Captain and Commander: Minas Morgul

Quarters: Commander, Uruk Forces under the Eye.

The darkness is great here, and despite the light cast from the many torches that line the walls, the shadows are black and cold. Through the flickering light, you see that the walls are covered with tapestries, each depicting some famous victory in Mordor's history, from the eye of an Uruk. The cold, black rock floor has a lush carpet covering it, with some sort of military insignia embroidered on it. As you look up, you notice that the Eye is ever present, in the form of a carved granite Eye covering the entire ceiling.

You notice a generous sized desk with papers and such on it, a rough wooden Snaga bench on the near wall, and relatively comfortable chairs for others, ahead of you.

Obvious exits:
Blacken Doorway leads to Minas Morgul.
Dark Passage leads to Minas Morgul.

Lugoth opens the door ..and comes in..
Lugoth has arrived.

Grishnakh sits at the massive desk, squinting in dim red lamplight at a stack of unrolled parchment scrolls.

The door bangs open and Lugoth, Teguk of DG stands there. Behind him a troop of five Uruk-Hai stands, reaqdy for most anything. Lugoth gives the door three knocks and salutes the Vorazg.

Grishnakh looks up and regards the Teguk for a moment. Then he looks down at his scrolls again. "Leave the guards outside."

Lugoth nods and makes a quick chopping motion with his left hand. The guards move quickly out of the room and close the doors behind them, leaving Lugoth alone with the Vorazg. Lugoth stands silently and watches the Vorazg.

Lugoth shakes his head, "I have no problems accepting your orders, Vorazg. Only some orders I'd like to hear directly from you." He pauses, then continues in a harsh tone, "I'm the teguk of on of our largest cities. Only you stand above me in the army, and then some Uruk unknown to me claims I am to take his orders as if they were yours. I trust you understand my concern ?"

Grishnakh narrows his eyes, and speaks softly. "You are Teguk at my pleasure, Lugoth."

Lugoth swallows, nodding quickly, "Yes, yes. And if that messenger of yours gives me your orders, I will obey them. I'm just not clear on where that--- Golg... stands in army terms." Lugoth's facade seems to crack somewhat,but he keeps his aletr pose.

Grishnakh raises an eyebrow. "No? I thought it had been made eminently clear. The Gorug is my standard-bearer. He answers to me and to me alone, and acts with my authority when I so order it. Is that clear enough?"

Lugoth smiles, a nasty sight with his scarred face. he then says, "From you that is clear enough. I'll obey the Messenger of the Vorazg when he brings your orders." He then clears his throat, "Another matter. The Burzum-Prakh lot seems to stir up a few things in camp. I thought you might want to know after... their earlier efforts." Lugoth seems composed again, looking into the Vorazg's eyes rather calmly.

Grishnakh says, "Yes... I heard a rumor that they wanted to kill you. Is that true?"

Lugoth shrugs, "That they want to kill me is nothing new. Rumours are circulating within the Ashjaki that one of their officers have been offering bribes to my soldiers, wanting information. Some also claim they have been offered gold to kill me." He laughs harshly, "These claims come from Snaga,a nd if the BP want to amploy Snaga to kill me, they're way off the mark." He pauses, "But I don't mind them wanting to kill me. I can handle them. But all these rumours make the soldiers more intent on spying upon each other instead of doing the Eye's work."

Grishnakh nods slowly. "True. I will meet with Glurg'erg. Now, another matter. I hear quite often about rivalries among the orcs. The Ashjaki don't like hearing orders from the Burzum-Prakh, and the Zaghbuurz try to show up the Ujakalsaki. The Ashjaki are yours, are they not?"

Lugoth nods, "I command the Ashjaki now, yes."

Grishnakh says, "Yes. And when a problem develops between an Ashjaki and an Ujakalsaki, say, how do you resolve it? Do you punish the Ujakalsaki for causing a problem for one of your tribe?"

Lugoth says, "Depends on the problem, Vorazg. If these 'problems' are Snaga quarreling over some minor matter, I let them battle it out. My former Teguk, Ghazhgund, never tolerated that, but if the Snaga feel like fighting, I say let them kill one another. The Victor will prove his worth." he pauses, "Now if there is a matter of strife between the officers of the tribes, and they come to me with it, I judge the case as I see fit. And that depends on whether the case concerns army or tribal matters."

Grishnakh nods. "And if it concerns both?"

Lugoth chuckles, "That's always the tricky one, ain't it ? My loyalty lies with the Eye. All the Ashjaki do are aimed for the glory of the Eye." Lugoth rants this off as if he's said it a thousand times, continuing, "We live in Mirkwood. Survival is hard there, with elves and humans constantly prowling. We don't have time for scheming and trickery. So if a case involves both tribal and army matters, I try as best I can to solve it for the good of the Army." He sighs somewhat, "But, well, the oaths to the tribe always pulls, and it's a constant struggle to keep both the faith of my tribe and the approval of my superiors." A slight shudder seems to roll over him as he comntemplates the approval of his superiors, the Dark Masters.

Grishnakh nods slowly.

Lugoth purses his lips slightly, seemingly thinking what he's just said, wondering if he's shown too much weakness in front of a superior.

Grishnakh says, "I see. Well. Understand this. From now on, there is to be no 'struggle' between the faith of a tribe and the approval of your superiors. The Eye seeks only one thing in an orc: obedience. What the tribes do among themselves is their concern. But when an order is issued, or needs to be enforced, the tribes are irrelevant."

Lugoth nods, his jaws tightening "As you command, Vorazg. And also as the Ashjaki do. All we want is to serve the Eye."

Grishnakh smiles and speaks more softly. "I expect no less, Teguk Lugoth. Confusion in loyalties may be forgiven in a lesser orc, with a few lashes or days on the rack. Not so, for a commander such as yourself. But I know you are wise enough to understand this."

A slight smile plays around Lugoth's lips, "Of course, Vorazg. I know where my loyalty lie, always. And you can count on my tribe to go where you command them. As we have done lately. We're a long way from Pulgorburzob now." He pauses, the slight grin disappearing, "Seems I won't have to take that talk with Tek'Rak Glurg'erg after all", he mutters, almost as an afterthought to himself.

Grishnakh says, "You may leave Glurg'erg to me. For now, go back to the Pits, and prepare the orcs. We will march to the Morannon."

Grishnakh says, "Tomorrow. We will take the eastern road, to Gorgoroth and Udun. At evening tomorrow, the Gorug will lead them out. You will follow his standard."

Lugoth nods, saluting, "We will be ready, Vorazg." he then turns to leave.

Grishnakh nods, and returns his attention to the papers littering his desk.

Lugoth opens the door and heads off into the darkness...
Lugoth has left.