But it wasn't my fault! I swear!
OK, let me explain. So there was this native medicine man named Patli in a suburb of Tenochtitlan, and he seemed like a nice guy. He just spends all of his time tending to the very minor wounds and sicknesses of the populace, and while he loves to help people, he gets a little... bored sometimes.
So I mentioned that I may have sort of passed through a village where the entire population was, to various degrees, infected by a disease that caused small, red blisters on their bodies. Yeah, I knew what it was. I mean, we were Spanish (well, and one Hungarian), we were immune already. But there was nothing we could do for the poor Aztec villagers except give them some food and move along.
But this guy. He seemed smart, and was very dedicated to his craft. Is there any chance that he could figure something out? He asked me to bring him a subject to study, and I - optimistic as always - said I'd bring him one.
So my expedition treks back to the village, finds one young man who seemed fairly healthy and only in the beginning stages of infection, and offers him passage to Tenochtitlan. He jumped at the chance to get out of the sick, starving village. On our way out, a few other villagers caught wind that there was a way out of their misery, and they mobbed us, asking for our help. This... was troubling. We obviously can't hike two days through the Mexican jungle trailing a huge posse of smallpox-infected people.
But they were pretty insistent. They didn't want to let us leave without them. My people were starting to get nervous, looking around, clutching their broadswords and arquebuses a little tighter; it looked like things could get out of hand. Then, Mercedes Valiente, the sole scholar in our company sidled up to me, and suggested we try to calm them down; it didn't have to lead to violence. We conferred for a moment, then through our native translator, Anacaona, launched a stirring speech that somehow convinced everyone to just calm right down and let us pass. I promised that I would try to find a way to help them all, but that we couldn't bring them with us. Slowly, and with disappointed expressions, they parted.
As we left the village everyone in my party sighed with relief. Even Bonita Blanco, the hunter who is usually the first to cry for blood, was happy to leave without violence. I guess they feel that the less time spent around smallpox, the better. Go figure.
Finally on our way back, the scouts took the lead and the wagons brought up the rear of the formation. The kid from the village followed about 30 paces behind the wagons, feeling everyone's general unease about his state of infected-ness.
Two days later, we meet Patli again. He's overjoyed to see the lad, and right away ushers him into his tent. The expedition sort of just hangs around the medical area, browsing the nearby market or taking siestas under a few sparse trees.
After about an hour, the medicine man and the kid come back out of the tent. Patli hands him a small pouch, and says its some sort of treatment, and the kid hikes off alone, up the road to the north.
Patli comes up to me, and I'm very eager to hear what he's found. Could this guy have found a cure to the disease that ravaged Europe, that we only survived by sheer numbers?
"What did you find?" I asked.
"I took some scrapings and samples of his boils, and gave him a mixture of herbs that should soothe the symptoms." He practically explodes with joy, "This is the most fascinating disease I've ever seen, and these samples should help a great deal in my research!"
"Soooo, you didn't find a cure then?" I'm starting to lose confidence.
"Oh no, it'll be quite a while before I can even properly analyze the samples, but it'll definitely help!"
I didn't know what he meant by 'analyze', as I didn't expect the Aztecs of having a whole lot of complicated and precise medical instruments. But they have shown already that, as a people, they were capable a incredible and surprising feats. I still felt pretty good about it.
"Hey," he interrupts my thoughts, "you guys look like you see a lot of really neat things in your travels, and I suspect you run into situations where an extra doctor could come in handy. Can I come with you?"
"Er, what about your patients? And what about those samples you're supposed to be analyzing?"
"Eh, my apprentice can handle the few broken bones and things by himself, and the samples will still be here when I come back and can devote my full attention to them."
"Well, my men do tend to get shot, stabbed, and poisoned quite often... so... Welcome aboard!"
He's thrilled, and ducks back in his tent to grab his personal affects. Everything is tied up into a bindle, and he slings it over his shoulder. The bottom of the sack is a bit darker, and looks a little damp. I'm curious, but I think better of asking what's inside.
And so, one native doctor stronger, the expedition sets out, bound for adventure and glory. There's a small band of warrior women that the chief priest has asked us to 'take care of'. They're supposedly just a few hours' travel west of the city. Some of our members have taken to referring to them as 'Amazons', showing a surprising acuity for classic literature. This should be fun.
Tenochtitlan will be fine for a few months without its doctor, right?
