If we put a bounty out on Zog, do you think anyone would actually succeed in taking him down?
I can't say that I do. More than likely he will kill them, and raise their corpses as acolytes.
Ooh, yeah. Bad idea.
Deldúath and her parents landed in Núrn, not too far from where the Ranger and the Elf lord had met Brûz. Talion bade them farewell, though he did have Lomeya forge a light bond between them, which left the drakes free to do as they liked, but they would still hear his call over a much greater distance. Daerwen was descended from her line, said the Man, one of the finest drakes I ever bred.
You intend to do so again?
If indeed I can. Though her viciousness was an asset at times, I do not intend to let Sauron take her again. Now, shall we? I think I remember a group of orcs that we picked up over this way…
As his memories were clearer and untainted by Isildur's Ring, Celebrimbor took the lead and nearly ghosted through the greenery of Nurn, bringing them to look out over the captain's camp, such as it was. Felgrat the Enforcer.
Didn't he die facing one of the Nine?
I seem to recall that, yes. But he bought us time to save the others who were captured with them, and I also seem to recall that he took great pleasure in 'spitting in the All-Seeing Eye'.
All right then. You get the archers; I'll handle the ground-pounders. Talion jumped down into a bush just below their ledge and drew Lomeya's power around him, hiding him from sight as he started taking the camp's orcs. Despite the fact that they were orcs, they did regular patrols and kept sharp eyes out for any sign of trouble, like enemy captains and tribes - but not nearly sharp enough to notice the soft glow of Lomeya's brand. Hers was not nearly as stark as the New Ring's, but to his eyes at least it was clear as day if you knew what to look for.
Of course, there was the qualifier if you knew what to look for. These orcs likely did not - yet.
Finally all the lower-ranked orcs had been taken, Celebrimbor flashing by overhead from cage to cage to claim the archers, and the elf descended to join him in taking the captain. With the two of them together, Felgrat came easily enough, and they sent him and his men off to work with Brûz preparing for the assault on Ratbag and Az-Harto's fortress.
Couldn't we just sneak in to talk to them?
Perhaps. But right now, at least, Sauron and the orcs will only respect a show of strength; whatever else we do, the fortress will have to be taken by force.
Unfortunate. Talion scaled the tower to crouch next to Celebrimbor. Let's return to Morgoth's Scar for a bit. I don't know about you, but I could use a break. Even if we did double-team him, taking down Tar Goroth again wasn't exactly a walk in Ithilien.
I would not object to some rest, especially with the chaos that is sure to come over the next few days.
Some of their caragors were hunting not too far away, and Talion led the Elf to them. When the beasts had eaten, they mounted up and raced around the edge of Carnán's forest, then over the ridge and through a few wide but winding valleys to where Morgoth's Scar looked out over the Sea of Núrnen.
They weren't the only ones coming. Some of the Rangers and Elves had scattered themselves throughout Mordor to hit Sauron where they could, but Eltariel had indeed spread the word while hunting the Ringwraiths. Now they were gathering together once more for the assault on the Núrn fortress.
With the exception of Minas Ithil, I haven't actually seen any of the Ringwraiths running around. Is Aureya's power alone enough to contain them? Talion asked as their caragors padded down into the first cavern in Morgoth's Scar.
She may very well be. None of us have truly tested our Rings against theirs as of yet, and especially not Lomeya. Of course, it could be that Sauron can't use them as exactly he did before or he doesn't wish to risk them against us, due to the either real or perceived difference in strength. We did kill his Black Captains with relative ease, and the Nine Rings are not what they were, as was mentioned before.
But he won - or thinks he did - at Minas Ithil. Surely he wouldn't be that cautious.
I warred against him for thousands of years in one form or another, but I have never claimed to know his mind. Celebrimbor led the way to their corner and helped the Man lay out their blankets. As before, Talion laid down pressed against the Elf's side, head on his left shoulder to listen to his heartbeat. I daresay that that road leads to madness more thorough than any I have experienced before.
