Hired Hands: episode 1 At first !

A/N: Just a fair bit of warning this is how I personally like to view fantasy. I don't care what J.R.R Tolkien says or what some D and D rule book tells you how fantasy is, should be, or the way things are suppose to be after all it's not like they took their ques from each other right? So why should I abide by what they perceive as fantasy? (By the way, I'm having trouble finding more elven language translators so I'm going to make the Drow one I found the main elven language used until I get a hold of more.)

Long ago the world was not as it is today. The world was in it's own rights corrupt and violated by hatred and greed. Races warring with one another, men killing their own kin, and the lust of gold and jewels so rare were becoming the gods to some if not all. Many have came to the conclusion that the gods of all form, shape and purpose looked down on their subjects in all their wickedness and came to a decision; the world in all its filth would have to begin anew. So one faithful day, all looked to the sky as the earth trembled, the seas rose and roared, the winds howled, and the night and day mingled as one; so marked the beginning of what will forever be known as the Genesis storm. A storm comprised of all elements that literally wiped the world clean, decimating all. In the aftermath of this storm came a time of confusion, frustration, and chaos but soon gave way as things began to return to a sense of normalcy in which time new thinking brought about many innovations and advances which may not have been possible before. Now we begin our story in the present.
High above the harbor city of Corsmoth nestled in the stormy clouds. An airship cleverly hidden high above the thunder, lighting and rain is filled with the cheers of its crew. An infamous band of Orc pirates led by their captain, Boherock who was obviously smarter then the rest of his lot. Boherock and his motleys crew sat around tables piled with food, drinks, and jewels of all sorts. Their latest raid of a merchant ship bound for Corsmoth had netted them a great bounty of treasures and prized manacha servants, magically driven machines to which only the wealthy could ascertain. The Orc captain and his crew feasted and drank as the iron clad servants passed more meat and ale for them to dine on.

"This is far to perfect, what an easy catch that was, we'll be set for the entire year."

Boherock raised a hand filled with diamonds and gold necklaces as his crew raised their glasses in praise. But a sudden gust of wind and an ominous feeling wipes the grin for the Orc's face as he stands up picking up his axe, which alerted his fellow kin to do the same. They stood in place, many wondering what had roused their leader to bear his weapon. Their questioning was laid to rest as a ghostly voice echoed through the galley walls.

"Prepare yourselves, your days end now."

The Captain growled in frustration. No one was foolish enough to say it was the end for him. With hand gestures he ordered his crew to scour the galley, searching possible hiding places where this would be challenge could hide.

"You might as well come out and face me now, you cannot stay hidden forever."

Boherock warned placing his axe over his shoulder scanning the galley. He paced around continually searching, but his search would be cut short, a sharp point pressed into his back stopped his pacing almost immediately drawing the attention of the others who began to ready their weapons. The intruder had made herself known.

She wore a black hood and cape, which hid her face and body except for her arm which held her scimitar firmly in place on Boherock's lower back. After a moment of silence she drew back the hood letting her ivory white hair fall out behind her.

"I should have known this, your."

"Shini Vlos"

She interrupted him mid-sentence. Shini Vlos, a well-known and feared Drow bounty hunter. Though light skinned for a Drow it could not detract from her obvious beauty, and her skills spoke for her of her extreme deadlines.

"I am aware of your skill hunter, but you have only condemned yourself. Do you truly expect to escape here with your life and with my head?"

"Well that all depends doesn't it, life's just complicated like that, but I'm certain of this much. If you do something stupid you are going to lose your head, not that it would be a major problem, it's not as if I need the rest of you to get that reward out on you.."

As she spoke a lone Orc crewman tried to attack her from behind. Shini peered behind her to see the assailant approaching her, but in her distraction Boherock quickly turned swinging his giant axe in a arch to cut down the Drow only to behead his own lackey as Shini dodged the blow and rolled to safety. As she picked herself up she ducked under a club sent flying to her head but missed by miles due to her agility, she grabbed her attacker by the head and slammed her knee into his face sending the oversized brute to the floor, face slightly sunken in. As another came to challenge her, the Orc's rusty looking blade trapped Shini as she blocked it with her scimitar forcing her to back against the wall. But as she managed to free her left arm, the metal bracer that covered her fore arm revealed a hidden blade which she used to great effect severing the Orc's sword hand from it's arm before turning the Orc's own blade against it running the sword through it's chest.

