The main course, unsurprisingly, was meat. While hunting in the hills, the Numerians had killed a deer and two

The main course, unsurprisingly, was meat. While hunting in the hills, the Numerians had killed a deer and two wild boars, all now roasting over an open fire. As the tribe's guests, we were offered the best pieces. Fierce in battle, the Numerians were equally fierce at the table — they frantically tore the meat apart with knives, bare hands, and teeth, as though attacking the throats of their worst enemies rather than eating roast venison. Only one camp inhabitant didn't join the dinner. Far from the festivities, a slim woman wrapped in a gray cloak sat alone, her face hidden behind a piece of cloth. She was so quiet and still, at first I didn't realize she was a living being at all. The baroness...