Moria
Moria
[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.] Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.
[Full body shot of Gandalf.] Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.
[Close-up on Gandalf.] Gandalf: And too deep.
[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.] Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame? Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

This is Randall 's take on the story of Moria in the fantasy story The Lord of the Rings . In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a balrog — Maiar corrupted by Morgoth . Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read The Lord of the Rings , because he asks if the dwarves "awoke a terror of shadow  and flame", but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.
However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.
The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless Stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.
[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.] Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.
[Full body shot of Gandalf.] Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.
[Close-up on Gandalf.] Gandalf: And too deep.
[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.] Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame? Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.