As Shini continued to fight off their attacks, one orc grabbed hold of one of the metal servants and threw at Shini, knocking her legs right from under her. She was caught entirely off guard by the maneuver and was left vulnerable to attack which was almost guaranteed.

"Now Drow woman I'm going to make an example out of you. I'll cut your body to pieces and hang them out on the bow so all can see never to challenge Boherock!"

The Orc and his men raised their weapons to hack the huntress to bits as they had threatened but before they could swing their blades they were all forced onto their backs. Shini looked to her right and saw the one who had saved her from certain death. He looked human, standing 6 feet off the ground, unruly brown hair held together in a messy tail with several loose bangs over his face. The stranger stepped forward a bit and held his hand out to help Shini up, but she helped herself up shrugging off the helping hand. She eyed the newcomer with suspicion as she knelt to pick up her scimitar.

"Who the hell are you suppose the be and how did you get up here anyways?"

The stranger replied with a coy grin and a slight snicker. He couldn't help but shake his head at her question; all bounty hunters are like that, weary of those who happen to show up in the middle of someone else's job.

"Well let's just say I'm here for the same reason you are." The stranger looked over his shoulder seeing the Orcs beginning to pick themselves back up from the fierce blow, "I guess I'll just tell you later, our boys here want to play some more."

The two found themselves back to back as the Orc crew surrounded them, their leader Boherock pushing his way through several of his own men to get closer to the two bounty hunters.

"Kill them! Kill them both!"

As soon as the order was given the action started again and the airship rocked with the motions of battle. But in the very bottom deck of the boat, a creature shrouded in darkness began to stir. It's chains rattled and a bit of steam could be seen coming off the hulking beast, what light that seeped through the cracks in the plank only showed portions of it's massive body as it sat in the darkness, one eye glowing an intense blood red..

Meanwhile, above deck, the situation heated up once again as the Orcs went on the attack. The unknown fighter leaned back as an Orc blade flew past his face, he stepped forward and thrust a kick into the Orc's stomach setting him up for a heel kick to the back of the head slamming the Orcs head and face through the plank. He turned around and threw a roundhouse kick into an attacking Orcs face breaking its jaw on contact. An axe blade came down over the fighter's head but with the aid of armored bracers he held the blade in place. With a back kick to the chest he knocked the Orc off balance, he turned and grabbed the Orc's arm bringing the creature in for a jaw smashing uppercut followed by a head but.

With all the noise generated from the fighting above. The shadowed creature was finally awaked, its eyes glowing blood red as it looked up at the light shining through a break in the floor. It reached for the light; the Orc whose head was stuck in the plank just barely uttered a word before being pulled in by the creature's giant metal hand. The fighting above deck ceased almost immediately as they all watched the flailing body of the unfortunate Orc being pulled through the flooring. Boherock's face was now mixed with fear, he knew what was happening.

"Oh fools! All this fighting woke up Borgok!"

"Jo-who-row what the hell is that?"

".. My little brother."

In the next instance the entire floor crumbled beneath everyone as Boherock's monstrous brother Borgok awoke. Shini, the fighter, Boherock and those fortunate enough to escape the initial fall jumped off of tables and chairs and took hold of the hulls supports just above them. The aberration of an Orc itself was truly stuff of nightmares, half of its body was manacha while it's original flesh looked dead and decayed. It opens its misshapen jaw letting out a horrifying roar spewing forth the foulness of it's breathe, a nasty mixture of carrion and whatever else the creature eaten.

"You call that thing a brother? It looks like a necro's pet project gone wrong, damn that smells!"

The fighter spoke before covering his nose to prevent the offending scent from assaulting his senses. Boherock growled, insulted by the way they spoke his brother.

