With the three of us working as a team, the vegetables were quickly peeled, cut, and boiled away in the stews.

Meanwhile, the other knights had appeared, and were carrying large cuts of meat as well as other animal carcasses.

"Do the knights hunt for food every day?" I whispered to Samuel.

"Not everyday," he whispered back, leaning closer so Isaac could also hear. "Usually once a week we hunt, and then we preserve the meat for the rest of the week or until our next hunt. We only use a part of it in the stew."

I watched the knights cut the meat into pieces, hanging them high over the campfire, allowing the meat to dry out and become jerky. The animal furs were already cleaned, and some of the younger knights were stretching the furs out to dry.

Commander Landon was part of the group that returned, and he walked over to where we sat.

He nodded at us in greeting, before asking, "Did you two volunteer or did Samuel ask you for help?"

"We volunteered, Commander," I replied. "I didn't have anything else to do anyways, it was no bother."

"As long as Samuel wasn't trying to slack off in his duties," he replied, before giving one of his rare slight smiles. "I'm looking forward to trying what you made Lady Corvalia."

"And I'm looking forward to seeing your reaction!"

I waved goodbye as he turned away. Then I turned towards Isaac.

"I think it's about time that we stop the fire for our cauldron," I said. "The water will stay hot enough for it to keep cooking, but I don't want the drink to be boiling still by the time we serve it to the knights."

"Should I pour water over the campfire then?" Isaac asked.

"Let's move some of the logs to the other fires first," Samuel suggested. "It would be a waste of wood to pour water on all of them and ruin it."

"That's a good idea," I said. "Let's get to it then."