Chapter 47: Karma
"Yes, Master."
Lohikaarmi stands up and begins walking into the woods.
"Wait, Lohikaarmi," Faye calls out, but she doesn't even flinch.
"Kris, I think you've gone too far. She was only trying to do her job," Cisca says.
"Shut it."
Faye looks a bit taken back. She probably thinks I was talking to her.
"Don't worry," Astra says and pats Faye on the back, "Lohikaarmi will be safe. You saw what she did. She took out an Ogre General with one throw of a stick. She'll be fine."
"I hope so," Faye murmurs.
I watch Lohikaarmi's figure disappear between the trees as the sky darkens. She got a little too over herself. This should calm her down.
"Alright, let's set up camp here," I say to Faye and Astra.
"Kris…" Faye says as I walk away to the carriage.
There is a good amount of undergrowth around here. Bushes get fairly thick deeper into the forest, but the trees are rather thin.
I lead the horse into the woods on the opposite side of where Lohikaarmi left to. Faye and Astra follow me in.
The sun has gone out now. Another night has come.
"Faye, start the campfire. I will feed the horse," I say.
"Okay," she says, her spirit has clearly taken a hit.
I step into the cabin and lift up the top of the seats. There's hay, bread, a few barrels of water, and a couple of clay pots in there. I grab a handful of hay and come out of the carriage.
The horse must have been hungry. It sees me and spins the carriage around to get to the hay in my hands while huffing from its nostrils.
It rips the bundle out and chews on it. While watching it eat, I am gradually calming down. Did I really go that hard on Lohikaarmi? No, she needs to be taught a lesson. I am not the kind of master that needs his servant's help, although, I guess that's literally their job. Maybe I shouldn't have been that angry.
Cisca is looking at me with a disproving face. What does she know? She has been telling me about how important love is the whole afternoon.
"The fire is made!" I hear Faye call out.
I look over, and the two girls are already sitting comfortably beside the flames. There is a lot of grass under us, so it's much nicer and softer than the campsite from the previous night.
I walk to the fire and sit down beside them. The two of them are quiet.
"Look what you did, Kris," Cisca says.
Yeah, now I am beginning to feel a little bad, too.
I breathe out a sigh and ask, "Astra, do you want some more candies?"
"Candies? But I ate them all," Astra says.
"I know. Do you want me to make more?"
"You can do that?"
"Yeah."
"Oh yes! Please! Maybe if I give some to Faye, she will feel better," Astra says.
Faye smiles.
"Alright, wait here," I say and get back up. I can use the clay pots in the carriage to gather sap from the pine trees around here.
I retrieve two of the pots and take out the multi-tool. The thickest pines are pretty close to the fire. I cut a little hole in their trunks and let the sap drip into the pots.
"Is that how you make them?" Astra asks.
"Yes."
"I have never seen anything like that," Faye says.
"It's a new technique. I doubt anyone has seen it," I say.
As the sap gathers, I stroll back to the fire and sit back down.
Some time has passed of us just sitting quietly. Even though Lohikaarmi has always been rare to talk, having her not around feels a little odd. Cisca has occupied herself with something else on her computer.
The pots are almost overflowing now, so I grab them and set them on the campfire. A sweet aroma is released into the air.
"It smells good," Faye says.
I nod.
"Are you sure that Lohikaarmi will be alright out there alone?" Faye asks.
"Don't worry about that," Astra says, "There is no way Lohikaarmi can get hurt. What you should be worried about is us."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"Well, in case you didn't know, dragon master…"
Faye looks a little confused by that term, but she lets it go.
Astra continues, "have you noticed that we have never been raided by ogres?"
"Do green ogres raid?" Faye asks.
"Not you Faye," Astra says, "Green Ogres don't often attack elves, but they love human meat."
"I have noticed that. What are you saying?" I ask.
"I am saying that Lohikaarmi's presence has been scaring the ogres away. Usually, a lone and unarmed human in these woods doesn't have much of a chance of surviving. Ogres will swarm you like flies to a corpse."
Really? Has Lohikaarmi been silently keeping monsters away this whole time?
"Why is Lohikaarmi's presence scary to the ogres?" Faye asks.
"A unique property of her people," Astra says.
I'm guessing that's another way of describing her status as the Dragon Queen.
Faye nods.
"But I don't see ogres swarming us like you are saying," I say.
"Probably because you just killed a horde of them. This is likely their territory, but the Ogre General's roar definitely attracted the attention of other ogres around here."
"So, what you are saying is that we are about to be surrounded by ogres?" I ask.
"Exactly."
Cisca catches on to our conversation.
"Karma's a real bitch, huh?" She says.
I suppose it is.
As if Astra had orchestrated the whole thing, the bushes around us start rustling as soon as she finishes talking.
"Shit," I curse and shoot up onto my feet.
Faye also stands up and looks around with fear on her face.
"Well, Big Bro, better get ready for the second round," Astra says.
The surroundings are too dim for me to see anything, but there is definitely a large number of creatures moving in the darkness.
Fuck this. I don't care about hiding my identity anymore. I reach into my belt for the flare gun.
"Stay close!" I yell and point the gun up into the sky.
PPPH! I pull the trigger, and a red ball of light shoots out of the barrel, illuminating the entire area. A bright crimson blanket has been placed over this part of the forest. It's as if a second sun has risen.
Faye looks up at this strange magic, her face puzzled.
Under this second red sun, I see more ogres than I can count, circling every direction around us.
"Fuck!"
I holster the flare gun and take out the pulse pistol. With a press of the button, I am now ready to face off this mass of enemies.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone