“Nothing…”
“Don’t tell me nothing! What is going on?”
Polo was already out of the house, following the guard.
Polo arrived at Tribune Gregorios headquarters, and inside the hall, he saw Mauro talking to Tribune Gregorios. Mauro did not look too good. His eye was swollen shut, and he was hunched forward holding his arm.
“Polo Licio Anafesto!” Tribune Gregorios shouted angrily.
Polo knew that when he was addressed as ‘Polo Licio’ it was usually not good news, but for the first time he was also being addressed with his family name ‘Anafesto’.
“Are you aware of what happened to the people of Metamauco?” Tribune Gregorios continued.
“What happened?”
“They were raided by Longobards!”
“No!” Polo acted surprised.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Polo! They were Adalulf’s Longobards from Canareclo! They cannot stay in the lagoon anymore!”
“Are you sure it was them?”
“Polo… again, do not insult my intelligence!” Tribune Gregorios continued. “And thank God that no one was killed, because I would not hesitate to implement capital punishment with anyone, and I repeat anyone, who was involved in this!”
As he emphasized ‘anyone’, Tribune Gregorios stared pointedly at Polo, implying that he knew more than he was saying. Polo chose to remain silent. Denying might irritate Tribune Gregorios more, if he actually had some proof, and admitting might be premature, as anything could always happen.
“It was all Polo’s idea!” Mauro interrupted. “He is the one that must leave the lagoon, or face justice in a main square!”
“What are you talking about, Mauro!?” Polo protested.
“How did a bunch of horses get on my island?” Mauro said accusingly. “You brought them! You are the only one with a ship large enough in this lagoon!”
“That is nonsense!” Polo objected.
“You can deny it all you want, Polo Licio. You came to my island to threaten me, and to extort taxes, and now you have lived up to your threats!”
The fuming argument was interrupted by another guard that, while panting from the run, brought the Tribune important news:
“Tribune Gregorios! Tribune Gregorios! The Longobards!”
“Which ones?” Polo intervened, almost in jest.
“Grimwald is in Patavium,” the guard continued, “…but a few Longobard scouts have been spotted in Altinum already!”
“Grimwald is coming for Opterg…” the Tribune concluded.
“Shall we organize a defense? Mauro, are you coming to defend Opterg?” Polo asked, poking Mauro.
“No way, there is no way we can defend that fort,” Tribune Gregorios replied. “He will wipe us all out of there. He is too strong… I have to go there quickly, bring the soldiers to safety and bring the weapons and other valuable things we have there to Heraclia.”
Tribune Gregorios rose and before leaving, he concluded:
“Mauro, I must leave now, but once I come back, I promise you will have your justice. I will talk to everyone involved and I will get the truth out of them. And then I will serve the appropriate punishments!”
As Tribune Gregorios left, Polo followed behind. Now that they were alone the Tribune told Polo:
“Polo, I know you must have been behind this, and I will not tolerate this kind of action under my jurisdiction. Both you, Adalulf and Marcello, and anyone else involved, will get what is deserved!”
“But…”
“Please Polo! A gang of Longobards raids a village and there are no casualties? And then they are shooed away by a bunch of boys from Cioza led by Marcello? You think I am an idiot?”
Polo did not say another word, and was a bit preoccupied. Once Tribune Gregorios would return, things might turn for the worse for him. He watched as the Tribune left for Opterg with two of his guards.
Tribune Gregorios and the two guards arrived at Opterg’s fortified stockade. The gates closed behind them, but in the distance, behind the branches of the nearby woods, a few Longobards were lurking. It was Bertwalt, Grimwald’s right hand man, and several horsemen.
Bertwalt and all his horsemen descended on Opterg and surrounded the town. From inside the wall the Byzantine guards alerted Tribune Gregorios:
“They are here! They are here!”
Tribune Gregorios ran to all four corners of the fort to check the situation.
