Legends of the bravery of the Amazon warrioresses had been told for as long as Lea could remember. And the few men, who were reported to be in the Phrygian armies, were no doubt even braver.

Any man who could face without quailing the prospect of being in an army that suffered from PMS all at the same time, at that time of the month - to greater or lesser degrees - and not flinching in the face of women looking for ways to spread around their misery, no doubt was a hero. Or perhaps the male Phrygian warriors had instead survived by becoming masters at being inoffensive, brewing soothing tisanes and providing hot bricks to ease cramps and by making themselves altogether indispensable.

Whatever might be true, the Amazones were still reported to be standing in Tirol, in the path Lea would have to take when travelling home at the end of the Raurici games. Since Rome's prime legion commanders were all far more distant than the Phrygians, Lea decided that in this case it might be best to chose the path of expediency and to find out directly for herself which route home she should plan at the end of the games.

So she found an elderly barbarian woman who had come to watch the games and who spoke several languages and paid her well, to take a very short verbal message to the Amazons:

"What are you doing in Tirol, so far from your homes and what are your intentions?"