A ray of fire was shot between Wulf's ears and struck a distracted demon through the chest. The demon's hide repelled the beam at first, but ultimately the attack pierced right through, creating a small gaping hole before it dropped dead from where it stood. The demons looked up in the direction the beam was shot from, but did not locate the assailant. Coincidentally, where there once was a halfling sorceress on top of the wagon now had nothing at all.

This detail easily explained why the demons gasped when they heard Cecilia's disembodied voice coming from the wagon. "Got you."

"Looks like our chief mate is getting serious." Caesar shifted his smile to the left. "Where did you go, Cecilia? I thought attacking an enemy usually broke the invisibility spell."

"Our moth friend hasn't abandoned us, Cap," said the tricksy halfling's disembodied voice. "If these guys fight with overwhelming force, then we'll just have to match that with our own tricks!"

"How is she doing that? Her invisibility spell isn't usually this powerful." Caesar was not a mage, but he knew Cecilia couldn't cast [Invisibility]; she often relied on potions for the spells she couldn't cast, and even the magic from the potions wore off whenever she struck with either knife or spell. To witness her going on the offensive without breaking the spell was something that warranted belief and thus he monitored her movements curiously.

"Alright, plants! Do your thing!" The vines and tree roots latched on to the legs of the demons close to Caesar, wrapping themselves around their ankles and forearms. The one that had been entangled could not fight them off, while a second and third did their best to evade them.

With the demons so close, he couldn't risk firing his pistol at point-blank range, and he couldn't keep his eye on Cecilia the whole time. Holding his cutlass sideways, he elected to focus more on defense.

"Swashbuckling it is!" Holstering his pistol, Caesar drew first blood after heavily swinging his cutlass. The demon in front of him screeched at the pain, and even more at the sight of the black ooze dripping from its new wound around the belly. "Alright, crew! These demons are tough, but don't give up! Your artillerist worked hard to weaken them, and I'm not about to let her efforts go to waste! The enemy has a numbers advantage; that's why we have to show them it's not the number of fighters that matters, but rather the strength in those numbers!"

"You got it, Captain!" Cornered by two demons and his back almost against the wagon, Wulf raised his free hand defensively against his face, palm out, as he kept both eyes on the demons. "Pellis ferrea!" In an instant, his white fur gained a metallic sheen that glistened thanks to the fire coming from the smoldering corpse nearby. "Back him up, Cecilia! Don't you worry about me; I can take these guys!"

"Big words for a dead man!" The two wrecker demons coordinated a silent maneuver by flanking Wulf and sank their fangs into his flesh; that is, at least as much as their strength alone could bite through a hard surface. Fragments of teeth fell from their mouths as both recoiled from the pain and discomfort from biting Wulf's toughened flesh.

"Agh. What is that; is your fur made of metal?!"

The caninefolk thumbed his black nose. "Try harder! Maybe you won't chip as many teeth if you do, but I doubt you'll get through my skin!"

The demons grunted, but Wulf wondered how his captain fared. On Caesar's side of the wagon, two demons sluggishly swiped at the captain despite their handicap while the third, unhindered, lunged at Caesar with its sharp fangs. Caesar turned to face it, but his reflexes failed him as the creature sank its teeth into his arm. The drool from the demon rat man gave off the stench of sulfur as it tore into his skin, something Caesar tried to scrub away immediately after the creature backed off.

"I can feel something creeping in! Fight it! Fight it!" The urge to sulk rose within Caesar; he started to wonder if he really commanded the respect of his crew, or if it was simply his charming good looks that brought the band together. "Get it together, man..."

Then came a gentle touch on his back. A delicate, unseen hand patted him on the back. He couldn't help but flinch, dreading that a new foe had just entered the game.

"Shhh. Stand still, and stay quiet," the voice of the moth woman telepathically whispered to the captain. "Just think your words. I'll be able to hear you."

"Really?" The echo in Caesar's mind made him recoil a little. "Whoa! But why shouldn't I move?"

"Huh?" One of the demons started looking around. The other two followed his lead, first staring straight through Caesar, then looking all over their surroundings. "Where did you go?!"

"He disappeared! Just like the smaller one!"

"Because you're invisible now, silly." The moth woman's disembodied answer sounded rather sweet. "I promise not to let you die. You can help me save my forest!"

"Hard to say no to a pretty face. I already said we'll help you, but the more I think about it, the more I think you'll have to give us a reason to trust you." Caesar smiled. "What's your name?"

"My name?" The moth woman nearly stuttered. "Why would you want that?"

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Another ray of fire zapped through the air, this time hitting one of the demons befuddled by Caesar's disappearance. Once again, it appeared the demon's hide would ward off the attack, but Cecilia's spell was powerful enough to pierce through. As a result, a molten hole was left behind, leaving the vile fiend to breathe its last before collapsing.

Two demons down.

"You just turned this around for us. The least I'd like to know is the name of our savior." Another demon was struck, this time by Caesar's swaying cutlass. To his surprise - twofold, at that - he was able to strike a tender area near the shoulder which in turn spilled more black ooze, yet the blow did not kill. The rat-like demon released an unholy screech, backpedaling to give itself some room between itself and Caesar. On the other side, a demon avoided getting skewered by Wulf, but just barely. That one, too, screeched loud enough for its comrades - and everyone else, really - to hear it.

