Chapter 9 Reviews:
Hel – I see what you mean about there must be something more than charisma in Grôltakh for why the orcs follow him. To be honest, I think that I've watered down his character a bit too much and his vicious side hasn't had a chance to shine through yet. I'll have to do something about that. The orc chief, Yishvruk doesn't wear any armour because he is too fat to be comfortable in armour and to be honest, he doesn't like it. But if you're looking for a more technical answer, it's because he is actually meant to be based upon the picture of the Great Goblin in The Hobbbit – not a lot, but a little – which should explain why he is fat and doesn't wear any armour. Speaking of The Hobbit, I had forgotten about the debt between the Eagle King (or whatever it is – I should still be able to remember since I read it recently) and Gandalf but you all see what I mean about coincidences, don't you? Also, I'd like to thank you for being my most frequent reviewer, so… thanks!
~Chapter 10~
Ragnäkah stole through the shadows, trying to avoid being spotted by the presence that he could feel all around him. He was no longer afraid of being found by orcs, but something much worse. He wished that he had a weapon right now – any weapon. He thought about his sword and what the Uruk that had taken it was doing with it now: torturing snaga, making threats, putting it to every use that he could find… but Ragnäkah's mind dwelt more on his favourite weapon – his whip – than on his sword, and where his beloved device of pain could be now. Oh, if only I 'ad my whip right now! He thought. He would have used it on the nameless one and put him into his place. But that little runt that was following him had traded it… fresh anger swelled up inside of Ragnäkah, and he contemplated killing the younger orc for the ninth time in the last five minutes. He decided against it; if creatures did come, he could chuck the nameless one at them as food and escape. He still wanted that whip though, and his anger did not subside.
The younger orc ran in front of him and blocked his path.
"Are you sure this is a way out?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips and cocking his head to one side. Ragnäkah snarled at his insolent body language and looked at him directly in the eyes, his own full of daggers for the young orc.
"I never said I was sure that this led anywhere. In fact, I wasn't sure o' the route we were takin' even when we were on marked paths in Moria!" The orc harrumphed and folded his arms, as if Ragnäkah had just greatly disappointed him. Ragnäkah pushed past him violently, and continued his wanderings, trying to find a way back above and onto a route once more. He paused when the small ravine opened up into a huge gully, and looked down. The darkness was eternal and complete, and no light would ever pierce it without dire consequences. As he admired this immense, sinister beauty, something plopped down onto a stone to the right of his head. His gaze immediately turned and met with a pair of small, bulging black eyes. Surprised, Ragnäkah threw himself back against the cliff face and gasped short breaths inwards.
The creature looked similar to dragons, only it stood upright, did not have such a long neck and had webbed hands and feet and long, curved claws decorated the end of each of its fingers. Ragnäkah's guess was that the creature lived in the cold waters underground, but was adapted for land as well. It opened its mouth and hissed at him, revealing many rows of jagged teeth. He wasn't going to put his fingers anywhere near it – that he was sure of. The nameless one looked at the creature and grinned widely.
"Looks like our dinner has come to us," the orc said hungrily, rubbing his hands together with harmful intent.
"Looks like it thinks the same thing," Ragnäkah retorted. Another one of the little creatures came along, plopping itself onto the stone from above, and soon the two became three. Ragnäkah looked upwards, but he could not pinpoint where they were coming from. One of the little creatures looked at him, and growling deeply in its throat, pounced upon his arm, digging its teeth around his wrist. Ragnäkah began to shriek wildly, caring not if all of Moria could hear him and all of Isengard as well. He held his hand out over the unending darkness and shook his arm violently, trying to get the little bugger loose. The 'little bugger' however, was clinging on with every single tooth it had, holding on for dear life and a better taste of the orc's blood. To all of this, the younger orc laughed and fell over onto his backside, unable to contain his amusement and delight at this strange scene before him. That is, until one of the little things decided that his nose looked rather tasty. His amusement was then quickly cut short.
"Aaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!" The nameless one screamed. "Where's yoor soord?! Where's yoor soord?!" He yelled at Ragnäkah, his speech hindered by the creature clinging to his nose.
"I don' 'ave it! I don' 'ave it!" Ragnäkah replied, repeating the same sentence as the nameless one had done, refusing to take his eyes off the thing that had attached itself to his wrist and continuing to try to shake off the small beast. He was having no effect whatsoever.
"Why no'? Why no'!" The nameless one replied, keeping to this pattern of saying the same sentence twice, and being unsuccessful in removing the little beast on his nose. For the first time, the nameless one regretted trading Ragnäkah's whip.
"When someone twice yer height twice yer strength and twice yer weight wants yer weapon y' don't argue with 'em!" Ragnäkah retorted, still attempting to remove the demonic thing. The thing is, Ragnäkah had tried to claim back his sword the moment that the Uruk had tried to take it, and if Yutshrug had not dragged him away from the Uruk as quickly as he could (with Ragnäkah resisting and calling the Uruk every single name he could come up with every inch of the way that Yutshrug dragged him) he probably would have been a lot more dead than alive. He wasn't going to tell the nameless one that, though. "Quick – get em' off and run for it! I think I can see others comin'!"
"I can' ge' ih off! 'Elp me!" The nameless one asked Ragnäkah, and the two began tugging at the small demonic things on each others' body parts. It did not help at all, and the only thing that they did manage to do was to increase the other orc's pain. Two more of the monsters jumped at them. One bit into the nameless one's ankle and one managed to jump up and bite at the very top of the inside of Ragnäkah's right thigh, barely missing his body's most pain prone organ. If the two orcs could have increased the noise that they were making, then they did.
Within minutes, more of the little beasts had come to watch the sight of the two orcs jumping up and down, in a failing attempt to remove the creatures from various parts of their bodies.
~End of Chapter 10~