With Sylas's Bubble-Head Charm protecting them, the toxic gas in the air could no longer affect the elven warriors.
Freed from the need for caution, the elven army once again displayed its full strength. They pressed forward at speed, cutting down every giant spider that blocked the way. The rest scattered south in panic.
The march continued without pause, and before long, half of Mirkwood had been reclaimed.
But soon, the warriors noticed something strange.
There were no spiders ahead. Not even the faintest trace of movement in their nests. It seemed as if the creatures had abandoned the area entirely.
The pattern did not change for dozens of miles.
Inside the empty nests, they found half-eaten animal corpses and even spider eggs that had not yet hatched. It looked as though the spiders had fled in haste the moment they received some kind of warning.
Yet no one looked pleased. Faces grew tense. The giant spiders were cunning. For them to abandon their nests so suddenly could mean only one thing, they had gathered together elsewhere in great numbers. The next battle would be a fierce one.
Sylas stopped the elves from destroying the eggs. He collected them carefully, some to freeze for potion ingredients, and others to hatch later as a source of venom and food for Herpo, his basilisk.
The army pressed on southward, alert and ready.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in the forest.
Elven archers raised their bows and fired, but the arrows were swiftly intercepted by the strange figure approaching.
A large rabbit pulling a wooden sled burst into view and slid to a halt before the company.
"Radagast! What are you doing here?" Sylas exclaimed in surprise, stepping forward.
The brown-robed wizard looked slightly wild-eyed. His face brightened when he spotted Sylas.
"Ah, it is you, Sylas! What brings you here?"
"His Majesty Thranduil is leading the campaign to clear the giant spiders from the forest. I am here to assist. But what about you, Radagast? Has something happened?"
"Me? Oh...yes! I almost forgot!" Radagast clapped his hand to his head, then blurted out as if the thought had only just returned to him, "I am here to warn you! I must warn the elves!"
"What warning?" Thranduil asked, frowning.
As a fellow dweller of Mirkwood, Thranduil knew the Brown Wizard by reputation, though they rarely crossed paths.
When Radagast saw the Elvenking, he seemed to find his true audience. "All the spiders are gathering in the south! Thousands upon thousands of them, packed so tightly it is like a living carpet. The animals of the forest are terrified, and so am I!"
His voice dropped, yet his eyes grew wider. "They are the brood of Ungoliant, and they are moving under the command of their queen. She means to destroy all the elves in one stroke. You must be ready…"
"Wait," Thranduil interrupted sharply. "What queen do you speak of?"
"The Spider Queen, yes!" Radagast said, his words tumbling over one another. "Her name is Senasha. She is the largest spider in all the forest, the ruler of her kind. Bigger than my little house! And she is in league with the Dark Lord. Now she gathers every spider for the attack."
Thranduil's face hardened at the news.
Sylas was equally startled. He had not imagined that Mirkwood harbored such a creature, let alone one tied to Sauron himself.
When word came that the giant spiders were gathering, Thranduil wasted no time. He led his army south, vowing to drive every last one from Mirkwood.
The brown-robed wizard Radagast joined them, his presence lending both wisdom and resolve. Guided by him, the company pressed on without pause, heading straight toward the Spider Queen's lair.
It lay at the southernmost edge of the forest, not far from the shadow of Dol Guldur. The trees here rose taller than elsewhere, their trunks thick and ancient, their crowns lost in darkness. The sky was blotted out by countless layers of spider silk and tangled leaves, leaving not a single shaft of sunlight to touch the forest floor.
Generations of giant spiders had made their home here for thousands of years. Every branch, every trunk, every path was wound with silken threads, forming a labyrinth of tunnels that only the spiders themselves could navigate. This was no mere nest, it was a sprawling spider kingdom. Any other creature who wandered in rarely left alive.
When Sylas and the elven army reached the valley, they beheld the endless expanse of this "Spider Castle" stretching before them. The sheer scale made it clear that no simple assault could succeed.
Thranduil's brow furrowed. "If we do not seize this moment and destroy them all, our campaign will be in vain. Once they breed again, they will push northward, driving us from our own woods and threatening the very safety of the Woodland Realm."
