A Journey in the Dark

"West Gate of Moria" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring
A Journey in the Dark
Information
Number	16
Synopsis
Event	The Company enters Moria; they discover that Balin is dead.
Date	13-14 January 3019
Location	The Mines of Moria
Perspective	Frodo, Samwise, and Pippin
Navigation
Preceded by	The Ring Goes South
Followed by	The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

”

There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.

Gandalf

A Journey in the Dark is the fourth chapter of the second book in The Fellowship of the Ring. The main characters are the Company that comprised the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Boromir.

Central to the chapter is the decision of the Company to enter the Mines of Moria, which reveals the fate of Balin's failed colony.

Overview

The chapter begins immediately following the end of the previous chapter.

Gandalf explained to the Company that, after their defeat by Caradhras, the only way to get to the other side of the mountains was to go under them. This path led through the Mines of Moria, in which a group of Dwarves led by Balin had disappeared years ago. Boromir argued that such a path would be as dangerous as approaching the gates of Barad-dûr. Gandalf reproached Boromir: "You speak of what you do not know..." He recalled that he was the only one of the Company to have been imprisoned by Sauron and expressed his hope to successfully lead the company through Moria.

The Company heard the calls of Wargs on the air, and so with the coming of evening they camped atop a small hill among trees and boulders. After an initial skirmish with the beasts, they were attacked later in the night by many Wargs. During their defence, Gandalf repelled the Wargs with fire using his magic, while Legolas killed a Warg-chieftain with his arrow. The next morning, the Company started to move toward Moria.

When they reached the gates of Moria, the gate-stream had been dammed and the entrance was flooded. Gandalf let the pony free and sent it back to Rivendell, knowing that the pony could not pass through Moria. Finding the runes on the gate, the Company pondered a riddle: "Speak 'friend', and enter." Merry alone of the Company began to understand the riddle, and he helped Gandalf find the answer. The password was mellon, the Sindarin word for "friend". Gandalf spoke the word, and the gates of Moria opened to them. Before they could enter, they were attacked by a tentacled water creature, the Watcher in the Water, that particularly targeted Frodo. To escape, they all rushed into the Mines, but the Watcher destroyed the entrance behind them. They had no choice then but to go forward through the Mines.

Fissures and chasms made their path treacherous. Sam was reminded that he should have carried rope with him. At one point, they entered a stone doorway and found a deep well inside it. Much to Gandalf's chagrin, Pippin threw a stone into it out of impulse, and they began to hear from it a tapping, as if someone was using a hammer. They walked on for as long as they could, coming to many paths and crossroads, resting little and eating less.

After some distance the Company, settled for the night in a large cavern. Gandalf explained that the Mines of Moria were famous for mithril, and it was in search of this material that Balin and his Dwarves had come to Moria. Gandalf told them that Bilbo had a coat of mail made of mithril, and Frodo marvelled when he realised that Bilbo had gifted him with a suit of armour with a value worth the whole of the Shire.

When they continued on their journey the next day, they came upon a tomb. Gandalf read the inscription, revealing that the tomb belonged to Balin son of Fundin. Frodo was sorry when he realised that Bilbo's good friend and companion was dead.

Composition

Tolkien probably composed the chapter (then called "The Mines of Moria") in 1939, and when the Fellowship found the tomb, Tolkien stopped writing for a long time. He probably resumed around August 1940. In The Lord of the Rings Foreword (written more than 20 years later) Tolkien mistakenly recollects this hiatus a year later.

In his revision around 1941, Tolkien rewrote the first part of the chapter, stopping after the finding of Balin's tomb. He moved then to the next chapter in which the Fellowship exits Moria.