Challenge #01656-D195: Amazing How it Works

[Name]'s job description is less Indiana Jones and more "disarming multi-millennia old nuclear weapons without an instruction manual". - of an action archaeologist in a fantasy realm -- RecklessPrudence

Elbi was classed as a Rogue. Technically. It was her job to detect and disarm millenia-old deathtraps so that the rest of her team could safely document and investigate archaeological curiosities. And what never ceased to amaze was the fact that, despite eons of neglect, every single one of these traps was in perfect working order.

Without a preservation spell. Without any kind of maintenance. Without lubrication. And without anyone to check if the springs still sprang.

Metallurgists and ivaologists[1] were frantic to discover the secrets of these traps, and descended the second that Elbi breathed a sigh of relief. Taking the trap into careful pieces to study with every trick they knew. One day, they promised, they would rediscover the secret of steel that didn't rust, and rope that didn't decay for tens of thousands of years.

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