"Well this sucks." Ozlo thought to himself as he trudged along the road for the final hour of the day before the sun finally ended it's journey through the sky. Glancing around, he noticed that the men in the lead showed little signs of stopping and resigned himself to more hours of marching.

"Ahem, I think that's far enough for today lads. Everyone make camp with your groups and set up, we'll divvy out rations after the fires have been started and watches have been placed." Hearing those words was sweet music to Ozlo's aching feet. He followed Boyd and the rest of his squad over to a nearby flat patch of grass and plopped down on the ground, taking great care not to slice himself on his spear.

After leaving the shop Ozlo joined Captain Boyd and the rest of his group and fell in line behind everyone else. And then they marched and marched and marched. Traipsing through the woods following along to the best of his abilities. So here he found himself now, tired, hungry, and very sore.

Boyd on the other hand looked as though he was enjoying himself. The smile he so often liked to wear on his face was firmly in place and seemed even deeper set than usual. "Alright lads, I'll get the fire going, you relax for a bit and then I'll whip us up some grub. I hope you like stew, because that's all we're having for a while." And with that, Boyd did exactly has he declared, though with a bit more flare than they were expecting.

Boyd gathered a few small logs and a handful of smaller twigs for kindling and held out his sword. "Ignis" The blade caught on fire and he slid it into the kindling igniting the pile.

"There, that ought to do it." Someone displaying their skills so casually was unheard of and Boyd sensed the boy's thoughts. "Yes yes, I have some control over fire. It's nothing too fancy but it does come in handy during certain situations." The boys, still taking a short rest, watched their captain cook a meal.

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Boyd produced a medium sized pot from his pack and placed it into the coals of the fire, making sure to stack some wood around it to produce an even heat. After the pot was ready, from one of his waterskins came some water, then in went some dried vegetables, some rough jerky, and a handful of dried spices.

While Boyd dealt with the food the boys minds were on other things. Andrew spoke up first. "Boyd can control fire? That's got to be awesome on the battle-field. Just BAM, fireballs and flaming swords and, and-" A dried potato smacked Andrew in the back of the head, causing him to turn around angrily, only to find himself face to face with his captain.

"Pretend that dehydrated tuber there was a fireball, now where would you be huh?" Andrew blushed and looked down at his feet while Boyd collected the potato. "A small projectile this hard and made of fire could do some serious damage. Provided of course, you were made of straw. Or paper or something. Fire may look flashy and powerful, but don't be fooled. It's the force behind a fireball or bolt that gets you. Not the heat, usually of course. That being said, were this potato actually on fire, I would hope that you would have gotten out of the way."

Boyd walked back towards the food, but the lecture didn't end there. "Tomorrow you boys might encounter some goblins, or who knows what. And while you're in good company that doesn't make you safe. So while it may be a bit of social blunder back home to reveal what cards you had on hand, I expect you to trust your fellow CDF members and do exactly that. Only when you have a true measure of your allies can you properly prepare to face your enemies. Shit that's hot."

Boyd, getting so wrapped up in yet another one of his speeches, had placed his hand too close to the water while stirring and splashed his fingers with the hot broth of the stew.

"You'd think I'd have learned to take my own advice by now, even such simple advice as "Don't touch hot things with your bare hands". Sighing deeply to himself, Boyd pronounced that the food was done and that the boys should get some rest after eating.