`` i might as easily fight , instead , '' temeraire said , belatedly regretting having been quite so forceful about iskierka 's responsibility , when hualpa explained that she must be properly attired to enter the arena , and some twelve young women he called mamaconas came out of a storeroom of the hall carrying together a golden neck-collar very like the one hualpa wore , with the fringe splendidly woven of black wool .