Guys, been rereading the books for the umpteenth time, but the first time since watching the movies.
As Gandalf leads the fellowship out of the Chamber of Mazarbul, he stays behind to hold the door shut.
A great contest of wills takes place between Gandalf and (?), in which Gandalf states he was almost destroyed!
Eventually the door/walls/ceiling cant take the strain and Gandalf believes whatever it was he was engaged in the contest of wills with would have been buried in the chamber...
So who or what was it? It must have been VERY powerful to have almost destroyed Gandalf!?
Yet not the Balrog - as this appears later...

So what was it? A Goblin Shaman? an Uruk shaman? (earlier it describes the party seeing large Black Uruks in Moria) Perhaps some Black Numenorean sorceror like the Mouth of Sauron? Or something else, one of the Nameless things from below...?

Any thoughts???

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www.scottswargaming.blogspot.com

According to The Thain's Book:



It could also have been one of the Nameless Things, as you say, but it's more likely to have been the Balrog, as the Thain's Book said. It never says that the Balrog was actually buried, and Gandalf knew what the Balrog was even before it came in to sight, suggesting that it was the Balrog he had duelled with earlier, and had been hoping that it was forced to stay on the other side of Mazarbul.

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"Mustard the Rohirrim! We've got to ketchup with those Uruk-fries before they capture the Hornburger!"

It's definately the balrog, because if I'm not wrong, I remember the book telling of them being chased down the stairs by the thing.

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"Mickey, my friend!"