The Hero Should've Known Better

Chapter 10: Whitewood

"I'm ready to get some hot food for once," General Forge said. "It's not cheap, but it'll fill our bellies and ready us for work tomorrow."

"Tomorrow too?" Sollar asked. There was slight disappointment in her voice. "Even in the morning?"

"Yes, in the morning, milady," the Demonfolk General replied. "We need to finish the rail line by early afternoon, and we're a little behind."

Sollar frowned.

"Don't worry," General Forge continued. "It'll be done soon, just you wait. And, while we're at it, you're definitely hungry for something warm to eat, right? It's getting chilly, after all."

The Demonfolk girl nodded. She shielded her face from a gust of cool air. "Yes, it's a little cold."

The two stepped over the dirt path. The sky had darkened above, making it difficult to see. General Forge had borrowed a candleholder and a lit candle from the worksite, but early on in the trek the wind had blown out the small flame.

He didn't feel like exhausting any of his magic to relight it, so the two continued toward the lights of the town.

The tavern they were headed for was lively. It was where a lot of the townsfolk and nearby residents converged on when they wanted to socialize over drinks and warm food.

It seemed that a fair amount of Demonfolk were filing in, too. General Forge took note of this, figuring that the two could get some stew and warm bread.

"Sollar," he said. "Have you ever eaten at a tavern before?"

The Demonfolk girl didn't reply to him immediately. After a few seconds, he glanced back to see that Sollar was a few paces behind him, standing still.

"Forr-ar," she said. "I think there's something I forgot."

General Forge's eyebrows furrowed. "Forgot? What could've you forgotten?"

"At the worksite," the Demonfolk girl replied. She clasped her hands together and gave a nervous look down.

"I think I forgot... uhh..."

She had a feeling, a nagging sensation in the back of her head. Meanwhile, General Forge was little more than confused at her antics.

"What is it you forgot?" he asked.

"...I don't know," she admitted. " What do you think I'm missing?"

General Forge blinked.

"How should I know? I don't catalog everything you carry," he replied.

The General glanced over the girl again.

"Then again," he continued. "You seem to be missing your shovel..."

"Shov-ar!" Sollar cried out. "I forgot it!"

General Forge grunted. Figures.

"Where'd you leave it?" he asked.

"On the work place, next to the gravel. I put it there when I didn't need to use it," the Demonfolk girl replied.

"Well, we can get it on our way back," the Demonfolk General replied.

"No! I need it now! What if someone else takes it?" Sollar asked.

"Lady Sollar, nobody's going to walk on a worksite at night and begin stealing tools."

"But what if they do?"

"Milady..."

Sollar stomped a foot. "What if you had left your special tool behind? Your... spear-thing!"