The Lord of the Rings (55 page)

His watch was nearly over, when, far off where he guessed that the western archway stood, he fancied that he could see two pale points of light, almost like luminous eyes. He started. His head had nodded. ‘I must have nearly fallen asleep on guard,’ he thought. ‘I was on the edge of a dream.’ He stood up and rubbed his eyes, and remained standing, peering into the dark, until he was relieved by Legolas.

When he lay down he quickly went to sleep, but it seemed to him that the dream went on: he heard whispers, and saw the two pale points of light approaching, slowly. He woke and found that the others were speaking softly near him, and that a dim light was falling on his face. High up above the eastern archway through a shaft near the roof came a long pale gleam; and across the hall through the northern arch light also glimmered faint and distantly.

Frodo sat up. ‘Good morning!’ said Gandalf: ‘For morning it is again at last. I was right, you see. We are high up on the east side of Moria. Before today is over we ought to find the Great Gates and see the waters of Mirrormere lying in the Dimrill Dale before us.’

‘I shall be glad,’ said Gimli. ‘I have looked on Moria, and it is very great, but it has become dark and dreadful; and we have found no sign of my kindred. I doubt now that Balin ever came here.’

After they had breakfasted Gandalf decided to go on again at once. ‘We are tired, but we shall rest better when we are outside,’ he said. ‘I think that none of us will wish to spend another night in Moria.’

‘No indeed!’ said Boromir. ‘Which way shall we take? Yonder eastward arch?’

‘Maybe,’ said Gandalf. ‘But I do not know yet exactly where we are. Unless I am quite astray, I guess that we are above and to the north of the Great Gates; and it may not be easy to find the right road down to them. The eastern arch will probably prove to be the way that we must take; but before we make up our minds we ought to look about us. Let us go towards that light in the north door. If we could find a window it would help, but I fear that the light comes only down deep shafts.’

Following his lead the Company passed under the northern arch. They found themselves in a wide corridor. As they went along it the glimmer grew stronger, and they saw that it came through a doorway on their right. It was high and flat-topped, and the stone door was still upon its hinges, standing half open. Beyond it was a large square chamber. It was dimly lit, but to their eyes, after so long a time in the dark, it seemed dazzlingly bright, and they blinked as they entered.

Their feet disturbed a deep dust upon the floor, and stumbled among things lying in the doorway whose shapes they could not at first make out. The chamber was lit by a wide shaft high in the further eastern wall; it slanted upwards and, far above, a small square patch of blue sky could be seen. The light of the shaft fell directly on a table in the middle of the room: a single oblong block, about two feet high, upon which was laid a great slab of white stone.

‘It looks like a tomb,’ muttered Frodo, and bent forwards with a curious sense of foreboding, to look more closely at it. Gandalf came quickly to his side. On the slab runes were deeply graven:

‘These are Daeron’s Runes, such as were used of old in Moria,’ said Gandalf. ‘Here is written in the tongues of Men and Dwarves:

Balin Son of Fundin
Lord of Moria.’

‘He is dead then,’ said Frodo. ‘I feared it was so.’ Gimli cast his hood over his face.

Chapter 5
The Bridge of Khazad-dűm

The Company of the Ring stood silent beside the tomb of Balin. Frodo thought of Bilbo and his long friendship with the dwarf, and of Balin’s visit to the Shire long ago. In that dusty chamber in the mountains it seemed a thousand years ago and on the other side of the world.

At length they stirred and looked up, and began to search for anything that would give them tidings of Balin’s fate, or show what had become of his folk. There was another smaller door on the other side of the chamber, under the shaft. By both the doors they could now see that many bones were lying, and among them were broken swords and axe-heads, and cloven shields and helms. Some of the swords were crooked: orc-scimitars with blackened blades.

