The battle raged across the deck as the group faced their own twisted reflections—bloated, waterlogged doppelgängers conjured by the sea hag hunting Kit.
Cuervo took to the mast, seeking higher ground, but his drowned counterpart pursued him relentlessly. Below, the battle churned like the sea itself. Porthos shoved Drowned Mello overboard, hitting the water, taking so much damage that she swam deep into the waters. Drowned Porthos lashed out at Blossom with a cursed wave, leaving her skin burning with necrotic decay. Kit, locked in combat with his own reflection, struggled to land a strike. Drowned Freeya’s cursed water seeped into the real Freeya, wracking her body with dark magic. The ship's crew fought valiantly with their handbows, but their efforts barely scratched the horrors before them.
Cuervo, ever the sharpshooter, slashed his drowned self’s throat with a dagger before burying a bullet in its gut. Blossom fought fiercely, though her attacks were met with vicious resistance. Porthos turned his blade against Drowned Kit, while Freeya, despite her injuries, called upon the Fey—summoning a sea hag of her own to claw at the drowned horrors.
Mello worked to keep her allies standing, her healing magic barely holding them together. She lashed out at Drowned Kit with her barnacle-encrusted dagger, sending necrotic energy surging through its bloated flesh. But the drowned beings struck back with their rotting grips—Drowned Cuervo tried to crush Cuervo under its grasp, Drowned Porthos attempted to seize Blossom, and Drowned Freeya overpowered the real Freeya, grappling her as she curled up in defense.
Then the tide of battle shifted. The crew fired upon their enemies as Cuervo, despite his wounds, drove his dagger once more into his cursed twin. But the drowned ones fought back with relentless force—Drowned Kit released a cursed wave, engulfing Kit, Cuervo, Blossom, and Freeya in suffocating dark waters. Cuervo choked, struggling as the water filled his lungs. His pistol slipped from his grasp, clattering onto the deck as he collapsed. In his final moments, as the world faded, he saw a vision—a small child and a female Aarakocra reaching for him. He reached back, his last breath slipping away as he embraced them.
Blossom, overcome with fury, lashed out with her dancing sword and crossbow, striking down Drowned Cuervo in vengeance. The sea hag, a terrifying force, turned her gaze upon the drowned ones, frightening them with her monstrous presence. Drowned Blossom succumbed to its horrifying glare, collapsing into lifelessness. Mello, wielding the pepperbox gifted to her by Cuervo, infused it with magic and fired upon Drowned Kit, the gun glowing with golden light as her shot struck true, dealing devastating damage.
Kit, seizing the moment, darted around the battlefield, striking down his foes. But Drowned Freeya, now filled with desperation, turned on her real counterpart, seizing her with a drowning grasp. Freeya fell limp, her body crumpling to the deck. The crew fought back, loosing another volley of bolts into the fray.
With a final strike, Porthos and Mello cut down Drowned Kit. The moment his bloated form fell, the sea answered in fury. A monstrous wave crashed over the ship, swallowing Cuervo’s body whole. Kit lunged, grabbing Freeya before her unconscious body could be pulled into the depths. The others clung desperately to whatever they could, bracing against the force of the ocean.
As the waters receded, a dreadful silence followed. Porthos was gone.
Their victory was hollow. The sea had taken its toll.
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