The trees became thinner.
The wind became sharper.
Elias raised his hand.
Anna stopped immediately.
"What is it?"
He pointed toward the ground.
At first, Anna saw nothing.
Then she noticed.
Tracks.
Boot prints.
Fresh ones.
Her expression changed.
"Someone has been here."
Elias dismounted.
He crouched beside the tracks.
"Recently."
"Mercer?"
"Maybe."
He studied the prints.
"Three men."
Anna looked around nervously.
"Should we leave?"
Elias looked toward the dark entrance hidden between the rocks.
"No."
She looked surprised.
"You're sure?"
Elias stood.
"For twenty years, I wondered if someone else would find this place."
He looked at the mine entrance.
"Now that someone has, we need to know why."
The abandoned mine looked exactly as Elias remembered.
A wooden support structure leaned against the mountain.
Old beams were cracked from years of snow and wind.
The entrance was partially blocked by fallen rocks.
Most people would have assumed it was nothing more than another forgotten mining attempt.
But Elias knew better.
He stepped inside carefully.
Anna followed.
The air changed immediately.
The outside cold disappeared.
The tunnel smelled of damp stone and old wood.
Their lanterns created small circles of light against the darkness.
"How long were you here the first time?" Anna asked.
"Two days."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
She looked at him.
"You came into a mine alone?"
"I was younger."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Elias almost smiled.
"You ask too many questions."
"And you answer too few."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Elias quietly said:
"You're right."
Anna looked at him.
It was a small thing.
But Elias Whittaker admitting someone was right was rare.
She smiled.
They moved deeper into the mountain.
The tunnel became narrower.
Elias searched every wall carefully.
Then he stopped.
Anna nearly walked into him.
"What is it?"
He raised the lantern.
A section of rock looked different.
"Here."
Together, they cleared away loose stones.
Behind them was a hidden chamber.
Anna stared.
"You sealed this?"
"No."
"Then someone else did."
Elias felt a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.
Someone had been here after him.
Someone had searched.
They entered the chamber.
The walls inside were covered with old mining marks.
But Anna noticed something else.
A wooden floorboard near the corner.
It looked newer.
"That wasn't there before," Elias said.
Anna knelt.
She touched the edge.
"Someone hid something."
She carefully lifted the board.
Beneath it was a small metal box.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Anna reached down.
Her hands trembled as she pulled it free.
"My father."
Elias looked at her.
"You think?"
She nodded.