Shadow of Mordor - The Novel

Chapter Seven - Climbing the Ranks

The sky burned orange, It was nearly dusk. The Uruk Captain stood over the kneeling Orc, holding a deadly scimitar, the blade smeared with a thick, green poison that bubbled and hissed against the cold metal of the sword. The Captain, known as Brogg the Twin, was a ruthless fighter, and took immense pleasure in the pain of his enemies, hence, the poisoned blade. Brogg raised the scimitar, and brought it down on the kneeling Uruk's neck with a wet *CRACK*. Brogg grinned, baring his yellow, jagged fangs, and cackled a harsh, choking laugh. A large defender lumbered up to the Captain, a prisoner in tow. Once he got close enough, he pulled on the rope and the prisoner stumbled forward.

"You call this a duel?!" Ratbag asked incredulously.

"No, I call this losing a duel, ya glob!" Brogg spat angrily, gesturing over to a spot on the ground with his sword.

The defender holding Ratbag turned and shoved the small Orc, who turned and growled up at the large Uruk-Hai. The defender bared his teeth, glaring daggers at Ratbag, who shrunk back, looked down at the ground and shakily spoke, "Right here? Is that... is that good? I'll just go right here..." Ratbag knelt on the dusty ground and bowed his head, expecting his head to leave his shoulders at any moment. From afar, hidden behind a large boulder, a Ranger and a Wraith watched silently.

Celebrimbor turned to Talion and said, "We'd better hurry. Or he'll lose his head."

Talion tilted his head towards Celebrimbor slightly and responded, "Awfully tempting, isn't it?"

The Wraith disappeared, only to speak inside Talion's head, saying, "Blind his man eyes and the beast can't see you coming."

Talion saw four Uruk archers positioned around the ruins, stationed as sentries, lookouts. The Ranger dropped into a low stance, darting over to the low cliff wall where the first archer stood. Talion climbed up the rocky wall, pulling himself up and over the edge, drawing Acharn at the same time. The archer never saw it coming. The dagger slid between his ribs, and Talion's hand covered the Uruk's mouth, keeping the scream trapped inside the archer's lungs. The Ranger withdrew his dagger, laying the body down silently, then moved across a rope attached to two pieces of wall. Talion jumped up, grabbing onto a ledge, shimmying to the side where the next archer stood with his back to the ledge. Talion pulled with all his might, leaping upwards onto the platform, and drew his dagger yet again. Talion reached with his left hand around the right side of the Uruk's head, clamping his hand against the Orc's mouth, pushing downwards so the archer's abdomen faced the sun. Talion plunged the dagger into the archer's gut, ripping it sideways so the Uruk's organs spilled out, along with a fountain of black blood. As the archer's blood pooled on the stone tower's bricks, Talion was already gone, leaping from perch to perch, until he reached the third archer. Once more undetected, Talion stabbed his dagger into the Uruk's temple, killing him instantly.

After wrenching the blade from the Orc's heavy skull, Talion thought to himself - Another archer dead. And only one remains.

Talion turned to see the fourth and final archer peering around a column, eyes nearly on him. The Ranger slid sideways, pressing his back against the wall, hoping the archer hadn't seen him. Viewing the archer, highlighted in blue through the Wraith World, Talion saw him shrug and turn away from his hiding position, marching over to continue watching the soon-to-be execution. Talion blinked away the Wraith World, returning to his normal sight, then edged out from behind his wall. He jumped onto the raised platform where the final archer was stationed, and quickly crept up behind the unwitting Uruk. For the fourth and last time, Talion jammed his dagger in between the Uruk's ribs, then grabbed his head and expertly snapped his neck. The Ranger then quickly evaluated the situation at hand, 8 grunt Uruks, 9 including Brogg. Talion sheathed his dagger, drawing his sword fluidly and jumping off the platform, landing with a roll and standing into a fighting stance.