“They were waiting for us! They were already here!” The Tribune despaired. “At least not the whole army, but look at that! Enough horsemen to keep us in. We are sieged!”
Bertwalt came closer to the gates of Opterg by himself, leaving everyone else at a safe distance. He stopped in front of the gate and yelled:
“I need to speak with Gregorios!”
“What!” the Tribune replied.
“King Grimwald told me to make you an offer!”
“What is it?”
“He wants to grant free passage to all the soldiers in there, all the way to Heraclia!”
“In exchange for what!?” Tribune Gregorios asked.
“He wants to personally shave your beard!”
Chapter 13
THE EMPEROR IS NAKED
Syracusae. In this Sicilian town, the Byzantine Emperor had set headquarters for his military campaign against the Longobards. Inside the imperial palace, specifically in the bathhouse, Emperor Constans II was soaking in an indoor pool, and the only two others present were General Mezezius and the Emperor’s personal chamberlain.
“Your Highness,” General Mezezius updated the Emperor, “General Saburo has been defeated by Beneventum’s Longobards in the battle of Furinum… and this without Grimwald even being there…”
“So now we also risk losing Neapolis? After already losing the port of Taras, now Neapolis!?” a distressed Emperor Constans II replied.
The Emperor was raising his voice with the general, diverting toward his military commander his frustration with his own failures.
“We are on the defensive, Your Highness… and this is while Grimwald is still in the north. Once he comes back down, Syracusae may be in peril too…”
“I still want to formally move the capital of the Empire here to Syracusae,” the Emperor continued. “Soon Constantinople will be sieged by the Arabs, and between the two threats I’d rather take on Grimwald…”
The Emperor immersed himself under water, as if hiding from the sound defeat he had suffered in Beneventum. He then reemerged:
“…by the way, is there still no news from up there?”
“Not yet, we just know Grimwald was moving toward Opterg…” General Mezezius replied.
The Emperor immediately interrupted his general:
“Oh, I am sure Opterg has already fallen. And if we haven’t heard anything yet it’s probably because Grimwald has also taken Heraclia and the rest of Venetikà… there is not even a point in asking Ravenna to go and try to help… I consider those northern outposts lost… Poor Father Leontio…”
“Perhaps we should ask Pope Vitaliano for help,” General Mezezius suggested. “After all, the only thing he requires is his sway over Ravenna…”
“Don’t talk to me about the Pope!” Emperor Constans II erupted.
Just mentioning the name of the current Pope triggered a hysterical response from the Emperor. He immediately continued rambling about a not so subtle rivalry:
“I should have him assassinated like I did with his predecessor, Pope Martinus…”
The Emperor immersed himself again, as he did when thinking about Grimwald. Pope Vitaliano irritated the Emperor perhaps even more. He had not lost to the Pope in battle, but he was losing a chess game against his religious rival. The Emperor reemerged and continued:
“General Mezezius, haven’t you noticed tha
t the Longobards sack and raid all Byzantine outposts in Italy, but the Papal State? No… the Papal State they never touch! Why?”
“I don’t know, Your Highness…”
“I tell you why… it’s because they must be secret allies. The Pope wants religious supremacy over the Patriarchate in Ravenna. And because I said no, now he is secretly helping the Longobards…”
“We don’t know that for sure, Your Highness…”
“I know Pope Vitaliano has excommunicated the Bishop in Ravenna! I know the Longobards never attack Rome! That’s it, we need a new Pope that is not antagonistic to the Empire… Mezezius, arrange for his assassination!”
Having made a decision, the Emperor did not feel the need to hide in the murky pool water anymore, and as he was stepping upwards on the submerged marble staircase, he gestured at his chamberlain to bring his robe.
“Are you sure, Your Highness?” General Mezezius inquired.
“Yes I am sure! Now go!” The Emperor replied, annoyed by his general’s second guessing.
The Emperor was raging mad at his general for questioning his decision, and he awaited naked, with his arms extended outward, for his chamberlain to cover him with his robe.
