Ten Things I would do if I were a Surgeon in a Grimdark Fantasy Setting, Part 01

1. Bullets! Forty years I have watched as military arts evolved, changing the balance between  all those different peoples who move in and out of the Barrowlands, bringing with them an ever-more complex array of ranged weaponry. These…guns, as they are called, are fascinating contraptions; I have seen a squadron of ill-prepared mages ripped apart under a single round of fire; my hands have had to
2. In that time, I have treated bullet wounds properly, watching meanwhile as dozens upon dozens of my ‘colleagues’ pour arcane boiling oil into men and women who would be better served if the bullets within their bodies were to be removed.
   I know very few men who’ve a liking for lead poisoning. But those charlatans sure enjoy the coin they receive from peddling the Alchemist Guild’s concoction.
3. Duty of care goes beyond caring for one’s patients alone. It runs much deeper than that; we physicians, no matter the occupation, must seek to further our knowledge. To the betterment of medicine no price is too small to pay.
4. A good reason to go after that mob of alchemists; to snoop around a little, anyhow. I’ve not the friends I used to, when I was younger. I am an old man now, my hair greying and receeding–I’ve grown fat, for Gods’ sakes.
5. My hands’re still dexterous, and strong, however. When I grab one of the boy-apprentices from the Guild, and squeeze, the boy sings. The tales it tells…

And that’s it for today, I’m afraid. A bit shorter than usual, since I’m short on time! Today’s partial list was inspired by Ambroise Paré, the physician who, in 1536, changed the course of medicine by taking a bullet out of a bullet wound, instead of cauterizing it with the bullet still inside; all because he’d ran out of the substance. You can read more about him here.