The blood ran down the palm of his right hand as he examined the gash. Wiping away some of the flow with the fingertips of his left hand, he pulled the skin apart, examined the wound and grunted. Below the skin, he caught a glimpse of the muscle fibers before the blood returned to obscure the opening. There appeared to be no damage to the muscles themselves, which Tomas tested by making a fist and squeezing his fingers into a ball.
There was pain, but the strength and function remained, so he grunted again, this time with a bit more confidence in his utterance. He wrapped the wound with a strip of hide taken from his pack, and got assistance from Villa, his woman, to secure it around his wrist.
Then Tomas pulled a length of rope across his palm, grasped it tight and tested his hand. With