With two of their comrades dead on the ground and themselves wounded by mortar shrapnel, fire, and steel, their next course of action was immediately decided. Nodding to each other, the demons retreated back into the darkness, evading a stray blow from their invisible adversary as their hunched bodies became silhouettes beyond the forest trees. Scattering in all directions, those in Cecilia's vines made an effort to exit the area first before heading straight to the cover of darkness.

"They're running away," Cecilia commented. "What are your orders, Cap?"

The demons had made an effort to hide their pained grunting, and not one word was spoken amongst themselves. Caesar spotted one glancing his way as it retreated, its face contorted with anger and frustration. The captain took a moment to check his surroundings; he turned the corner on his right and spotted Wulf had already sat down on the blood-stained grass to catch his breath. He opened the flap behind the wagon, spotting Vanessa with a dagger drawn while the children huddled behind her. He saw no sign of Cecilia, but judging by the words she spoke just now, she must have still been on top of the wagon.

"We fall back on the opposite direction. We're down two men, there's children on board, and we don't know how many more are waiting over there. We're not in the shape to keep fighting."

"Fair enough." Loud steps on the wagon's roof preceded the sound of landing on the grass. Moments afterward, Cecilia's tiny form became visible again, as did the hovering moth woman's. "I wasn't sure how long that spell was going to last, but I'm glad they ran away before it wore off."

Right afterwards, Caesar's invisibility spell wore off as well. He could see his hands again, wounds and all. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Invisibility normally wears off when we attack. Why didn't it do it this time?"

"Because my spell is a stronger form of invisibility," said the moth woman. "We had no time to coordinate, so I asked your friend who among you was better off benefitting from it."

"Which is why I said me and the Captain," Cecilia confirmed. "Well, telepathically, but the story's the same. I should be able to cast it in due time; then, we'll be unstoppable."

Caesar looked over at Cecilia and Wulf, the latter who was already nuzzling his beloved while the orphans jumped off the wagon. They ran up to Caesar, their starry eyes filled with wonder and admiration.

"A-are they gone?" Susie asked.

"No more monsters?" Marlon followed.

The children waited anxiously with anticipation, growing more and more as Caesar delayed with his response. The captain wasn't sure himself, but he didn't want to lead them on with false hope.

"Any good pirate knows that there's always danger in the darkness. Even if the demons are gone, there's no guarantee they won't come back." As if to calm the children's nerves, Caesar remained calm and composed. He straightened his posture, crossed his arms, and smiled. "This forest is like the deep sea. We're navigating in uncharted waters, so we can't just jump down and go for a swim. So keep your eyes peeled for danger, even when it feels safe. You never know what's lurking in the darkness."

Satisfied with his answer, the children's frowns did not fade. However, their expressions did shift more towards the determined side, saluting their captain before huddling together to voice their thoughts in secret. In truth, Caesar couldn't imagine there being something worse than the abrikandilu lurking in the forest, but he couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched from the shadows.

***

A feathery silhouette feasted on the rotten carcass of a doe. Caring little for manners, the tall avian creature - measuring about 8 feet in height - was a messy eater, splashing blood and guts all over the surrounding area. Meanwhile, a gaggle of abrikandilu lounged in the shadows; some napped on the giant tree branches while others played games using the rocks and the dirt of the forest ground. They lazily raised their heads when four of their number recently arrived and hurriedly rushed to the feathery silhouette, who couldn't be bothered to stop eating to greet them.

"M-master Grif, we come with terrible news!"

"Hmm?" Raising his curved neck along with its head, the creature known as Grif spoke somewhat dismissively. "It couldn't wait until after I finished eating?"

One of the surviving abrikandilu was pushed closer to its master and gave him a shaky nod. "N-no. We were trolling for moths like you ordered, but we took a detour when we found some bandit schmucks. We figured a little ripping and tearing would get our blood flowing. Right, boys?"

The three abrikandilu behind their assigned squad captain (if we can call it that) nodded along as he continued his story.

"But the moths interfered. Their guardian stepped in and saved the bandits. We don't know how powerful she really is, but she's cunning. She made two of those bandits invisible, leaving only the strongest among them visible to us. We lost two of our number, and that's when we came to you."

The tall avian demon gave pause to process everything he had been told. His minions had returned empty-handed and essentially lost two of their own for nothing. "You failed?"

"Master, they overwhelmed us-"

"FAILURES, ALL OF YOU!" A cloud of spores scattered when the silhouette raised his voice. He stepped out of the shadows, revealing itself to be a feathery yet monstrous cross between man and vulture. The demon raised a talon and stomped on the carcass of the animal beneath him, splattering more gore around it. "What's the point of having your own minions if none of them are strong enough for the task at hand?" Marching towards the center of their makeshift encampment, the vulture demon's red eyes commanded the attention of all of the abrikandilu present. "Listen up, you rats! We're not exactly in a position to take our time with this mission. Those moths want to play dirty? Then we'll show them dirty..."