The doors opened up on a rough stone cavern that had bright light at the far end. Derrick’s escort guided him through the cavern to an opening that looked out over a wide, lush meadow. About a dozen young-looking minotaurs, shorter and leaner than the one with Derrick, were running, wrestling, and throwing large boulders. It was obviously physical training, using what was around rather than any kind of sports equipment.
A couple of the minotaurs saw them and came over. Even though they were probably the equivalent of his age or even younger, they towered over Derrick by almost two feet. Both had hide glistening and matted with sweat, and were spectacularly male as all the minotaurs here were. Derrick was glad he had on shorts, feeling like a little kid in comparison.
His escort grunted and bellowed, obviously talking to the young ones. They looked at Derrick with what seemed to be curiosity, and then grunted and bellowed as they nodded their heads. The adult pointed at Derrick, then to the pasture and gave him a gentle push towards the two younger males. When Derrick looked back in confusion, the adult reached over and grabbed the closest young male’s horn and tugged it lightly, then pressed the same hand against Derrick’s forehead. Then he reached down and heft the young male’s impressive ballsack and repeated the gesture at Derrick’s crotch.
Derrick frowned for a moment, then figured out that the adult wanted him to join the young minotaurs here in the training field. Was he trying to tell Derrick that he could become a minotaur? He pointed to himself, and then to the larger of the two young minotaurs. That one snorted and pointed to a couple of smaller minotaurs wrestling nearby. They were probably the equivalent of ten year-olds, but still larger than Derrick. The adult then pointed back towards the cavern they had come from and then up.
A choice, then. Stay here and train with the minotaurs, and maybe become one. Or go back to the main resort. The idea of becoming one of the powerful monsters, even a young one, while he was here was really tempting. But what else could he do here? If he chose to spend his time on the island here, what would he be missing? But if he passed, would he get the offer again?