“Right,” Ben said. “Because I’m this Forgotten Ruler.” It sounded so strange coming from his mouth. “How exactly is that possible?”
“The soul of the Forgotten Ruler was sent to roam the ether for eons after he was defeated. Somehow, that soul finally broke free and settled in your world, in your body. You are the Forgotten Ruler, reincarnated.”
“O…OK,” he said slowly. “You mentioned that before, I’m just finding it a bit hard to believe. I mean, sure, I did have that vision before, but being told you’re the reincarnation of a powerful tyrannical ruler is a tough sell.” He shook his head. Already he was starting to sound a little crazy himself. “And how do you know that I’m not just an ordinary Earthling, whose destiny isn’t to be a ruler, but the lunch of the first monster we see?”
Melody patted her stomach and pointed at the rucksack on his back. “You think it’s normal for a woman like me to generate large monster eggs?”
Ben laughed. “Honestly, I have no idea what passes for normal round here.”
The catgirl’s expression was earnest. “The offspring we have borne this day is a sure sign that you are the Forgotten Ruler. Such potent seed is not found anywhere else in this world.”
With the word seed, she pointed down at the, uh, at the source of his seed. It still took him by surprise how open she was about these things. Was everyone in this new world so blasé about sex? If so, that might make things even more interesting than they already promised to be.
“Now that we’ve got that cleared up,” Melody said, gesturing to the bridge, “we’ll need to cross that. There is, unfortunately, no other way off this hillside, and you will need to enter the forest before you can begin your quest for power.”
Ben glanced at the bridge again, the thing swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. “Your portal stone couldn’t have made us appear on the other side of this chasm?”
Melody shook her head. “Teleportation magic is much more difficult than people might believe, I can assure you.”
“Well, I can assure you I had no preconceptions about teleportation magic, given that I didn’t even know it existed until half an hour ago.”
Melody looked up at me, inquisitively. “Is there something holding you back?”
Ben mustered the strength to hold his knees perfectly steady. “I’ve, ah, never been great with heights.”
Melody’s brow creased. “Not good with heights?”
“Ever since I fell from the oak tree in my friend’s Sean’s backyard when I was eight, I’ve been terrified of falling. Can’t even go near the window of a highrise without feeling myself plunging toward the ground.” He was surprised at how quickly he was divulging all of this to this woman. Then again, between the sex and the egg-birthing and the teleportation, experiences they’d shared in the last day had been enough to build an unusual amount of trust.
Melody laughed. “The Forgotten Ruler? Afraid of heights?”
Ben frowned at her. OK, so maybe that had been too much trust.
“I’m sorry, Benjamin.” She swiftly composed her face again. “It’s just that when you weren’t delving the deeps, creating your dungeons, you were building towers that soared into the heavens. It was said that the stars garnished your crown. And now you are scared of heights?” She began to laugh again.
He gave a low growl of irritation. This might have been funny to her, but it didn’t help him feel any better about crossing that bridge.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not so strange that you are afraid. You must have conquered this fear in your previous life. I’m sure you will do so again. Think about it this way—your fear of heights was gained on Earth, correct? During your childhood? If so, you can leave it behind the same way you picked it up—become what you were before, Benjamin.”
He wondered to himself how many of his predecessors’ footsteps he would follow in. Was he destined to do everything the same way, or could he change the course of his journey and become a different kind of ruler?
He took a step toward the cliff edge and the start of the rickety bridge.
“Oh,” Melody exclaimed. “I almost forgot. I should give you this.” She fished the crystal ball out of a satchel hanging at her belt.
“Where did that satchel come from?” he asked. “I didn’t see you wearing it in the hotel room.”
“You didn’t see my ears at first either,” Melody pointed out. “Or this.” She flicked her tail, sticking out above the waistline of her jeans. “The Archmage gave me a potion to conceal them while I was in your world. How else do you think I was able to produce a crystal ball and a wand from my jeans?”
“I suppose a tail and a satchel wouldn’t have blended in very well in a nightclub,” he observed.
Melody held the crystal ball out to him.
“Whoa, not so fast.” Ben held his hands up. “I don’t know if I want to start tripping and seeing visions on the edge of a cliff.”
“This relic belongs to you.” Melody thrust it toward him. “The Archmage Kamila gave it to me to give to you. It is rightfully yours.”
Ben held his palms out reluctantly, keeping his footing sure on flat ground. When Melody dropped the glass globe into his hands, he expected another vision, perhaps another mirage from his old nightmares.
But nothing happened. He glanced up at Melody and frowned. “Why don’t I see anything this time?”
“That only happens the first time you pick up one of your ancient relics. That’s why it’s so risky.” Melody’s expression grew sober at this point. “Having memories of your past directly infused into your mind can cause you to pass out, or even
