LOTR: Why Didn’t Gimli Know Moria Had Fallen?

According to the lore of The Lord of the Rings, the Battle of Azanulbizar marked the end of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs in the Third Age. Even though the Dwarves emerged victorious, they could not return to their ancient home of Khazad-dûm, which had been lost 6 centuries beforehand. Dáin II Ironfoot cautioned them about the Balrog, Durin’s Bane, which still resided deep down in the Misty Mountains: “The world must change and some other power than ours must come before Durin’s Folk walk again in Moria.”