Shelob?
A name Tarnes had never encountered before. He searched through his memories but came up empty, so he shook his head without ceremony. "I haven't heard that name."
Shelob wasn't surprised. Not every being dwelling in Middle-earth knew of her existence, after all. However, she felt distinctly offended by his completely dismissive tone and smiled back with practiced sweetness. "That's quite normal, just as I don't know when Middle-earth gained someone like you."
Tarnes raised an eyebrow, easily detecting the dissatisfaction threading through her honeyed words. This meant the people she usually encountered showed her considerable respect, likely due to either her status or her power. Given that she'd somehow rescued someone from the devastating aftermath of Sacred Relic Sword's Wave of Gold, he suspected it was the latter.
Behind him, Melina gently tugged at the corner of his clothing and whispered her warning. "I remember that name. At Bilbo Baggins's house, Rogier recommended several books about Middle-earth to me, including one about dark creatures that mentioned her. She's offspring of Ungoliant, and this human form we're seeing is likely just a disguise."
Tarnes inconspicuously patted Melina's arm, acknowledging her intelligence. While he hadn't heard of Shelob specifically, the name Ungoliant was familiar from conversations with Gandalf and Radagast. If his memory served correctly, Ungoliant was some form of evil deity, which meant this giant spider masquerading as a beautiful woman was divine offspring.
That explained how she'd managed to rescue Black Hand from the golden conflagration. But it raised another question that puzzled him: why would Ungoliant's spawn help Sauron's minions? If she was truly allied with the Dark Lord, she should have attacked while he remained unaware of her presence, rather than saving Black Hand and then standing around making conversation.
Tarnes raised his guard to maximum while maintaining his casual demeanor, then glanced at Black Hand's half-conscious form emitting wisps of green smoke. "You mentioned this person has an unfinished mission. What task could possibly be worth you risking your life to save him?"
Shelob maintained her insincere smile, clearly planning to deflect the question. "I don't know the specific details, but he does carry a very important mission. Could you spare him for now? What do you desire? Tons of gold? Precious diamonds? Intelligence about Orc defensive positions within Mordor? I can satisfy any of these requests."
So you rescued someone at considerable risk without knowing why, and now you're willing to trade treasures and strategic intelligence for his life.
Tarnes didn't believe a word of it.
He guided Torrent forward at a deliberate pace while responding. "What if I said I'm only interested in gaining powerful strength?"
Shelob's smile widened, revealing teeth that seemed just a touch too sharp. "Then you should definitely spare him."
Tarnes sneered openly. "Heh, and yet you claim not to know his mission?"
Shelob's expression shifted like storm clouds gathering, her smile vanishing entirely. "I sincerely wanted to cooperate with you, yet you're trying to trick information out of me?"
A catalyst for incantations had somehow appeared in Tarnes's hand, and he shook his head with faint amusement. "From the very beginning, you've been hiding your true nature while giving evasive answers to direct questions, yet you blame me for seeking information. That's rather rich."
Shelob opened her mouth to retort when she noticed Tarnes suddenly straightening his arm in an unusual gesture, golden light beginning to emanate from his entire body. She felt no immediate pain, leaving her confused about his intentions.
She shifted her weight, preparing to speak, when she suddenly froze and looked down. Where smooth human legs should have been, she saw her own spider limbs covered in coarse bristles.
Shelob's compound eyes blazed with shock and fury as she fixed her gaze on Tarnes, who watched her with cold calculation. Her voice had lost all traces of human sweetness, replaced by a harsh, grating tone. "What did you do to me?"
Tarnes pulled Torrent's reins while raising the Sacred Relic Sword, driving the spirit steed directly toward Shelob's now-revealed massive arachnid form. "Just a small bit of sorcery. I hope you don't mind."
The golden blade swept toward her with lethal intent.
Clang!
Shelob raised one of her forelegs defensively, and the collision actually produced the ring of metal striking metal. However, before she could react to this small success, Tarnes applied more pressure, and the Sacred Relic Sword's impossibly sharp edge severed her foreleg completely.
Of course it did. Sacred Relic Sword had been enhanced to its absolute limits by Tarnes. How could it possibly be blocked by Shelob's relatively unprotected limb? He hadn't even used much force initially, intending to feint and gauge her defenses. He never expected her to actually attempt blocking with her bare leg.
The absurd sensation of "you really tried to catch a blade with your hand" filled his mind.
Shelob released a hoarse shriek of agony, spitting jets of black poisonous mist from her maw. The toxic cloud instantly enveloped the area around Tarnes, plunging everything into suffocating darkness.
"You despicable wizard!" The giant spider's curses echoed through the poisonous fog, but Tarnes ignored them entirely, charging toward Black Hand's prone form based on his memorized location.
Melina cooperated perfectly, swinging arcs of golden light in multiple directions to confuse Shelob into thinking they were targeting her instead. The divine power radiating from those light blades made Shelob spit additional poisonous mist while concealing her massive bulk within the spreading miasma.
Simultaneously, her swollen abdomen began releasing webs across the surrounding wasteland. If Torrent stepped into those sticky strands, he would become trapped and unable to maneuver freely.
But Shelob waited in vain for Tarnes's approach. Instead, she heard Black Hand's final death scream echoing across the battlefield. Her fury exploded like a volcano as she roared, "You dare kill him! I'll dissolve you with my poison stinger until not even bones remain!"
Tarnes continued ignoring her threats, swinging the Sacred Relic Sword toward the black miasma where Shelob lurked and casting Wave of Gold.
Seeing those golden flame waves manifesting once again, terror flashed through Shelob's multiple eyes as she leaped directly out of the poisonous cloud.
Observing her desperate escape, Tarnes simply sat calmly on Torrent's back and repeated his Ash of War toward her landing zone.
Shelob: ?
The giant spider had barely touched down and hadn't even regained her balance when she was forced to leap again, desperately avoiding the pursuing golden flames.
This time Shelob jumped to an even greater distance from Tarnes, only to hear his mocking voice carry across the wasteland. "What exactly are you running from?"
Shelob snarled in embarrassed rage. "If you're truly skilled, stop using that cursed sword of yours!"
Contrary to her expectations, Tarnes actually nodded in agreement. "Fine."
To Shelob's amazement, she watched the strange golden blade disappear from the human's grip, replaced by a staff adorned with brilliant blue gems.
Tarnes pointed the crystalline weapon directly at her, and suddenly azure torrents filled her entire field of vision.