They said plants unseen anywhere on the surface grew in these mines - among others, the one needed for Saskia's cure.

The area around Vergen was supposedly riddled with mining shafts and corridors. Some had had not been used for long, others had been closed more recently. I'm hardly an expert on mining, and dwarves can be extremely secretive and tight-lipped about the subject. The few allusions they made, however, painted a picture of caves, tunnels and excavations drowned in darkness. At one time these mines had accounted for Vergen's significance, but now they were abandoned and haunted by dangerous creatures. Needless to say, this description did not encourage yours truly to examine them closer.