"Hunters like yourselves are to blame for this. My brother lost half of his body after falling into a spike pit, I managed to save his life by pulling a few strings but unfortunately he's no longer his old self but he still remembers me." Boherock grinned as he reached into his belt pulling out a small whistle, "I can control him however with this!"

Boherock blew the whistle three times, the high-pitched noise catching the monster's attention as it looked towards the source of the sound. Boherock then fell from the ceiling and onto the shoulder of his sibling, "Now Borgok! Eat their flesh, every last one of them."

The beastly brother obeyed the command and reached out for his intended meals, grabbing hold of the ship's haul to gain some height. Its fingers clenched as it grasped for its dangling victims, most of which were those of Boherock's own crew now food for the beast.

Shini and the fighter held on tight to the ceiling moving as much as they could to avoid the monster's lethal grasp, "Perfect, if I would have known a idiot like you would cause this to happen I would have killed you on first site." "What!? You didn't even know that thing was down there and I'm pretty sure you were making enough noise to wake big boy here up so don't go making any threats woman, you should be thankful, you'd be dead if I hadn't shown up!." The fighter retorted as he slammed his fist into the ceiling creating a large hole leading out side, with a swing of his body and the aid of a double kick he finally made a hole big enough to climb out of. He pulled himself threw the hole then extended a hand to Shini, "Hurry up and take my hand!" Shini hesitated for a second, looking down at the beast as it began ascending, she took hold of his hand and was half way out until the monster took hold of her right leg with it's fleshy hand.

"That's it little brother, drag that wrecked woman down and crush her, she tried to kill me."

Boherock laughed triumphantly knowing his brother would take care of the two hunters. They have placed a large dent in his reputation and nearly put an end to his days of pirating and went so far as to kill off his entire crew. He shrugged at these losses, " It's a shame my crew is not here now to see this, they were a hearty bunch, oh well I'll have a new crew before the next day hahaha!"

"You handle loss well don't you?" Shini snatched one hand away from the fighters grip and reached under her cloak pulling out a thin bladed knife that she tossed onto the monster's hand causing it to let her go as it screeched in pain. The fighter pulled Shini threw the hole and both were safe from Boherock and his grizzly brother.

" Finally we got away from that thing, at least we don't have to smell it anymore." The fighter expressed with a sigh of relief. He brushed back his unruly brown hair and looked up at Shini who was peering over the hole they just escaped through.

"You have a death wish or something? I'm not going to jump in and save you when that thing snatches you back in."

Shini turned and walked past him as he rose up off the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"How far up do you think we are right now?"

The fighter scratched the back of his head at the strange question.

"I don't know, why?"

"Cause we may have to jump for it."

Shini's warning would soon come to pass as the mechanized beast thrashed about due to the pain felt by the knife gouged in it's hand, "Brother calm down it it's that serious!"

Borgok was in a world entirely it's own clouded by pain it wailed and slammed it's massive arms against the ship's hull turning the planks into splinters as the ship was being torn apart from the inside. The ship slowly began to tilt forward and began its fateful crash. Shini and the fighter hung on to the propeller mast in the center of the ship to stop themselves from being swept into the sky and falling to an untimely and gruesome death.

"This is just great, I don't know about you but I don't plan on going out like this, Huh? What are you doing?"

Shini's eyes were closed and looked as if she were in a meditative state; she chanted words in her native tongue, her voice echoing as she spoke, "corrupt veldrin nym'er dosst jabbress lar dos dro lueth ku'lam!" (Corrupt shadows, hear your mistress call, live and rise!). She opened her eyes and they flashed with an intense light that nearly blinded the fighter. On the ground as the ship's shadow steadily grew with its rapid decent, it appeared to bubble slight as soon a giant hand made of pure shadow rose from it's spot catching the ship letting it slid towards earth. The ship still suffered severe damage and its cargo hold was now demolished from the impact. Shini was none to happy about that happening.

"I don't believe this, damn that Boherock, he's gone and the cargos gone."

Well that was it, or so it seemed for the two bounty hunters. They slapped their heads and turned to go their separate ways until the remnants of the ship began to stir then fly in all directions as a roar echoed around the harbor area as the hulking beast Borgok slammed it's fist on the ground.

