Compassion or Cruelty?

Your contemplation is suddenly interrupted as the sound of a pained, animal yell pierces the swamp. You quickly crouch down by a nearby rock, and listen as another cry, human this time, echoes the first, amidst a chaotic scramble of snapping branches. Another animal noise, quieter this time. The chaos has died down, and for a long moment, there's silence, then the human coughs, and groans.

It sounds like a fight transpired, but it's over now. You carefully creep closer, flitting from cover to cover as best you can. Peering through a shrub, you locate the source of the noises. At the base of a tree rests a human you don't recognize- masculine, half-naked, not much older than yourself... Another seeker, perhaps? Not far from them lies a mudhound, its blood leaking from a pair of grisly wounds, returning to the Swamp. The human is bleeding, too, a wound that leaks around the bundle of vegetable matter they're holding to their stomach. Its hard to say, but without help, they might not fare much better than the mudhound. You had an obvious choice, here. You could take advantage of this hunter's weakened state to finish them off and take their goods for your own. Their trousers, once washed of the blood, would be better than nothing, and you can see a medium-sized sack on the ground nearby. You don't see the weapon they used to kill the mudhound, but judging by the wounds, there might be a spear or blade nearby.

Alternatively, you could intervene, using what first-aid experience you had to try and save this stranger's life, keep them from returning to the swamp for at least another day. They may reward you for your compassion, perhaps even agree to travel with you for a while. Many of the Southern Tribes, you know, have a code demanding a show of great deference and generosity to those who save your life. At the very least, they might have a few words of wisdom to give you and, should they pass on despite your efforts, you'll have the opportunity to scavenge their supplies anyway.

You would not have this choice were it the mudhound who was injured, though: some animals refuse help when on their last legs, and are all the more vicious and dangerous for it. There is, you suppose, a slim possibility that the same holds true for this stranger...