Shadow of Mordor - The Novel

Chapter Eight - The Warchief

Talion had been busy. Four of the five Warchiefs in Udûn were dead by his hand, Stakûga Black-Heart, Mâku the Spike, Bûbol Map-Keeper, and Felgrat Dung-Collector had all met the same fate after being drawn out by Talion. Of them all, Mâku the Spike had proven to be the toughest challenge, with three bodyguards and heavy, spiked plate armor with a defender's spear and shield. Talion had eliminated the guards by splitting them up and using stealth to kill two of them, the third he hit with a well placed explosion after he got a bit too close to a stack of grog barrels. After the three bodyguards were eliminated, Talion took on their master. After Talion managed to get around the massive iron shield Mâku wielded, he just exploited Mâku's limited range of movement thanks to the plate armor. A few well-placed strikes at a joint here and a crease there, and the Warchief was bleeding out on the floor. Now however, it was time for Ratbag to uphold his end of the deal. Talion traveled to the East Garrison, where his Orc ally had told him to meet him. Once more, an orange sun sat on the edge of the horizon, only this time, Ratbag was no longer being set for execution, instead, he was hung from a tall scaffold, the crows of Mordor pecking and scratching at him. He shooed the birds away, adjusting the chafing ropes beneath his arms. A wooden platform was being raised up to Ratbag's level, two familiar defenders standing on it.

Ratbag noticed the pair and held up his hands placatingly, speaking with a nervous tone in his voice, "Hey look. There's no need to freshen the wounds today. These birds are feeding plenty well as it is."

The defenders paid his words no mind, and the smaller of the two raised his spear and jabbed Ratbag in the chest with it, sending him swinging back and forth, blood dripping out of the freshly opened wound.

Ratbag groaned and spat, "OOHH! You bastards! When I am Warchief, these birds will feast on YOUR guts!"

All of a sudden, a blade erupted from one of the defenders chests and sent him falling off the side of the platform. The other defender did a double take at the Ranger that now stood alongside him, then sputtered as the still-swinging Ratbag kicked him in the face. Talion took advantage of the Uruk's temporary daze, and slammed his sword hilt across his face, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling to the ground below.

Ratbag winced, then said, "Did you see that?! Could ya get me down?"

Talion steadied the Orc with his sword tip, then slashed at the rope that held Ratbag up, sending him flailing all the way to the ground. Below, one of the defenders was attempting to get up and walk away, when Ratbag landed heavily on him with a *THUMP*. A few feet away, Talion impacted the ground, legs and arms glowing with Wraith-like energy, preventing him from getting hurt by the fall.

Ratbag called out, "I'm alright! That didn't hurt at all." Contrary to his words, Ratbag winced and held a hand to his chest, nursing the minor spear hole in it. Ratbag held up a hand to stop the advancing Ranger and said, "Now, I know what yer thinkin' Ranger. This was not my fault. I go to tell the Chief I've killed his bodyguard. He turns around... Got the exact same face as the dead maggot I just killed... We just killed." Ratbag chuckled and stammered slightly before saying, "Twins! What are the odds of...?!

Talion held up a hand to stop the blathering Orc and said, "Just make sure you show up to take the place of the dead Warchief."

Talion then turned and began to walk away, when Ratbag said, "Uh, but the Warchief's not dead."

Talion rolled his eyes and said angrily, "I'm going to go kill him!"

Ratbag stood silent for a moment, then said, "Oh, good plan! Uh, I'll be right behind ya."

The small Orc turned to the defender lying nearby and began rummaging around its body, searching for a weapon, mere seconds after he drew a dagger from the defender's belt, the large Uruk pushed himself up to a sitting position, only to have Ratbag jam the dagger into his gut. The defender coughed up some blood, then fell back down, actually dead this time.