But Lucy was gone. During Mossman's frenzied dance she had slipped through a little door in the largest root. Mossman, assuming that he had scared the girl off, puffed up his chest in pride and continued his patrol, whistling to himself. Safe now inside the tree, Lucy took a few seconds to examine the cavernous space. It was lit by some kind of translucent green fungi, which grew up on the inside of the trunk for as far as she could see. A thin mist refracted the light into a wider palette of colours, playing lazily over every surface. Whispers of distant conversation, distorted animal calls and the faint sound of traffic echoed wetly in the damp. At the base of the tree was an inverted, cone-shaped hole. Lucy, her curiosity overcoming her fear, walked over to the hole and peered down into the dark. After a few feet, it appeared to flatten out into a narrow tunnel. Without hesitation, and with no other option, she jumped in.

At first, Lucy had to crawl, but soon the tunnel opened up enough for her to walk. It sloped gently downwards, curving in a lazy spiral. The sounds of the world above grew louder, as if they were being amplified in the smaller space. Water trickled beneath her feet. The walls rippled and breathed. After some time, a dim, grey light appeared. Lucy began to run towards it, her feet splashing in the stream. The walls dripped freely now, and the humidity was almost unbearable. A distant roar pounded in her head. Lucy rounded the last corner and felt her stomach drop. She was standing, in blinding sunlight, on the edge of an enormous cliff. The stream from the tunnel gushed out, falling hundreds of meters into a giant waterfall. She gasped. What a sight! Dozens of other openings dotted the cliffs around the waterfall, all with their own little streams. Squinting in the light, reeling from vertigo, Lucy looked out over the lush, green valley below her. Streams flowed into rivers, mighty torrents, rushing towards a strange, dark city; there they twisted together into a column of water that rose up into the sky. The city, even from this distance, seemed to hum with a malevolent energy. Despite her reservations, Lucy knew she had to press on. Perhaps someone in the city could help her. Clambering down as carefully as she could, Lucy began to make her way towards the city.

Waterfalls

Produced by Papperbok
Recorded by Papperbok, Marly Luske, and Zefereli
Additional editing by Jake Miller
Mixed by Brendan Cox
Mastered by William Bowden

Papperbok

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