Gollum leads Sam and Frodo to a dark stone wall and to a cave within it, which they enter. The smell is overwhelmingly bad. Gollum reports that the cave is the entrance to a tunnel and tells them that it is Shelob, a giant spider,'s lair. Sam asks, angrily, why he didn't tell them this before, when they were at the gate.  Gollum responds that this was the only way.  Frodo decides he needs to go this way.

The tunnel is totally dark, and the Hobbits proceed by feeling the walls. Suddenly, Frodo is aware of an intense feeling of hostility and danger emanating from the darkness. They hear a bubbling hiss, but can see nothing. Sam shouts to Frodo to raise the Phial of Galadriel. The phial shines a strong light that illuminates hundreds of tiny eyes, all of them staring at the hobbits. The eyes belong to Shelob, a giant spider-monster ever hungry for creatures to devour, used by the evil Sauron to guard his passages.

Frodo is terrified, but he walks boldly toward the eyes, which retreat as he advances. The Hobbits head for the end of the tunnel, but are held up by cobwebs stretched across the passageway. The cobwebs are too strong to be cut by a knife, and the Hobbits fear they are trapped until Frodo remembers Sting, his Elven-made knife. They cut their way through, and the Hobbits are within view of the exit from the tunnel. Frodo shouts that they should run and, despite protests from Gollum, pulls ahead. Sam lifts the phial to see, notices that there are orcs ahead, though, and hides the phial. Suddenly Shelob attacks, moving swiftly between Sam and Frodo. Sam shouts a warning to his master, but Frodo, in a frenzy, does not hear.

Gollum shouts that the monster will not hurt the Master of the Precious and bounds toward Frodo, knocking him to the ground and out of the way of a swipe by the spider.

In reply to Eru Iluvatar (msg # 1):

In reply to Folco Boffin (msg # 2):

In the midst of the struggle with the spider-monster Shelob, Sam discovers Frodo & Gollum lying face up, unconscious from by being pushed to the ground. The sight of his master in such an awful state fills Sam with courage and rage, and he charges Shelob. He manages to stab her in one eye, which goes dark. Heaving her belly up over Sam, Shelob prepares to crush the hobbit, but instead impales herself on his sword. Shelob shudders in pain and withdraws. Sam rushes to Frodo, and then charges Shelob again. The defeated spider flees. Sam calls out to Frodo, whom he at first believes to be asleep.

Sam attempts to raise Frodo but finds himself unsuccessful.  He hears Orc voices surrounding him. Sam throws his cloak over the three of them and in the darkness they go unnoticed.  The Orcs mutter in their own tongue and then eventually leave.

Finally rousing Frodo and Gollum the three continue on their way, following silently behind the Orcs.  Eventually the Orcs reached a tower and went inside.  Frodo, Sam, and Gollum, however, hid in a ravine to the side of the road before continuing on.

Frodo and Sam have only some provisions, a few lembas, and no water. After a night of weary travel, they find a small stream and joyously refill their water bottles. The Ring grows heavier around Frodo’s neck with every step. Mount Doom is still nearly forty miles to the east, across a great valley. Behind the mountain sits Barad-dûr, Sauron’s home, from which the Dark Lord directs his will over Mordor. Scattered all over the valley, as far as the two hobbits can see, the armies of Mordor await the final battle. There is no hope of moving undetected through so many enemies, but they again have no choice but to go on. They continue moving northward, looking for a good place to leave the mountains and move east. They overhear two orcs quarreling, speaking of a rumor about a great Elf in bright armor who is on the loose.

On the third day, turn turn into a narrow eastward road and travel over it for several miles in the darkness. For what seems like hours, they travel. Frodo is in agony from the Ring’s increasing weight.

The next morning, Sam gains new strength and a grim sense of responsibility. He wakes Frodo and pushes him on toward Orodruin. The land before them is cold and dead, dotted by countless craters and hollows. The hobbits crawl eastward from hiding place to hiding place. After a few miles, Frodo is nearly spent, his mind and body tormented by the terrible weight of the Ring. He refuses to give the Ring to Sam, for he knows he is held by its power. The two decide to take to the road once again. All eyes in Mordor are turned to the west, where the Captains march toward Morannon.

After three draining days of travel, Frodo’s limbs give way and he falls, exhausted. Sam picks Frodo up and carries him on his back. Before nightfall, they reach the foot of the mountain. Sam carefully makes his way up the slope. It is nearly morning. For a moment, the shadows dissipate, and Sam can see the flicker of the piercing Eye from Sauron’s Dark Tower. Its gaze passes by the hobbits and turns to the north, focusing on the Captains of the West. However, the glimpse of Sauron’s power causes Frodo to panic. His hand grasps for the Ring around his neck, and he cries for Sam’s help. Sam kneels beside Frodo and gently holds his master’s palms together in his lap.

Afraid Sauron has spotted them, Sam takes Frodo upon his shoulders once more and continues up the mountain. With much difficulty, they finally reach the top. Sam looks down over a great cliff into the burning Cracks of Doom below.  Reaching the Cracks, Frodo turns to Sam and, with a voice clearer than Sam has ever heard, informs him that he will not complete the quest. The Ring, Frodo declares, is his. He puts the Ring on his finger and vanishes. Sam is once again flung aside, and then he sees a dark shape leap over him, he hears the voice of Gollum, cursing Frodo viciously for his treachery. Just as Sam looks up, the Great Eye of Sauron suddenly becomes aware of Frodo. The seven remaining Nazgûl hurtle toward the mountain at terrifying speed.

Sam sees Gollum struggling with an invisible enemy, biting at the air viciously. Frodo suddenly reappears, his hand bleeding from his severed finger. Gollum pulls Frodo’s finger and the Ring from his mouth joyfully, but then steps backward, unaware that he is close to the edge of the cliff. Gollum then falls, along with the Ring, into the Cracks of Doom. Mount Doom shakes violently as it accepts and consumes the Ring. Sam runs out into the daylight, carrying Frodo. The Nazgûl wither in the fiery ruin of the hill. Frodo stands by Sam’s side, himself again. Sam feels overjoyed, and Frodo explains that, were it not for Gollum, he would not have been able to finish the quest. Frodo says he is glad to be with Sam “at the end of all things.”