There were many recesses cut in the rock of the walls, and in them were large iron-bound chests of wood. All had been broken and plundered; but beside the shattered lid of one there lay the remains of a book. It had been slashed and stabbed and partly burned, and it was so stained with black and other dark marks like old blood that little of it could be read. Gandalf lifted it carefully, but the leaves crackled and broke as he laid it on the slab. He pored over it for some time without speaking. Frodo and Gimli standing at his side could see, as he gingerly turned the leaves, that they were written by many different hands, in runes, both of Moria and of Dale, and here and there in Elvish script.

At last Gandalf looked up. ‘It seems to be a record of the fortunes of Balin’s folk,’ he said. ‘I guess that it began with their coming to Dimrill Dale nigh on thirty years ago: the pages seem to have numbers referring to the years after their arrival. The top page is marked
one—three
, so at least two are missing from the beginning. Listen to this!

‘
We drove out orcs from the great gate and guard
—I think; the next word is blurred and burned; probably
room
—
we slew many in the bright
—I think—
sun in the dale. Flói was killed by an arrow. He slew the great
. Then there is a blur followed by
Flói under grass near Mirror mere
. The next line or two I cannot read. Then comes
We have taken the twentyfirst hall of North end to dwell in. There is
I cannot read what. A
shaft
is mentioned. Then
Balin has set up his seat in the Chamber of Mazarbul
.’

‘The Chamber of Records,’ said Gimli. ‘I guess that is where we now stand.’

‘Well, I can read no more for a long way,’ said Gandalf, ‘except the word
gold
, and
Durin’s Axe
and something
helm
. Then
Balin is now lord of Moria
. That seems to end a chapter. After some stars another hand begins, and I can see
we found truesilver
, and later the word
wellforged
and then something, I have it!
mithril
; and the last two lines
Óin to seek for the upper armouries of Third Deep
, something
go westwards
, a blur,
to Hollin gate
.’

Gandalf paused and set a few leaves aside. ‘There are several pages of the same sort, rather hastily written and much damaged, he said; ‘but I can make little of them in this light. Now there must be a number of leaves missing, because they begin to be numbered
five
, the fifth year of the colony, I suppose. Let me see! No, they are too cut and stained; I cannot read them. We might do better in the sunlight. Wait! Here is something: a large bold hand using an Elvish script.’

‘That would be Ori’s hand,’ said Gimli, looking over the wizard’s arm. ‘He could write well and speedily, and often used the Elvish characters.’

‘I fear he had ill tidings to record in a fair hand,’ said Gandalf. ‘The first clear word is
sorrow
, but the rest of the line is lost, unless it ends in
estre
. Yes, it must be
yestre
followed by
day being the tenth of novembre Balin lord of Moria fell in Dimrill Dale. He went alone to look in Mirror mere, an orc shot him from behind a stone, we slew the orc, but many more ... up from east up the Silverlode
. The remainder of the page is so blurred that I can hardly make anything out, but I think I can read
we have barred the gates
, and then
can hold them long if
, and then perhaps
horrible
and
suffer
. Poor Balin! He seems to have kept the title that he took for less than five years. I wonder what happened afterwards; but there is no time to puzzle out the last few pages. Here is the last page of all.’ He paused and sighed.

‘It is grim reading,’ he said. ‘I fear their end was cruel. Listen!
We cannot get out. We cannot get out. They have taken the Bridge and second hall. Frár and Lóni and Náli fell there
. Then there are four lines smeared so that I can only
read went 5 days ago
. The last lines
run the pool is up to the wall at Westgate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin. We cannot get out. The end comes
, and then
drums, drums in the deep
. I wonder what that means. The last thing written is in a trailing scrawl of elf-letters:
they are coming
. There is nothing more.’ Gandalf paused and stood in silent thought.

A sudden dread and a horror of the chamber fell on the Company. ‘
We cannot get out
,’ muttered Gimli. ‘It was well for us that the pool had sunk a little, and that the Watcher was sleeping down at the southern end.’

