A Journey in the Dark

"Before him stood a wide dark arch opening into three passages: all led in the same general direction, eastwards; but the left-hand passage plunged down, while the right-hand climbed up, and the middle way seemed to run on, smooth and level but very narrow.
"I have no memory of this place at all!" said Gandalf, standing uncertainly under the arch. He held up his staff in the hope of finding some marks or inscription that might help his choice; but nothing of the kind was to be seen. "I am too weary to decide," he said, shaking his head. "And I expect that you are all as weary as I am, or wearier. We had better halt here for what is left of the night. You know what I mean! In here it is ever dark; but outside the late Moon is riding westward and the middle-night has passed."
—A Journey in the Dark, Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship were driven into the mines of Moria by the Watcher in the Water. Khazad-dûm was once a kingdom of the Dwarves that had long been abandoned due to the swarms of Orcs and an ancient evil that had occupied the Dwarven mansion. The journey to the East gate was perilous, as the mine was akin to a labyrinth and its halls were not entirely deserted.

A Journey in the Dark is the seventh mission in the Lord of the Rings Campaign, the player controls the Fellowship throughout the majority of the mission, as well as Balin and Óin in an optional vignette. If any of the player's heroes die, the mission is failed.

## Guide

This mission is easily the least linear out of those in the Lord of the Rings Campaign. The halls of Moria are sprawling and it is very easy to become lost: the shroud on the mini-map does not remain cleared unless the Fellowship reaches the library and only Gandalf and Gimli are able to clear the fog of war so that the player sees where their heroes are going. This guide will consist of the map layout for the mission, with XP chests indicated in blue and the various points of interest highlighted in red.

**New Objective - Reach the Great Hall**

**New Objective - All Heroes must survive**

**Bonus Objective - Find five Dwarven treasures**

**Bonus Objective - Find Balin's axe**

**Bonus Objective - Reach the Great Hall within 10 minutes**

**Bonus Objective - Destroy the drums in the deep**

### Point of Interest 1

Balin's Axe can be accessed following an ambush by Moria Orcs which destroys the wall of one of Moria's many hallways, the Fellowship must fight their way through this newly opened passage to locate Balin's Axe. The Axe is equipped by Gimli, who deals additional damage for the rest of the campaign.

### Point of Interest 2

The Fellowship can discover the drums in the deep, which the Moria Orcs use to summon more hordes during attacks; the Fellowship can destroy these drums to cut off communications. The drums are heavily protected by both Moria Orcs and Giant Bats, the latter of which are particularly dangerous as they can inflict significant damage against the player's Hobbits. It is advised to use the Hobbits' Hide Here, Quick! ability whilst Aragorn and Legolas shoot the bats down. The drums can then be destroyed to complete the bonus objective.

### Point of Interest 3

The Fellowship reach the library, which they find infested with Moria Orcs. Once the lower level of the library is cleared, it is possible to discover the account of Balin and his ill-fated expedition to Moria several years ago. This triggers a vignette in which the player takes control of Balin, who is fighting in the library alongside Khazad-dûm Veterans against hordes of Gundabad Orcs.

**New Objective - Reach the Second Hall**

After dispatching the Orcs in the lower library, Balin and the Veterans advance upstairs to reinforce the Dwarven forces being attacked by Orcs via the east passage of the library. Óin arrives with further reinforcements which allows Balin to clear the library of Orcs completely. Both Balin and Óin must survive through the entire vignette, otherwise the mission is failed; **Óin's Ointments** is incredibly useful at rescuing these heroes when they are at low health. The Dwarves must fight their way to the Second Hall, they are attacked by Orcs at various points along the way and several passages are blocked by Vault Wardens who are keeping more Orcs at bay. Reinforcements can also be encountered along the way, including a battalion of Wyrm Slayers which are highly valuable.

**New Objective - Survive the goblin attacks**

Upon reaching the Second Hall, Balin and Óin must hold off waves of Gundabad Orc attackers; spells such as Rallying Horn and Hide! can give the Dwarven units the edge over the Orcs, especially over Bolg's Bodyguard in later waves. The Erebor Archers in this vignette are upgraded with Mithril-tipped arrows and so should be used to focus these stronger units before they can inflict too much damage.

Completion of this vignette enables the shroud to be permanently cleared from the minimap as the Fellowship progresses through Moria, as they have discovered the maps stored within the library.

### Point of Interest 4

It is possible for the Fellowship to become separated by falling debris; the player gains control of Gimli and either Boromir or Aragorn and must reunite with the rest of the Fellowship.

**New Objective - Reunite with the Fellowship**

As the heroes progress, they will be ambushed by hordes of Moria Orcs and Mountain Giants; the player must be aggressive as they are attacked in an area filled with poisonous fumes which will deplete the two heroes' health. It is recommended to focus the Mountain Giants first with abilities, such as Gimli's **Axe Throw** and Boromir's **Knife Throw**, before dealing with the Moria Orcs. **Nobody Tosses a Dwarf** allows the heroes to dispatch large numbers of Orcs quickly. The subsequent journey will lead the heroes back to the mission spawn, from which they can retrace their steps to reunite with the remaining members of the Fellowship, who are holding off another Moria Orc attack.

### Point of Interest 5

The Fellowship can retrace the steps of Balin, if they completed the vignette in the library, to ultimately discover three doorways. The player must decide which path to take: one path leads to the Great Hall whilst the other two lead the Fellowship either to the Watcher in the Water or an enormous swarm of Moria Orcs led by Muzgash. The left doorway is the correct path, whilst the middle path leads to the Watcher and the right path leads to Muzgash; it is possible to follow both incorrect paths before choosing the correct one - this may actually be beneficial as it allows more members of the Fellowship to level up.

Once the Fellowship reaches the Great Hall the mission is complete.

## Trivia

* Journey in the Dark and The Bridge of Khazad-dûm used to be a single, extremely long mission before we split it up into the 2 missions we have today. We found that the length of the single mission was too punishing (even for us), and that any unforeseen crashes would greatly frustrate players that had forgotten to save.