As the man made his way over to the creature he had just slain, I began to rise to my feet. As I stood up, I could feel my entire body shaking as the full realization of what I had seen began to sink in.
The man sheathed the long sword he so masterfully handled just a moment ago, then pulled a smaller dagger from a sheath attached to his belt. As I made my way over to him, I could see him stab the dagger deep into the lizard thing's stomach, slowly cutting a small slit across it.
He reached his hand deep inside the opening he made as I finally got close enough to talk to him.
"Hi. I wanted to thank you for saving me. Can I help you with whatever it is you're trying to do?"
"I would strongly suggest you keep back if ya don't want to end up like this wretched creature."
The tone in which he said those words immediately dispelled any easiness I had towards him. He meant what he said and it was best I heed his words.
I took a few steps back and tried to talk to him again.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was too close."
"Well, now you know not to make the same mistake again."
"I'm sorry. I really didn't know I was gonna bother you. I just wanted to thank you for saving me, like I said before."
"Don't bother. I wasn't trying to save ya. You just happened to be a useful distraction for the beast."
"Oh, I thought you were some kind of knight who was here to protect people."
"Ha. Please. Knights only protect the rich villages. Ya ain't never gonna see no knight in a place like this."
"And what exactly is this place?"
"You don't know? You got this deep into this hell pit and you don't even know where you are?"
"I got lost, I guess."
"Lost? You'd have to be the biggest moron in the world to even stumble into this cave as under-suited as you are."
The man then pulls something out of the lizard's stomach: rocks or stones of some kind in a variety of colors.
"What are those?"
"Stomach stones. The creature uses them to break down food after it eats."
He then pulled a length of cloth from under his armor which he used as a sack into which he placed the stones.
"And you collect these stones?"
"Only reason I fought the thing in the first place. And now that I'm done, I don't have time to answer any more questions."
The man threw the sack over his shoulder and began to walk off.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna help me get out of here?"
"No!" The man said, without even stopping to answer.
I tried to catch up to him while still shouting out to him.
"Wait! I'm lost in this hell pit. Can't you help a defenseless guy out?"
"No!"
"Oh, come on. You can't just leave me here."
"It's gonna take me the rest of the day to get out of here just by myself. If I waste my time trying to help and defend some idiot as well, I'll never make it out of here before nightfall, and then we'll both die in here."
"But I need help."
"You're not worth the effort."
"Oh, but I am. Where I come from, not only am I incredibly smart, I'm vice president of a major company."
"Show me your hands."
"What?"
"Your hands, show them to me."
I lift both my hands up, letting him see both the backs and palms.
"I have no idea what a vice president is, but I'll tell you that the only kind of person worth the effort of saving is a man of strength and hard work. I'd say by how soft those hands of yours are, you ain't worth it. Now, don't follow me another step or I'll have to draw my weapon."
As I watched the man walk away, I felt the urge to continue after him, still feeling like I could convince him to help me.
'No. I should assume that he is fully willing to cut me down if I continue bothering him.'
So, I simply watched him walk off into the darkness.
Wait, now that I thought about it.
'Where is this light coming from?'
I looked up at the ceiling and saw some form of light source with a bluish tint. It didn't look like light bulbs and I highly doubted they would run electricity into a cave like this. But, I could also see that the light faded out further ahead in the cave; so, whatever it was, it wasn't gonna be everywhere.
'Huh. But, then how can I continue on without light? Wait, how did he continue on without light?'
As I tried to figure out how I might continue on into the darkness, another thought crossed my mind.
'Do I even want to continue on?'
That creature; sure it was dead, but would there be more if I continued onward? There's no way I could fight something like that on my own. I have no weapons or armor or any idea what I'd be up against if I ran into something else like that. Normally, I'd reason that the best thing to do is sit and wait for help; but what he said before.
No knights come into this cave. Assuming anyone else who comes into this cave is just like that guy, no one's gonna help me get out of here. Even though it's the most dangerous option, I have no choice but to try and make my way out of here alone.
I have no experience fighting or exploring caves. I have no idea where I am, both in relation to this cave, and to whatever kind of world I've found myself in. The odds of me making it out alive are a million to one. I resolved that I would probably die in this cave, then continued forward, only driven by the idea that I might prove myself wrong.