"You fools thought you had killed us? Ha! My brother and I are much stronger then we appear and now we will tear you bodies to pieces!"

"Who said we tried to kill you, your little brother was the one who brought the ship down."

Boherock growled and clenched his fist as the warrior smirked. He ordered his brother to charge and now that they were all in an open space they got to see what the Orc captain's hideous brother was capable of. Borgok charged at Shini and the warrior with amazing speed as it trudged across the ground on all fours. They both jumped out of the way of the oncoming assault.

"Damn I didn't think that thing could be so fast."

The warrior dove in for the attack afterwards confident that he could take the lumbering freak of nature at least he thought so. As he readied his fist, Borgok's massive hand rose and struck, slapping the fighter out of the air and onto the ground forcefully but the monsters attack didn't end there. The beast took hold of the fighter with it's other hand and dragged him across the ground before tossing it's attack half way across the field and into a pier causing him to crash through the planks startling a local fisher who was sitting at the edge of the pier. Once done with him Borgok turned his sights on Shini, it's real eye squinting as it turned and slowly advanced toward her. The Drow backed up a step or so thinking of a way to fight off the Orc, she reached under her cloak and flung another dagger at the Orc's face as she dashed in with her scimitar at the ready to attack but Borgok again proved his might as he deflected the dagger with his manacha hand and leaned back as Shini tried to slash the monster's face. Borgok reached out and trapped shini between its gigantic hands, she had to use nearly every once of strength to hold back his sheer crushing power.

"He think me stupid huh? I show you who stupid when you dead!"

"Okay stupid, lets just see about that."

In the midst of her struggle from being crushed to death, she managed to chant once again in silence then looked up to Borgok, her eyes glowing with an intense flash seen previously. The light blinded the monstrous Orc, and while this was going on her cloak stirred to life forming a barrier around the Drow as she used the barrier to force Borgok's hands open for her to escape. Borgok recovered from his blindness, his real eye turning red with rage, he roared and reared back both fist about to hammer Shini with them until it feel onto it's side with a powerful double kick from the fighter, something that defiantly surprised everyone.

"How, how did you survive that?"

"Ah it wasn't all that bad, a splinter here and there but nothing I can't live with, though I'll admit he's much stronger then I originally thought, guess I'll just have to show my true colors."

He threw off his vest as his grin faded into a stoic poker face. He spread his feet shoulder length apart and grasped his fist tightly as he strained his body, blood vessels seemingly bursting at the seems as blood was forced through them. Borgok got back up and was madder then ever, he charged and dove for the fighter bringing his giant metal hand over him enclosing him. But at once something was amiss. Borgok's hand was rising. Boherock who had sat back through out the scuffle looked closer at what was happening and soon he and everyone present knew what was happening. The fighter held Borgok's hand high over his head as a strange and twisted transformation took place, his skin was tearing open giving way to crimson red scales that resembled plates of armor more then flesh. On his back two bulges were slowly forming as they gave way to a pair of leather wings that stretched to the fighter's very height. Lastly his jaw extended, with his mouth wide open you could see the teeth grow sharper and turn into fangs and his tail, almost reached the length of his wings, thrashed about on the ground. The transformed fighter let out a frightening roar as he tightened his grip on Borgok's hand, now it was the monster's turn to struggle.

"By the way I never go to tell you my name, it's Ryuu!"

Ryuu effortlessly threw Borgok over his shoulder causing the ground to crack as the Orc was slammed onto the ground. Before Borgok had even the slight chance of getting back up, Ryuu took to the sky and dove onto Borgok's chest causing the beast to cry out as the tremendous force of the blow damaged it's manacha half.

"How can this .a dragon that's impossible!"

Boherock was panicking seeing his brother, and his only chance of escaping suddenly having the power advantage turned on him. This equally surprised Shini, now it was going to be harder then she expected to keep the bounty for herself. Aside from that thought, an old memory now plagued her mind, dark and painful recollections where dragons such as Ryuu played a part in being, she struggled to keep her cool, she had forced herself not to react on the outside to her inner pain but the pain itself was no less agonizing.