“Yes, Your Highness…” General Mezezius concluded.
Before turning around, General Mezezius stared at the chamberlain and gave him a nod. The chamberlain stared back as General Mezezius was walking toward the exit. The chamberlain put the robe over the Emperor’s shoulder from behind, and then stabbed the Emperor with a dagger that pierced through to the sternum. The Emperor’s eyes were open wide, more by the surprise than by the pain. He jerked forward, trying to speak but coughed up blood instead. Then he fell face forward into the pool that slowly became even murkier.
Opterg’s wooden gate was ajar, and Bertwalt was standing outside of it with the rest of the Longobard army. Byzantine soldiers had been disarmed and were lined up outside, with Longobard spears pointed at them. Everything was very silent.
The gate opened, and Grimwald appeared, clenching his sword tightly, with blood still dripping from its blade. He appeared emotionless, but he exhaled deeply, as if he had just liberated himself from one of the many nightmares that had been haunting him. He had finally avenged his brothers, and Gregorios’ beheaded body was lying behind the open gate.
“Is everything in order, my King?” Bertwalt asked.
“Bertwalt… I want this town completely destroyed,” Grimwald ordered.
“Yes, my King, right away!”
As Bertwalt was raising his hand to give his men the order, Grimwald interrupted him:
“Bertwalt, I don’t mean just burned down… I want every stone structure to be completely leveled. I want everything flat. I don’t want anyone to rebuild in this place.”
“Yes, my King, as you wish.”
“And of course, as promised,” Grimwald continued, “let’s provide these prisoners safe passage to Heraclia… and they can deliver their Tribune’s head to the Patriarch of Grado.”
With one finger, Grimwald was pointing at the hostages, and with the sword he was holding in the other hand, he pointed toward Gregorios’ head on the ground behind him.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Grimwald added. “Have them deliver this message as well: I might choose to spare Heraclia and the rest of the lagoon…”
“Yes, my King, and in exchange for what? In case they ask…”
Bertwalt knew Grimwald did not spare anything unless he received some concessions in return. He had just released these Byzantine soldiers in exchange for their commander’s head. But he had made similar offers in the past, in order to avoid unnecessary battles against clearly inferior foes. So Bertwalt, knowing his leader, decided to anticipate the question before Grimwald would have to explain himself. Grimwald paused for a moment, and then with a blank stare toward the south, he replied:
“In exchange for Polo.”
The released Byzantine soldiers were arriving in Heraclia. Patriarch Cristoforo of Grado, as well as Saverio, Sabino, Father Leontio, Polo and Aurelia were meeting out in the open, and they were discussing what to do.
“Clearly, if we do not meet his demands he will wipe all of us out…” the Patriarch stated.
“It might take him some time to build enough rafts for his whole army,” Saverio added, “but at least Heraclia, Torcellum and Equilium… he will manage to reach and destroy these towns…”
“Perhaps Murano, Olivolo and Rivo Alto are safer,” Sabino wondered. “Being deeper inside the lagoon, perhaps we should all seek refuge there…”
“No, we need to stop him from entering the lagoon completely!” Polo objected. “Sabino, you need to go seek help. Go get Primo, Claudio, Marcello… tell them to get all the carpenters in Olivolo… they are young, but they are of fighting age now, we are not in that bad of a shape!”
“We also have Adalulf and the few dozen Longobards that came with him,” Sabino replied. “They can probably help…”
“Yes, Sabino, why don’t you go,” Saverio replied to his son. “In either case we need to assemble all capable men here in Heraclia. In addition to the Byzantine soldiers that were released, we do have a decent defense, and with the help of the marshland we can at least make it a very costly invasion…”
Sabino did not wait any longer and ran to the docks to board his father’s sailboat, and he departed. The rest remained there.
“Patriarch Cristoforo…” Aurelia asked, “…but you mentioned that Grimwald had made some demands… why are we just discussing military defense? What are these demands?”