Agreed. I can't say I want to understand him any more than I absolutely have to, him and Morgoth both. Talion closed his eyes and listened to the soft thump of the Elf's heart. I can't say I envy them their goals either; subjugating all of Middle-earth sounds like too much work.
Oh?
Yeah. Being responsible for the entire world sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. And not even because of all the rebellions and "freedom fighters" - the sycophants who worshipped me might be useful and take up arms to defend me, but they would also be coming to me to solve every single problem they had, no matter how small, and being thoroughly obnoxious in that and other ways I'm sure. And the people who are indifferent… they might not fight me, but they won't defend me either. They'd take advantage of whatever I give them without actually giving me any benefit from it. And all the squabbles and infighting from peoples who were warring before they both got taken over, clashing personalities in governance under me, different cultures with conflicting ideals suddenly being forced together into one… Ugh. Conquering the world would be an interesting exercise, won't deny that, but actually ruling it? Count me out. I'll take being a puny little Ranger any day of the week.
…I never really thought about it like that.
Talion patted his chest. A little perspective always helps. That's part of the reason I never had just one advisor while I was trying to hold Mordor; different races and tribes see things that I personally would otherwise miss.
Once the two of them got going, they got going. In the space of a few weeks, they had an army sufficient to challenge Ratbag's fortress, including an entire battalion of orcs that willingly joined up in groups over a period of about three weeks. Their Warchief, one Ashgarn the Relentless, essentially said, "Fuck Sauron," disbanded the lot, and went over to Talion, and those orcs who were willing to do so followed.
He and Brûz got along well, so they left it alone.
Then it was time to take the fortress.
Their troops rallied before the gate, shouting and chanting before Talion, Celebrimbor, and the Elves and Rangers arrived with the last of the caragors for the assault. Deldúath and her parents were already there, the little drake snacking on the remains of a scout from the fortress. The older drakes rumbled low in their throats when Talion stepped up next to them, Celebrimbor on his other side.
Az-Harto came out atop the fortress as before and gave his speech in one of the many dialects of Black Speech, and this time Talion actually understood him. "You should not have come. This fort stands strong. We will kill you all!"
Brûz rumbled in his throat. "My Black Speech is a little rusty - actually I don't know a single word; language is a pain in the arse - but, to hazard a guess, he said, 'You're all gonna die, horribly.'" The Olog grinned sharply. "My kind of bloke."
"It can't say I recommend learning Black Speech anyway," Talion said dryly, "Too many dialects for learning any one of them to actually be useful. But yes, you're right, that is basically what he said. You ready?"
"You better believe it!"
"Then let's go. Charge!"
Celebrimbor had Azkâr up in the blink of an eye, then lanced across to the archers above the main gate. Talion followed on foot, letting Lomeya carry his voice to the orcs. "Focus on the defenders, and try to avoid damaging the fortress! Do you wanna waste time fixing what's broken so we can hold this damned thing after we take it, or do you wanna drink?!"
Most of the orcs roared in agreement. The rest of them were already climbing the walls, fighting the archers they found on the ledges and the defenders holding strategic points around the fortress.
There was the corpse of a fire drake hanging from a rack at the first area, which Talion designated a Gatehouse Capture Point in his mind. It wasn't one he recognized, but he loved all drakes as if they were his children, even those who didn't love him. Lomeya's energy lanced out to touch it, and started the reaction that would call other drakes - besides Deldúath and her parents - to the fortress, the body burning up in an instant.
From there, the Ranger jumped down and started fighting the defenders in the shadow of the rack, taking those he could and killing those he couldn't. The defenders soon thinned out, with more and more of their own warriors swarming in, Men and Elves and orcs alike fighting side by side. When the enemy orcs were gone completely, Talion signaled them all to continue deeper into the fortress.
The Ranger himself and Celebrimbor took to the rooftops - along with Eltariel, when she appeared unexpectedly partway into the battle. Can't stay long, she said, The Nazgûl are trying for the Haedir. I'll take care of it, but I thought you'd want to know.
Yes indeed, and thank you. We'll leave them in your hands.
She nodded, leaped off a rooftop to assassinate an enemy captain, and then raced off again.
