontio said:
“Polo, I have good news. Yesterday the Patriarch of Grado has arrived to greet the new Tribune. I told him about your imminent wedding, and he has agreed to perform the ceremony himself!”
“That would be a great honor, indeed!” Polo replied.
Polo was slightly sarcastic, since he remembered the Patriarch as the one who had dismissed him as a simple farm boy, and the one who had given his blessing to Zani, the traitor.
The next day everyone was preparing for the wedding ceremony. Patriarch Cristoforo was there, assisted by F
ather Leontio, and among the people attending were Saverio, Sabino, Eleonora, Tribune Gregorios and a few Greek soldiers. Before the ceremony began the Patriarch approached Polo.
“Paulus Litius, I feel that I owe you an apology… I hope you understand the circumstances we were in…”
“No need to apologize…” Polo replied. “Saverio explained to me the situation before I departed.”
“We barely escaped the massacre, and we have been under siege in Grado for most of the winter…” the Patriarch continued.
Saverio approached the Patriarch and Polo:
“Fortunately that traitor, that Zani of Ruvinium, he is a lousy seaman. His attempt to conquer Grado was easily repelled, even though our forces were depleted after the Opterg debacle.”
“You see, Polo,” the Patriarch added, “after his betrayal many of his men abandoned him and returned to Istria. They were not aware of his plans, and they refused to follow him in his Longobard vassalage.”
“Now he loiters around Opterg with the few dozen men he has left,” Saverio added. “He hangs out with Kakko and Taso, probably too afraid to return to Istria…”
Polo was pleased to hear about the weakening of his primary foe. This would make the taking of Opterg even easier, and the rejoining of Istria seemed that it would be a mere formality.
The modest wedding ceremony took place. This was a reflection of how precarious Heraclia was, a town held together by resilient characters.
Chapter 8
THE WOLF TRAP
The next day, Adalulf was galloping with a few dozens of his men toward Opterg. He arrived at Opterg’s walls and slowed down in front of the main gate.
“Open the gates!” Adalulf yelled.
The gate opened and Adalulf entered with only a few of his men, while the rest waited outside. Kakko and Taso walked toward him.
“Adalulf! What are you doing so far to the east of your lands?” Kakko asked.
“Haven’t you heard?” Adalulf replied. “There is a band of Avars pillaging village after village. I thought you men were protecting the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Italy!”
Venetians Page 10