Grukk was not an exemplary orc: he followed orders only when disobedience was followed by the whip, and he was not as ravenously bloodthirsty and violent as most of his compatriots, which made the Uruk-Hai distrust him even more than they otherwise would, and this made Grukk even more reluctant to follow orders — why bother, if he would be punished anyway? — which in turn made the Uruk-Hai more likely to eat him than not, which was not a particularly good motivator.

When the halflings were taken, Grukk grew almost cheerful; when their meat was banned and a fellow orc slain, Grukk made the most startlingly un-orcish decision of his life and escaped into the forest of Fangorn, fully expecting to be cut down by one of the angry tree spirits (who at least would not digest him).

But Grukk dropped his ax and knife as he ran (and if he dropped them within reach of the bound halflings, what was that to him?) and, curiously, was hindered by neither root nor limb as he ran into the darkness.