Everyone looked at one other, as no one really wanted to answer that question. Finally, Father Leontio decided to break the news to Aurelia:
“Aurelia… Grimwald offered to spare Heraclia and the rest of the lagoon in exchange for Polo.”
“Not a chance!” Aurelia yelled back.
“After all, Gregorios was offered a similar choice in order to save his troops…” Saverio added, “…and he will always be remembered as a great hero!”
Saverio was indirectly suggesting that Polo should go to Grimwald and save everybody else, and he was trying to gently propose that option. He was looking around to see if anyone was going to back him up. The Patriarch seemed to be of the same idea:
“If we don’t, it is inevitable that he will conquer us, and then we shall all die anyhow…”
“That’s not true!” Aurelia protested. “We can escape to sea! Polo, we can move to Istria! You always wanted to move to Istria! Let’s move to Istria, Polo!”
Aurelia was sounding increasingly desperate. There was no way she would let her husband go to a certain death.
“Aurelia… Istria will probably be next…” Polo explained.
“Oh, Istria will definitely be next!” Saverio stated, backing up Polo. “We would be refugees everywhere, unless we migrate to distant and hostile lands, and then we would probably meet the same fate!”
“Besides, there is no way we can move everyone,” the Patriarch added, “and we need to find a solution for all inhabitants of this lagoon…”
“And I don’t want to live running away, constantly fearing for the life of my children…” Polo reasoned, increasingly convinced. “I don’t care much about surviving, if I cannot engage in commerce, if I cannot live my dreams, I don’t know if it is worth it…”
“Polo, what are you talking about!” Aurelia yelled at her husband. “Of course it is worth it! What would our life be without you? Do you want your children to grow in poverty or as servants? They will be better off with their father there, even if we need to flee to a distant land!”
“Patriarch Cristoforo…” Polo asked. “There is something I do not understand of Grimwald’s request… Why would he need to shave my beard as well?”
“To be precise, Polo, the soldiers reported that he offered their saf
e passage in exchange of shaving Gregorios’ beard. In your case, the message is that he will spare all of us in exchange for Polo. There was no mention of shaving any beard.”
“So perhaps it is not that bad!” Saverio interrupted. “Maybe he just wants to keep you as a slave! Polo, that’s not too bad, is it? You will still get to live and just be his servant!”
“Polo, don’t listen to them!” Aurelia objected. “You remember when you brought him to Heraclia!? He kept saying that you were weak, because in your place he would not have any mercy. He kept saying he will kill us all, and now he came to keep his word!”
Polo was now ignoring Aurelia, as what Saverio said had made him think:
“You know, Saverio, you might be right. Perhaps it is payback time, but I crossed him only for taking him as a slave! Perhaps he wants to do the same with me, and maybe after a period of humiliation he will free me, just like I freed him!”
“Yes, that could definitely be it!” the Patriarch added.
“No, no, no! That is too risky!” Aurelia protested. “I cannot let you go! It is suicidal!”
“Patriarch Cristoforo, what is the deadline?” Polo asked.
“I would imagine right away. The soldiers said the Longobard army was busy razing Opterg to the ground, and right after that they will work on building rafts to invade the lagoon…”
“Then we do not really have time to waste, and especially we might not even have the time to prepare a minimum defense… gathering everyone and preparing to repel the Longobards, that will take at least a couple of days…”
“Polo, if you go you will be remembered as a hero!” Saverio reassured. “Even more than Gregorios, because instead of just saving a few dozen soldiers, you would be saving an entire community and the whole patriarchate!”
“Polo, you are no hero!” Aurelia again protested. “It is out of the question!”
There was a moment of silence, as Polo looked down, trying to calculate in his head all possible scenarios. Then he finally spoke:
“You know what, Aurelia? You are right, I am no hero, but I have a hunch. Perhaps there is a way to avoid certain death in battle, or to live the rest of our lives as refugees. And I have a feeling that perhaps I can make Grimwald reason… I am going!”
Venetians Page 17