As the fight raged on, the freakish Orc was back on it's feet with considerable damage to his body while Ryuu was have the time of his life.

"Just give it up yet? If you do I won't tear off the manacha bits on you."

The dragon spoke with a high degree of confidence positive he couldn't lose. Borgok however roared as he stomped his feet, he was certainly not going to be beaten.

"You think you big and strong like me, me show you how strong me can be!"

With that, Borgok roared once more but left his mouth wide open, a strange tube protruding from its throat.

"You smell bad enough already, I don't need your breath to make it worst."

But what came out the Borgok's mouth was not stench. Particles of energy formed at the tip of the tube and a second later turned into a immense beam that stretched all the way down the harbor. Ryuu barely managed to dodge the beam; he could feel the heat of the beam as it swept by him. After he recovered he looked behind him and surveyed the damage caused by the attack, half the piers in the harbor were cut in half and the rocks and buildings where either on fire or melting.

"That's not fair, I'm a dragon, and I'm suppose to do that."

Borgok readies for another blast, the particles' beginning to form at the tip of the cannon in its mouth but now Ryuu was on the charge. He stiffened his hand extended all claws at once and thrust his hand down the Orc's throat through the back of his neck. The giant Orc was motionless as the cannon began to fizzle out and once Ryuu's clawed hand was removed the Orc tumbled over and crashed to the ground causing a large cloud of dust and dirt to kick up.

"I don't believe killed my brother!"

Ryuu turned and faced Boherock wiping the blood off his forearm.

"Care to join him?"

Boherock took several steps back before turning and going into a full sprint to escape.

"You may have won this time but I will be back and you'll pay for my brothers death!"

He, however, would not be able to live up to his threat as his own shadow crept and ensnared itself around his legs causing the Orc captain to trip and fall with Shini standing over him. Once Ryuu had caught up to them, he grabbed the struggling Boherock by his neck and smacked him one good time to quite him.

"Well I'd say that was rather easy, and now that we got our man there's this little matter about the bounty. how about it, 50/50?"

Shini hesitated on that one, after all she was the first one to claim him as her catch and really he just barged in out of no where, not to mention with all the gold this one was worth she wasn't all to willing to share.

"I completely agree, you took down that nasty monster of a brother and saved my life on several occasions, I think you deserve a bit more then 50%."

She spoke to him in a slightly seductive voice, which amazingly was almost working. Shini stepped closer to him and put her arms around Ryuu's neck ignoring the fact he was dragon.

"So what now I get a kiss and some gold?"

"Exactly."

Shini blew him a little kiss but what came out wasn't full of love. A fine dust flew off her hand and hung around Ryuu's head. The dragon sniffed and snorted once the dust got into his nose and began to choke on the dust.

"*Cough cough* what.*cough* did you do to .*cough* me?"

"Don't worry hun I'm not going to kill you, but you see this Orc right here is my catch. I'll admit you came in handy when the need arose but to put it simply, I don't like to share. Good night."

She smiled and blew another kiss and before Ryuu could say anything else the dust took full effect and Ryuu fell to the ground, lightly snoring as he slept. Shini carefully tied up both her bounty and the dragon and was well on her way to turn Boherock in and claim her reward.

Some time later, crowds gathered at the destroyed docks and were staring at the sleeping dragon.

"Do you think ?"

"I don't know, it looks like its still breathing."

"Ugh that thing over there is defiantly dead and it smells, call the guards here to clean this up!"

"But what about this thing."

The people discussed what they were going to do, but were unaware that the dragon was waking up. Ryuu lifted himself off the ground and startled the mass of people and those who had weapons on their person immediately pressed them into use. Ryuu looked around not all to worried about the swords and spears pointed at his head, he looked down at the rope and remembered what had happen.

"I don't believe this, that's the last time I'll be so damn trusty of a woman like that argh!

He easily broke free of the ropes the held him and moved through the crowd moving aside their swords and spears as he looked over at the damaged air ship.

"At least I won't go empty handed."

A/N: Yikes this one was long, now any one who's read my stuff already knows that I promised continuations and didn't exactly deliver, but I do promise, I'm actually motivated to keep going with this. R and R please