The first trap waited where the public mine map showed a collapsed branch.
Dirk found fresh scratches across the rubble and stopped the group before anyone touched it. A wire ran beneath the dust to a support brace holding loose stone above the main passage. Helmar's people had reopened the branch, rigged the original collapse, and concealed the work behind debris.
The ward specialists disabled the trigger while Rod watched the darkness ahead.
"He knows we recovered the maps." Dirk said.
"Then he knows which routes we are likely to trust." Rod replied.
They abandoned the marked passage and used the reopened branch instead. It descended steeply through unfinished stone before reconnecting with the main mine beyond the trap. The detour cost time, but setting off Helmar's collapse would have cost people and sealed the route behind them.
The known mine ended at Lower Work Area Three.
