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CHAPTER 4 – WHEN IN ROME…BE CAREFUL
The Appian Gate in the Wall of Aurelian, Rome, now called the Gate of Saint-Sebastian.
14:39 (Rome Time)
Thursday, January 12, 862 C.E.
Appian Gate, Wall of Aurelian, Rome
Papal States
‘’Rome, at last!’’ exclaimed Markus as he and Karl’s little troupe entered the famous city of Rome via the Appian Gate, pulling their small cart along. ‘’I was getting worried about wearing down my new shoes on these old pavements.’’
‘’Don’t rejoice too fast, Markus.’’ countered Greta. ‘’We still have a long walk to make before arriving in Toulouse. We will be lucky if we take less than three months to get there.’’
That deflated somewhat the young man, who then clamed up and concentrated on pulling their cart. While the troupe advanced along the Via Appia inside the walls, it encountered a sparse but varied crowd of people, mostly merchants with loaded carts and pilgrims. They also saw plenty of evidence that the city of Rome had seen much better days in the past, with many monuments and building abandoned, in ruins or badly neglected and with quite a few other buildings having been destroyed by fire and then never rebuilt. The population level, at least in this part of Rome, also appeared quite low. All that left Karl, who had dreamed for a long time about seeing the famous city, both perplex and disappointed.
‘’THIS…is the famous city of Rome?’’
A man running a roadside small vending stall nearby heard him and answered him in a sarcastic tone.
‘’If you wanted to see a great city, then you are late by at least a few decades, friend. The Saracens attacked Rome some fifteen years ago and looted Saint-Peter’s Basilica, on top of devastating the fields around the city. Right now, the population of the city is down to a ghost of its ancient self, while you will find only corruption, greed and neglect around the city. As if this was not bad enough, the Pope died a few days ago and the rumors are that he was poisoned. Right now, the papal palace is a shitpit of intrigues and backstabbing.’’
‘’Pope Nicolas is dead?’’ could only reply a shocked Karl.
‘’That’s what I said, friend. Here is one counsel to you and your companions: while in Rome, keep your purses tight against you. With the anarchy presently reigning inside the city, purse-snatchers and thieves of all kinds roam the streets, especially at night, while the municipal watch couldn’t care less about public order and safety.’’
‘’Uh, thanks for the counsel, friend.’’ said Karl before making his troupe resume its advance. His wife Greta then got close to him in order to speak to him in a near whisper, clearly worried.
‘’What should we do, Karl? You know how vulnerable we could be to thieves while sleeping at night in the open. Also, we don’t have the kind of money that would allow us to stay overnight in an inn. And even if we did take rooms in a hostel, what about our cart?’’
Karl was silent for a moment while swallowing the bile forming in his stomach. He had hoped for his troupe to make some good money in Rome, but his wife was unfortunately too right: their stay in Rome could prove to them to be both dangerous and ruinous. He finally took a decision and spoke up in a bitter tone.
‘’Alright, let’s forget about staying in Rome! We will exit via the next gate with a bridge over the Tiber River, then will continue north on the Via Francigena towards Suteria{8}, Seocine{9} and finally Luna, where we will try to find places on a boat going to Massilia{10}. Shit! Shit! Shit!’’