THE LIZARD CAVE - Weekend Freewrite

"Get back here" My brother snapped as he tugged my shirt.
"Don't you know what lies beyond that cliff"

"C'mon, I'm not dumb, besides I'm not even anywhere close to it"
"why are you people so scared?" I asked with a daring look on my face. I have always wondered what made me so different from the rest, the urge to break the rules is always so tempting to me, people mostly say I'm just too playful but I think there is more to it. I was deep in my curiosity still tiptoeing closer and closer to the cliff when I heard some sharp foot steps leaving behind me.

"If you like, you die okay?" My brother said ironically in an effort to bring me back to my senses as he walked sharply away from the scene.

"wait up, you chicken!" I gloated as I turned towards him.

"Oh! you should have jumped off the cliff, brave one"

We were about to resume our typical war of words and jester when I felt a cold scaly thing grab my shoulder, I could see the reflection of horror in my brother's eyes as he fumbled with shivering lips while pointing to something behind me. I turned and looked behind to see the most frightening image I had ever seen throughout my young life.

I could hear rushed sounds of steps as my brother ran away shouting. I remember letting out the most deafening and terrifying scream as I passed out from sheer terror.

After what seemed like an eternity lost in my mind, I slowly opened my eyes thinking I had the most terrifying nightmare, I was frozen when I saw some reptilian figures whispering around me. They seemed to be lost in deep conversations and didn't know that I had regained my consciousness yet, I quietly looked around and saw that I was in a stoned walled room

"Stay back you monsters" I shouted as I grabbed a wooden stick beside me.

"Calm down, calm down young man, we are not monsters, Just take a deep breath"

"What do you mean, calm down? This must be a dream, I'm talking to reptilian monsters" I panicked, looking around as I pinched myself trying to check my reality.

"Someone go get High Elder," One of the lizard people said with a worried look on his face.

It wasn't long before an Old looking reptile looking man walked in slowly, he had a grey beard, his face even looked more aged and scaled than the rest of the Lizard people, He motioned with his hands as the rest of the crowd slowly left the room, I could Immediately sense that he was very influential among them.

"My name is Abin," The old reptile said slowly with his scaly arm outstretched, I immediately clenched my wooden club as my reality slowly dawned on me.

"I know what you see, you see a lizard monster but I tell you, my young man, we are not monsters" The old reptile sat gently on a wooden stool and was silent for a moment like he was looking for the right words to say.
"I speak the same language as you, I wear the same clothes as you. There look!" He said pointing outside the room,
"That is my wife grinding millet. Look over there, those are my children playing games outdoors. Everything is not as it seems, we are not savages just calm down and hand me that wooden club, my child,"

I instinctively knew that it was a test to see if I had a bit of trust in him, My heart was still racing and the last thing I had for him was trust but I realized that I was in a different domain and surrounded by creatures I have only heard in tales, I slowly hand him the wooden club as he looked at me gently with his narrow shaped pupil.

The old reptile slowly stood up and closed his eyes as he thought deeply for a moment, I felt he was trying to be vulnerable to me or make me feel comfortable, closing his eyes to a potential combatant, I kept looking at him carefully in the rather awkward silence.

All of a sudden he spoke in a rather sombre tone, "You land dwellers are under a curse, a curse that has shrouded your eyes and made us seem like monsters, A long time ago we were the same people walking side by side with your ancestors, until the witch king cursed us and split our race during the great war"

I looked at the old reptile as he spoke with so much conviction, his countenance slowly showed me that I was speaking to someone wise beyond my years.

"I have watched you, my child, I have seen as you look into the cave wondering with so much curiosity, I choose you even at the peril of my people, I believe you are the person who can mend our broken kingdom, will you help us, my child?"

"I don't know if I'm the right person you are speaking too, I am just a wandering young man. I-I..." I stuttered.

"My apologies, I don't want to rush you, you must be overwhelmed by so many, have a nights rest and tomorrow we shall talk some more"

He slowly left the room as he closed the door behind him, I felt a rush of mixed emotions, am I a visitor or a prisoner? who is the witch king and could all this be true? my mind ran cluelessly as I searched for answers, I was blank and seemed to know nothing but one thing I know for sure is that I wasn't having any sleep that night.

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The Freewrite prompts is organised by @mariannewest, I choose the lizard cave for my prompt this weekend although It wasn't written in 5 minutes. If you are interested in freewriting you can check out her blog for the daily prompts.