The Deadlier Few

 #130 - Gyarados

  It was over. The crew had sailed valiantly, using every avoidance tactic they knew to rid themselves of the great serpent that'd been stalking them since Cinnabar Island. He saw it beneath the murky depths of the sea, gliding under the galleon like death from below. With it the creature brought a storm, the wind had picked up over the past hour and rumbling clouds loomed in the skies. Never since earning his captaincy did he believe this would be his fate.
  The men scrambled to find means of protecting themselves. This was only a trading vessel after all, most of the armaments aboard were those they’d brought with their personal effects. He didn't stop them though, who was he to tell them that self preservation was futile.
  Thunder split the skies and sent some men diving to the deck. The ship rocked violently—and not because of the waves! Many of them saw the massive scaled body of the serpent rise up in the troughs of the waves before vanishing again beneath the increasingly violent surf.
  Then, it rose from their wake. Some of his crew threw themselves overboard, electing to drown rather than face this seafarers worst nightmare. The Gyarados reared up with a horrible bellowing roar and smacked it’s tail down onto the water, creating a loud clap that sent the sea high into the air. Lightning flashed behind the serpent, silhouetting it’s monstrous form against the black skies.
  This was the last sight many of them saw before the ship was utterly destroyed. Two more of the creatures had emerged from the depths to join the first and wreak havoc on the galleon.
  The storm would be remembered, as well as those claimed by the sea that day, as one of the worst to ever roll through the islands.