Yet the problem was plain, millions of spider webs formed a near-impenetrable wall. Destroying them would be a monumental task.
"Father, let me take a company through their tunnels and drive them out," Legolas urged, his eyes alight with determination.
Thranduil shook his head. "No. Within those tunnels lurk more spiders than can be counted, and the Spider Queen herself. To enter is to walk willingly into a trap."
"But if they remain, Mirkwood will never know peace," Legolas pressed. "Before long, they will multiply and move north. I have spells taught by Sylas that will shield me. I can protect myself."
Still, Thranduil would not relent. No matter how Legolas argued, his father would not allow him to risk his life.
As the two traded words, Sylas spoke up. "Your Majesty Thranduil, since we cannot break through the webs, might we use fire?"
Both king and prince turned toward him in surprise.
"I have thought of it," Thranduil replied, "but fire spreads quickly. If it escapes our control, the whole forest would burn. Countless creatures would perish, and we would be left without a home."
Sylas countered, "We could cut a firebreak to the north, then set the southern forest ablaze. That way, the flames could not spread."
But he had misjudged the elves' love for the greenwood. The people of Mirkwood lived in harmony with the forest and would sooner endure hardship than harm the trees.
Radagast, as a servant of Yavanna, was even more opposed. To him, the thought of felling or burning trees was unbearable. He had long since chosen to remain in Middle-earth, dwelling among birds and beasts rather than carrying out other tasks of his order.
Seeing their unshakable resolve, Sylas abandoned the idea with regret.
Instead, he turned to another thought. "Your Majesty, I have one more way to draw the spiders out. It will be dangerous, but it may work."
Thranduil's eyes narrowed with interest. "What is this method?" He knew Sylas did not speak idly.
Sylas took a suitcase from his space bag.
"What is in there?" Thranduil frowned slightly.
From within came the unmistakable presence of a dark magical creature. It was a kind of aura he had never encountered before, sharp and suffocating, carrying with it a sense of mortal danger.
"It is a creature I have bred, called a basilisk," Sylas explained. "Its eyes are deadly. Any ordinary being who meets its gaze will die instantly. Even looking at it through a mirror will turn you to stone."
"There is such a creature?" Thranduil's voice betrayed his shock. From the description alone, he could tell how dangerous it was.
Legolas, Arwen, and the others stared in surprise.
They had never once heard Sylas speak of such a beast before.
"So, if Your Majesty is willing to try, I can release the basilisk to drive the spiders out of their lair," Sylas continued gravely. "But before that, everyone must be warned. Do not look directly at the basilisk, or I cannot guarantee your safety."
Thranduil hesitated, weighing the risks, but finally gave his consent.
He ordered his warriors to avert their gaze and explained the basilisk's deadly nature to them.
Once everyone was ready, Sylas opened the suitcase and stepped back.
A moment later, a massive serpent's head emerged from the box's hidden space, crowned with a crest of blood-red feathers.
Every elf present, Thranduil included, shut their eyes at once.
Even so, elven senses needed no sight. Through their keen perception, they could feel the creature's presence clearly. Warriors of Thranduil's caliber could perceive the world through thought and instinct alone, almost as if they still had their vision.
In their minds' eyes, a green-scaled python more than ten meters long, as thick as a grown man's torso, slid from the box. It radiated the suffocating aura of black magic.
Sylas did not close his eyes, for he had sealed a Blood Oath with the basilisk. The creature could not harm him under any circumstance, and whenever it saw him, it would shut its own eyes in deference.
Herpo had grown rapidly, especially after devouring two giant spiders he kept in the tower. Now, it was nearly full-grown. Like all serpents, it could track prey without sight, using its tongue to taste the air, following scent and heat with perfect precision.
Excitement rippled through its massive body. It flicked its tongue rapidly, then struck the ground with its tail in eager anticipation.
"Master, I smell food. Delicious food," it hissed in the serpentine tongue.
Sylas rested a hand on its head.
"Then go. Find your prey. Slay them with your gaze. Drive them out," he replied in Parseltongue.
...
Stones Plzz
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