In the Church

"But can he make a complete recovery?" Abdullah finally came across an area of speciality he is not familiar with. He questioned the clergy repeatedly as he rubs a brownish cream on the muscles and peeled skins of Antonius with anxiety that his friend's hands might be amputated.

"I can only say that he has no immediate threat of dying, but the infections by bacteria through his hand can still kill him a day or two later." The clergy wiped the blood off his hands and washed it with water, then walked towards the doors. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to go tend to the life threatening wounds of those poor children of God…"

"Wait!" Abdullah pulled the clergy stopping him from going. "Do you have any solution for the infection? We have gold! We can build you a new church! We can…"

"Stop it, non-believer, don't waste my time trying to flatter and bribe a humble servant of Christ in Orthodox church with monetary substances…It is a sin!" The clergy reprimanded Abdullah for his foolish idea, sighed and continued towards the nun standing in one corner. "Fine, Lydia, go get some one to call my old friend from the Monastery of Christ Pantokrator, he knows how to deal with this kind of infection problems… I have to go, release your hands!" The clergy pushed the hands of Abdullah offed his sleeve and left the room with that nun called Lydia.

Abdullah plodded around the room, looking out of the window occasionally if any clergy passes by and drags him into the room asking them to tend to Antonius' wounds. But the clergies looked at his hands and all shook their heads saying they got more urgent wounds to tend to.

"Relax brother." Said the old mercenary sitting on a crate in the room. "The clergy just now said that he is going to be fine… Relax, you look like a clown."

"The man lying there is not you nor your friend! Of course, you can relax!"

"There is one thing that bothers me by the way…" The old mercenary continued as he pulled a smoking pipe from his pocket, filled it with smoke powder, ignited it with the help of a candle and started smoking. "You want smoke?"

"No thanks I don't smoke."

"Pity." The old mercenary blew off a smoke circle. "Let me ask you something."

"What?"

"You are an Ottoman right?" Questioned the old mercenary curiously.

"Yes?"

"Why are you… on our side?"

Abdullah sat there quietly on a chair and did not answer his question directly, instead he dug out a letter from his pocket and showed it to the old mercenary.

"I see…" The letter made the old mercenary smoke even harder and inhaled the smoke into his lungs. "That is very… unfortunate, young man. I shan't ask it any longer."

"Hey, you, what is your name old man?" Abdullah asked back.

"The name is Angelo of Firenze."

"How did a man from Firenze turned up in a Genoese' band?"

"While that is a long story to begin with…. For another time, the doctor is here."

The doors is opened, an old man with ashen beard and a classical Roman robe came in with two people following behind assumably his disciples. Abdullah found it quite surprising because the old man is indeed the one who conducted a surgery on Giovanni's shoulder the other day.

But it is no time for another relaxing chat. The old man understood the situation just by having one glance at the injured spot and immediately got into action.

"Sir, can you…" Abdullah jumped off the chair and greeted the old man but is soon asked to leave the room giving him a silent space, while the old man also asked Angelo to smoke somewhere else outside the church as he hates the smell of smoke.

"Hand injury caused by Abrasion… muscles and tissues exposed; skin peeled off… Infection might already been active."

The old man then removed his vambrace and spaulder exposing Antonius' arms. "Radius and Ulna bones a little bit fractures… Must be subjected to a severe hit or crash by an outside force… fracture and purple Keloid scars spread evenly… perhaps this guy crashed with a horseman holding a shield."

"Pretty dumb of this guy." One of his disciples commented while mixing up some medication.

"Yes, pretty dumb… But brave."

The old man then removed Antonius' chainmail and plate armour piece of piece wiping the body with a warm dampened cloth while observing his wounds. "Several hits and slashes observed on the front, well protected by armour, no injuries on the back."

The disciple passed the medication he just mixed and stirred to the old man. It is a composition including Cyrenaican aloe, plants root powder, coconut oil and garlic, rubbed it evenly with a clean cloth and a sanitised clipper. Then they carefully bandaged the two hands again and again until Antonius can hardly move his fingers. Then the disciples attached Antonius' arm to a wooden plank for bracing the bones and keeping it straight to recover faster.

"Okay, done, Lydia, may you please ask the two men to come in?"

The nun Lydia bowed and went out to see Abdullah and Angelo while the old man and his disciples started packing things up ready to get going, while Antonius still there sleeping soundly from losing too much energy from that epic battle, totally unaware that he had just went through a surgery. His snores can be heard by Abdullah even outside the doors.

The two men pushed the doors and came into the room. One disciple led them to the surgery table and told them to advice their admiral to refrain from all physical activities involving the upper bodies, avoid contact with all water sources and come to the Monastery of Christ Pantokrator to look for father Issac Kantakouzenos after two days to re-bandage the wounds.