Reaching out to feel it, the fabric felt cold and soft to the touch, like silk. The surface was uneven as if there were prints on it. Irina rubbed it with two fingers and found that the fabric was quite resilient—she had a feeling this fabric wasn’t silk as it didn’t snag as easily.

“I wonder who left this behind. I’ll bring it back and ask Damien. Perhaps someone from the tribe lost it and an animal brought it here.”

Irina carried the stack of cloth and found to her surprise that, although it felt soft to the touch, it had quite a substantial weight—like it was laden with lead....