"You are a stranger. You might have killed him with a curse."
"He was already nearly dead."
"But he was still alive, and you might have finished him."
"He must have known I'd do my best."
"Still, if the boy had died, that clan would have lost a fighting man, so your clan had to lose. That is our law."
"Is that why Kwangtan wouldn't help?"
"Not at all. He's not a stranger. And if the women who were working on the boy had kept at it until he choked to death, no one would have hurt them. They're not strangers."
"The quicker I get out of here, the better!"
Ardelan permitted himself to smile. "Once you are no longer a stranger, doctoring will not be so dangerous."