The Fellowship of the Ring

Blockaded from the Redhorn Pass, the fellowship decides to take the dangerous detour through the Dwarven Mines of Moria. Only Gimli is eager to see his ancient homeland. Boromir dissents, believing the Mines to be a trap, and proposes taking the southern route. Gandalf retorts, “You speak of what you do not know” (288); he explains that Saruman’s spies have spread over the southern realm and that he would not lead the group to the Mines unwittingly. They plan to vote on the decision, but an attack by wolves forces them to enter Moria, the ancient homeland from where the Dwarves are exiled. As they climb through the cliffs, Gandalf tells Sam that Bill the pony must remain behind once they enter the Mines, and Sam bursts into tears, having bonded with the loyal creature since Bree.

Gandalf discovers the Gates of Moria but is unable to open the hidden doors. The inscription “Speak, friend, and enter” (297) is engraved in Elven letters, a monument to when Dwarves and Elves were friends, yet Gandalf cannot recall what words will open the doors. Gimli and Legolas exchange blame on why their peoples are no longer allies. Boromir loses his patience and berates Gandalf for dragging them to the spot and throws a stone in a nearby lake. Gandalf realizes the password is “Mellon,” the Elvish word for friend, but just as the doors open, a monstrous tentacle shoots out from the lake and grasps Frodo. Sam slashes at the creature and rescues Frodo, and the party rushes through the gateway.

Groping in the darkness with only the light of Gandalf’s staff to guide them, the group makes their way through the passages of the vast underground city. Frodo perceives that the wound from the Ringwraith has heightened his senses, and he hears echoing footsteps in the dark, which are later understood to be Gollum’s. As the group rests in a chamber, Pippin drops a stone down a well out of curiosity. When the rock lands in the water, the sound of a hammer knocking lightly, like signals, echoes from the depths; Pippin’s stone may have inadvertently announced the fellowship’s presence to anyone else in the mines, and Gandalf scolds him. Gimli chants the song of Durin, the oldest ancestor of Dwarves, and Sam is enthralled. Gandalf explains that mithril is found only in Moria, and in their greed to mine the metal, the Dwarves awoke a destructive creature in the abyss who destroyed their kingdom, a demon known as Durin’s Bane. The party happens upon another room, the Chamber of Mazarbul, and discovers the Tomb of Balin, the Dwarves’ kinsman who has been missing for 30 years.