The five escapees rode out into the moonlight leaving in the distance the Pazyrk tented city. They took to the warn dirt road leading from the Scythian territory westward until they reached the first mountainsides. The trails there were where Moshtok used to take Zaria, Branka and Svetlana on their language lessons into the country. While none of them was a stranger to the horse, it was the Amazon girl, Tomyris who rode so deftly that she appeared to be one with the animal. Choosing to wear her traditional Amazon garb for the clandestine journey—a loose fitting chitin, tall deer hide boots and bare legs. She rode at a distance to the group as if at any moment she would bolt out onto the open Steppe at a gallop in search of her female comrades.

            Tsudros' horse, packed heavily with bundles of his woven creations, strutted in tandem with Moshtok's animal, carrying the greater share of their food and supplies. Zaria and Branka rode close behind, packed only with clothing and bedding. And as their horses slowed in exhaustion, the two girls spoke only of how they wished Svetlana, their fair sister in slavery, could have made this flight to freedom with them. But now pregnant, safe, and deeply in love back with her man the Scythian general Murka, they were content to know that her life, at least, had taken a safer path.

            The fugitives had managed to cover great distance that first night across the Steppe, galloping vigorously at times on flat ground so as to gain precious time. They knew such distance was important before Zaria was found to be missing in the stone palace. The athletic Amazon teen, wearing a powerful bow across her chest—which was supplied to her by Moshtok, led the cavalcade over rockier and rough terrain. This the girl wisely suggested they do, so as to not be easily tracked by those who might be searching for them. Tomyris rode low upon her horse, her body close to its neck, poised to dart out quickly in any direction should an attacker, a lion or leopard might spring out from the surrounding foliage. The tall, long-haired Tsudros and handsomely bearded Moshtok—also with a bow across his shoulder, were ever vigilant themselves for the sounds of other horses or voices in the wilderness.

            By the first light of sunrise, the group was weary and fatigued, the horses now sluggish, and all needed to stop and drink water. Tomyris, who seemed the least tired of all, gave the signal of drinking but directed the motion down to her horse's mouth.  She then stopped motionless for a moment and seemed to be sniffing up and outward at the cool air. She looked the direction of the breeze and  then dashed away on her animal seemingly with a purpose.

            "Is she leaving us?" Moshtok asked Tsudros.

            The two girls were silent, suddenly considering this event and its vulnerable consequences for them.

            "I think she has smelled water," Tsudros said for all to hear. "Her people can do these things. Maybe she is finding this for our horses. They need it badly now."

            "I'm sure she will return," Moshtok added, comfoting the girls.

            Everyone looked down the mountain side at Tomyris now as she continued to commandeer her horse in that direction. Then, as quickly, she disappeared behind the trees. There was a quiet and desperate pause among the group as they waited, uncertain as to dismount their horses.

            Suddenly the Amazon girl reappeared from behind the foliage. She galloped toward them, one bare breast characteristically exposed--flashing sensually in the morning light from her loose-fitting woolen top. The young warrior's bow was securely over her shoulder with the bundle of arrows tied in a sheath and bounced against her back.

            "There is water," she called out before reaching them. "From the melted snows. . ." The agile teen then pivoted and reared her mount, as if the robust animal was an extension of her own body. She rode quickly back to the site she had found for them. The others followed the Amazon to where she had disappeared behind the trees. Once there, they could see the lithe teen reclining comfortably on a large smooth rock at the water's edge. Her horse was already tethered to a nearby tree and drinking voraciously from the small stream which meandered around the other polished boulders. It was a shady and comfortable location which even provided fresh sprouts of green grasses for the horses to feed upon.

            As the other four dismounted, it was the first time they actually could relax from their hegira during the long night. With the sun shining now brightly through the trees the mood was becoming one of elation as they now fully realized they had truly escaped the palace and the sprawling tent city below it. Obviously no alarm had immediately been raised back with the Pazyryk people of the group's clandestine departure.

            After securing his horse, Tsudros went over to the dismounted and weary Zaria and lifted her up in joyful celebration. Moshtok too threw his arms around Branka and planted a shameless kiss upon her lips. The innocent Tomyris, unaccustomed and somewhat disgusted by the antics of the couples, gave a reserved and fleeting smile at them. She had obviously not in her entire life witnessed any affection between the sexes. The notion of even allowing a male so close to a female without some violent combative reaction was foreign to her upbringing.  The teen had obviously been indoctrinated throughout her childhood that only during a very brief time in a young woman's life would she be exposed to any intimate act with a male. And that fell only briefly within the customs and reproductive duty of an Amazon to her clan.     

            Like the horses they lived so close too, the Amazons viewed the sexual act as only a necessary part of procuring offspring.  And it was performed only at a certain time during the heat of summer each year, and for the duration of the bright moon. It was then that a limited truce was arranged with their male enemies—usually neighboring nomadic tribesmen to meet in the sultry forest for eleven nights of orgiastic coupling. The Amazon emissaries of this event were chosen for their healthy bodily youth and expected fertility.

            Following this seasonal event—known as the "Nights of the Stallions" the Amazon women would return to their sisters to await signs as to which of them had successfully been impregnated. That following spring, during the birthing period of this cycle, those female babies who were born alive and healthy were celebrated as new members of the female warrior clan. Boys were only mildly tolerated and kept temporarily.

