"The Kali are ashamed, and the Grimnal laughs. We cannot go home and face our women and children.
"You come to show us how to fight, you say. But we do not fight. We wait. You tell us things that will make us win, but we do not fight. We wait. You hold us back. We ask ourselves why."
He straightened, obviously grabbing a big piece of Kali courage.
"There is an answer why. Perhaps you help other Gods than ours. Or—perhaps you are afraid."
There it was. Stark and ugly. Ward looked at Tahn for a long time, then straightened to his full five-eleven.
"As a God Helper I am charged with honesty at all times," he said, and let it sink in for a second.
"I see many more things than the surface of the sea and the direction of the wind. What I do for the Kali is for the good of the Kali. If you follow me, you go to victory. If you do not follow, you go to the bottom."
The Kali glared with glittering eyes. Tahn's cough was a bark.
"Perhaps some will follow."
Their parting salute was crisp as they spun and left.