Take the path away from the lake

Note 11/12/22: this branch is now at version "1.0", which means I may make edits or add new game overs but as of right now it is fully-playable up to the end of this particular portal with no orphaned choices. Huzzah!

Having recovered from your trial you decide to move on, hiking down the trail.

As the path continues the canopy grows thicker, the woods darker. The ground beneath your feet turns from soft dirt to mud to some kind of mix between the two. Travel becomes more and more difficult and you can only pray that you're still on the path.

Eventually the push of trees opens up into some kind of clearing. It's overgrown but still more traversable than the land beyond the tree borders.

You can see three paths branching away from the clearing going left, right, and straight ahead respectively. You look but unfortunately you can't see where any of the paths lead.