Grishnákh was an Orc of Mordor, captain of a small company from Lugbúrz that ran with Uglúk's Uruk-hai after the attack at Amon Hen. He had no love for Saruman's servants, and they none for him.1
He suspected that the hobbits carried something the Dark Lord wanted, and he meant to have it first. On the night the Riders of Rohan ringed the Orc camp, he seized Merry and Pippin and crept out of the circle with them to search them in the dark. The hobbits guessed what he was after and played on it, hinting at the Ring and imitating Gollum's hissing speech to keep him greedy and close.1
Beyond the line of the camp a Rider saw him. Grishnákh was struck down as he ran, and the hobbits were left lying unnoticed on the grass, where their Elven cloaks hid them. They freed themselves and slipped away into Fangorn, where they met Treebeard; Grishnákh's greed had done what neither of them could.1,2
Sources
Citations name the chapter rather than the page, so they work in any edition. The colour of each note shows what kind of source it is.
- Published story The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as Tolkien published them.
- Published story The Two Towers, Book III, ch. 3, “The Uruk-hai”
- Published story The Two Towers, Book III, ch. 4, “Treebeard”