Gandalf winter, they crossed "under" the mountains through the Mines of Moria, though only Gimli the Dwarf was enthusiastic about that route. In Moria, they discovered that the Dwarf colony established there earlier had been overrun by orcs. The Fellowship fought with the orcs and trolls of Moria and escaped them. At the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, they encountered "Durin's Bane", a fearsome Balrog from ancient times. Gandalf faced the Balrog to enable the others to escape. After a brief exchange of blows, Gandalf broke the bridge beneath the Balrog with his staff. As the Balrog fell, it wrapped its whip around
The Lord of the Rings inspired, and continues to inspire, artwork, music, films and television, video games, board games, and subsequent literature. Award-winning adaptations of "The Lord of the Rings" have been made for radio, theatre, and film. In 2003, it was named Britain's best novel of all time in the BBC's The Big Read. Thousands of years before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord Sauron had forged the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power and corrupt those who wore them: the nine leaders of Men, the three of Elves and the seven of Dwarves. Sauron was defeated by an