Gandalf raised his head and looked round. ‘They seem to have made a last stand by both doors,’ he said; ‘but there were not many left by that time. So ended the attempt to retake Moria! It was valiant but foolish. The time is not come yet. Now, I fear, we must say farewell to Balin son of Fundin. Here he must lie in the halls of his fathers. We will take this book, the Book of Mazarbul, and look at it more closely later. You had better keep it, Gimli, and take it back to Dáin, if you get a chance. It will interest him, though it will grieve him deeply. Come, let us go! The morning is passing.’

‘Which way shall we go?’ asked Boromir.

‘Back to the hall,’ answered Gandalf. ‘But our visit to this room has not been in vain. I now know where we are. This must be, as Gimli says, the Chamber of Mazarbul; and the hall must be the twenty-first of the North-end. Therefore we should leave by the eastern arch of the hall, and bear right and south, and go downwards. The Twenty-first Hall should be on the Seventh Level, that is six above the level of the Gates. Come now! Back to the hall! ’

Gandalf had hardly spoken these words, when there came a great noise: a rolling
Boom
that seemed to come from depths far below, and to tremble in the stone at their feet. They sprang towards the door in alarm.
Doom, doom
it rolled again, as if huge hands were turning the very caverns of Moria into a vast drum. Then there came an echoing blast: a great horn was blown in the hall, and answering horns and harsh cries were heard further off. There was a hurrying sound of many feet.

‘They are coming! ’ cried Legolas.

‘We cannot get out,’ said Gimli.

‘Trapped! ’ cried Gandalf. ‘Why did I delay? Here we are, caught, just as they were before. But I was not here then. We will see what—’

Doom, doom
came the drum-beat and the walls shook.

‘Slam the doors and wedge them! ’ shouted Aragorn. ‘And keep your packs on as long as you can: we may get a chance to cut our way out yet.’

‘No! ’ said Gandalf. ‘We must not get shut in. Keep the east door ajar! We will go that way, if we get a chance.’

Another harsh horn-call and shrill cries rang out. Feet were coming down the corridor. There was a ring and clatter as the Company drew their swords. Glamdring shone with a pale light, and Sting glinted at the edges. Boromir set his shoulder against the western door.

‘Wait a moment! Do not close it yet! ’ said Gandalf. He sprang forward to Boromir’s side and drew himself up to his full height.

‘Who comes hither to disturb the rest of Balin Lord of Moria?’ he cried in a loud voice.

There was a rush of hoarse laughter, like the fall of sliding stones into a pit; amid the clamour a deep voice was raised in command. Doom, boom, doom went the drums in the deep.

With a quick movement Gandalf stepped before the narrow opening of the door and thrust forward his staff: There was a dazzling flash that lit the chamber and the passage outside. For an instant the wizard looked out. Arrows whined and whistled down the corridor as he sprang back.

‘There are Orcs, very many of them,’ he said. ‘And some are large and evil: black Uruks of Mordor. For the moment they are hanging back, but there is something else there. A great cave-troll, I think, or more than one. There is no hope of escape that way.’

‘And no hope at all, if they come at the other door as well,’ said Boromir.

‘There is no sound outside here yet,’ said Aragorn, who was standing by the eastern door listening. ‘The passage on this side plunges straight down a stair: it plainly does not lead back towards the hall. But it is no good flying blindly this way with the pursuit just behind. We cannot block the door. Its key is gone and the lock is broken, and it opens inwards. We must do something to delay the enemy first. We will make them fear the Chamber of Mazarbul!’ he said grimly feeling the edge of his sword, Andúril.

Heavy feet were heard in the corridor. Boromir flung himself against the door and heaved it to; then he wedged it with broken sword-blades and splinters of wood. The Company retreated to the other side of the chamber. But they had no chance to fly yet. There was a blow on the door that made it quiver; and then it began to grind slowly open, driving back the wedges. A huge arm and shoulder, with a dark skin of greenish scales, was thrust through the widening gap. Then a great, flat, toeless foot was forced through below. There was a dead silence outside.