The Courtyard Capture Point had another drake corpse. This time Deldúath swooped down out of the sky, despite the chaos all around, and perched on the rack, whining at the sight of her dead kin and nudging its limp tail with her snout as if trying to wake it.
Pain is not exclusive to us.
Yes indeed, Celebrimbor said softly, watching the display for a moment before shooting an archer that was targeting the baby drake.
It was the work of only a few minutes to clear the area. Then, in an admittedly impressive display of strength, Brûz ripped open the gate to the inner courtyard and the keep beyond. "I fancy this fort-capturin' business," he said, tossing parts of the gate aside, "and once this one's yours, you'll need a new Overlord! I'd like to throw my hat in that ring."
Talion shot the Olog a surprised look.
"What?" he nearly demanded, "You think I can't be Overlord?"
The Man shook his head. "It's not that at all. Ignoring the fact that you're not wearing a hat, I'm just surprised you want Núrn. It's-"
"Talion!"
The Ranger looked ahead to where Celebrimbor was standing before the doors of the fortress's keep, waiting for him with his sword drawn. "We'll talk more after. Come find me then," he said, and raced ahead to join the Elf.
Yet as they entered the fortress, the doors swinging shut behind them, both of them sheathed their swords and approached the "throne" at the back of the hall, where Az-Harto stood with a club in hand. "Ratbag!" Talion called, "Won't you introduce us to your friend?"
The little orc squirmed free of whatever contraption it was that let him hold onto the Olog's back. "What the hell, Ranger?" he cried, "How'd you know it was me?!"
"A certain stench," the Man said dryly, then turned to the Olog. "Good to meet you at last, Az-Harto Hammerfist," he said in the Olog's dialect of Black Speech, "Thank you for looking after this idiot. I'm quite certain he made it much more troublesome than it needed to be."
"Indeed he did, Gravewalker," the Olog replied with something like a grin, "Yet I find myself almost fond of him. He's like a favorite pet."
"He does have that effect on people. You're welcome to keep him."
"I think I will."
The orc in question appeared at Talion's elbow. "Anyone feel like sharing with the class?"
"No."
"You said come find you, so here I am."
"Indeed." Talion lowered his sword from where he'd been cleaning the blood off of it - not that the mithril really needed it; the metal repelled blood like oil repelled water. "As I said, I'm just surprised that you want Núrn."
"What's wrong with Núrn?"
"Nothing. Only, we don't plan to stop here." He hopped down from the plinth he'd been sitting on and waved Brûz over to join him at the map table set up nearby. "We mean to seize all of Mordor from Sauron - or as much as we can hold, at least. If we're able, we'd like to keep him and his loyalists penned up inside Barad-dûr and the tunnels below. Personally, I doubt we can seal up all the exits, but if we get what we want, Gorgoroth will be the only place that's seeing any real action; Núrn's going to be fairly quiet. And you did say you liked - what was it, ripping people's spines out?"
The Olog seemed surprised that he'd remembered, but he nodded.
"So," Talion continued, looking up at him, "do you want peace in Núrn… or fighting in Gorgoroth?"
Brûz didn't even really need to think about it. "Gorgoroth," he said, tone thick with bloodlust.
"Then when we take it, it's yours," the Ranger replied, "But that leads us to a new problem."
"And what's that?"
"Where to go next." He gestured to the map. "If we take Gorgoroth now, Sauron could call in reinforcements from Seregost and Cirith Ungol, in addition to whatever he brings up from below. But, if we go to either of those two first, he can still keep spitting orcs out from the tunnels and send them at us, wherever we are." He looked up at Brûz. "If we go to Gorgoroth now, can you hold it while we hit the other regions?"
"You bet your ass I can!"
Talion smiled at him. "Then gather your troops, Overlord."
The Olog grinned widely and ran for the doors, his bulk making his steps sound like thunder.
Celebrimbor was silent until the doors had shut behind him with a heavy thud. Then he turned to Talion. "That was brilliant!"
The Man grinned back at him and nudged the Elf's shoulder with one of his own. "Just gotta know what buttons to push."