            Contrary to lore and legend of these mysterious women, the Amazons did not put their sons to death, but simply returned them to the rightful fathers' clan as barter for materials and items which the Amazons could not procure themselves. These might include bronze goods, such as arrowheads, carved ivory or wooden objects and foodstuffs not available to nomadic peoples. Certain luxury goods such as gold and silver jewelry were also traded for the infant boys, some six moons after they had been nursed by their biological mothers. The Amazon-birthed male babies were usually highly regarded by the tribes who received them, as they replaced the males in their own societies who died in childbirth or from infant diseases, and their strength and ferocity as future warriors were renowned in the ancient world.

            Seeing Tsudros and Moshtok now kissing and holding women with affection was disturbing to Tomyris, though she had learned more to tolerate the act while a guest in Moshtok's home with Branka. The young Tomyris had been abducted from her Amazon tribe while still young enough to not have been considered by her sisters for the reproductive cycle and duty to the clan. Now in her sixteenth year she would have been called upon the following summer to participate in her first reproductive festival. It was something all Amazon girls did with certain trepidation but also as their duty to their clan.

            Seeing her repulsion at this obvious demonstration of affection between lovers, Tsudros sensitively comprehended Tomyris' expression. He left Zaria for the moment and walked over to her. Not wanting to leave her out of the celebratory atmosphere, he reached out slowly with his open hand as a gesture of conciliation and camaraderie. The young Amazon refused the invitation at first but then, reluctantly extended her hand as well, and they touched briefly. Branka, too, approached Tomyris and more passionately hugged her in celebration of their deed of successfully escaping their fates as captives.

            "We are truly free!" Zaria exclaimed aloud, holding her hands up joyously to the open sky. The four clapped their hands in celebration and Moshtok laid his bow and arrows aside to unpack one of the bundles of supplies containing food. Tethering the other horses near the water to slake their thirst, the two couples washed their hands and faces in the icy fresh water. They then prepared to sit together and eat their first meal of the journey. As Moshtok handed out dried fruit and meat to the assembled group, Tomyris seemed content to stay apart, on the nearby rock.

            "Come, Tomyris," he said in an inviting tone. We are all together on this journey. You will be one of us until we reach your own people safely."

            "The girl reluctantly smiled and her own hunger assisted in bringing her over to sit between Branka and Zaria.

            "We must keep our rest and strength now," the teacher told the rest. "And keep riding steadily westward these many days to come."

            Everyone nodded silently with full mouths of food.

            Tsudros stood and went to the open bundle. He took a large piece of flat bread and returned, tearing off sections of it for everyone. Reaching out with a portion for Tomyris, she reacted with a stern countenance.  Everyone watched the girl's face for signs of warming to the otherwise strained and forbidden act of receiving food or showing any willing participation with a male. Gradually, a slight smile formed on her face and her young eyes widened in a subtle sign of gratitude as she took the bread. Tsudros smiled back and placed his hand on his chest as a sign of friendship. He then went to his horse where from his pack he brought back a large decorative clay carafe. Like everything else the artist touched, this drinking vessel was awash with colors and designs—mostly birds and reclining deer. He dipped the container into the stream and brought it back for everyone's libation. 

            For sometime the group of vagabonds stayed near the river eating their fill and allowing the horses to do the same. Seeing the sun higher in the sky and feeling the season's early signs of warmth, the revived group made ready their mounts again and pressed onward toward the west at a fast pace.

            It would be many hours of hard riding over a terrain of prairies and outcroppings of hills and forests. Knowing that water from melted snow could always be found cascading from the steepest side of hills, the party frequented such places along the way to water and feed their sturdy horses.

            As the late afternoon set in, with the group tired and hungry once more, a suitable campsite for their first night was selected. It was in an area with high brush on all sides to at least visibly protect them from those who might be on their trail. Still others may be marauders passing through on raids or in hunting parties. Everyone knew the dangers of their exposure, and a fire would be built only to warm their food and hands before a night of rest. Leaving the flames or scent of a fire any later during the night might only serve as a beacon to bring them unwanted visitors.

            Following the feeding and tethering of their horses at sunset, the group built a warm fire and set up a temporary camp for the night. After hydrating the dried meat with their hands in the stream, they each wrapped morsels of it around cut branches and roasted it with salt over the flames. Later, following more fruit bathed in layers of honey, they prepared their sleeping quarters just before complete darkness set in. The couples' bedrolls were placed closely around what was left of the warm and dying coals. Tsudros and Zaria shared two large, wool blankets—one on top of them and the other beneath, while Moshtok and Branka did the same.

            The weary lovers refrained from much overt affection as darkness invaded the camp, due mainly to their extreme exhaustion and the fact that Tomyris, still averse to the girls' interaction with men, had refused to lie next to them. Her bedding was, by her choice, placed at a distance, and on a slightly more elevated place. It was obvious to everyone that this was also about her habit of vigilance and her now attributed protection of the group. This was confirmed when they watched her place her bow and sheath of arrows closely at her side—and how she did not remove her soft leather boots, even while reclining. It seemed the girl was prepared to rest, but was ever ready to leap up and spring into action if any threat presented itself. Moshtok, taking this cue from his young and former archery teacher, placed his own bow and arrows less than an arms reach by his side.

            As the sounds of a gentle breeze whistled through the scrub oaks and pines around their campsite, and an occasional loud exhale from their horses broke the silence, the majority of the fugitives, comfortably embraced, drifted off into much needed sleep.

            Only one member of the group did not soundly retire for the night. As she reclined, resting under her blanket, several times during the night she sat up to listen. She also seemed bothered by her acutely trained and feral sense of smell. For there seemed to be somewhere in the distance the trace of an odor—brought over on the east wind. It was a scent she had been taught to recognize and fear. It was the odor of the enemy—the distinctive smell of men. 

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