[Kalimac]

Birdland, good thought there - I'd sort of had that idea in my head but didn't manage to articulate it as well as you did [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]. One thing I'd like to add is that while the passage mentions "avenging" a fallen captain, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Orcs THEMSELVES see anything inherently selfless or noble about tracking down whoever slew their leader. They could just be getting back at someone who deprived them of protection. The word "avenge" does seem to imply a "code of honor" but you also have to remember who's talking here. It's hard to imagine one of Tolkien's lordly characters saying "They have been known to travel far, particularly if their leader has been killed and they want to get some of their own back." This could just be his noble gloss on the whole procedure, or what he takes for granted is the case judging by what he's seen from the outside.