Chapter 46: Beneath the Capital Part 1
The scent of wet earth and masonry clung to the morning air as Prince Lancelot descended the final rungs of the reinforced iron ladder. Behind him, the pale glow of a newly installed electric lantern cast long shadows down the tunnel wall, illuminating the glistening concrete arches of Madrid’s newest arteries.
The tunnel was vast—nearly twelve feet high and wide enough for three men to walk abreast. The floor had been carefully graded to a slight angle, designed to allow runoff to flow naturally toward the pumping stations at the riverbanks. Above, hundreds of lanterns lined the corridor at fixed intervals, their light barely enough to chase away the gloom, but a sign of progress nonetheless.
Waiting below was Engineer-Captain Tomas Garza, clipboard in hand, boots covered in grime, and spectacles fogged at the edges from the moist air.
"Your Highness," he said, bowing slightly before offering a gloved hand to steady Lancelot’s landing. "You’re early."
Lancelot brushed the dust from his sleeves and adjusted his coat collar. "Habit, I’m afraid. When war trains leave late, people die. I assume delays here only mean filth and disease."
Garza chuckled. "Less dramatic, but no less true."
Lancelot looked around, his eyes sweeping across the crew: dozens of men and women, some hammering reinforcements into support beams, others rolling iron carts filled with cement and bricks. Further down the tunnel, a small team was fitting iron grates and pouring lime into the drainage troughs. The echo of picks, shovels, and shouted orders reverberated down the subterranean chamber.
"These walls," Lancelot said, resting a palm against the smooth concrete, "they’ll carry more than runoff. They’ll carry the memory of cholera, of famine. They’ll carry every death we failed to prevent."
Garza’s expression sobered. "You remember the numbers from 1786?"
"I don’t forget the dead," Lancelot replied. "Ten thousand lost to disease in a single summer. And most of it could’ve been prevented with proper sanitation."
The engineer nodded. "Which is why we’re here."