Before Clyde realized what was happening, he fell over in his sleep. A second later, he sprang up, ready to continue. All this time, Clyde had still not gotten use to that effect. Technically, one could argue that his mind was constantly awake.
The mushroom forest was vast and could take up to a week's worth of travel. The green pollen was beginning to stick to Clyde's armor, thanks to the Draven's snot covering it. It was also thicker than usual, causing him to inhale much of it.
All around him, Clyde heard familiar noises he would hear in the human realm. Chirps, crunching, and… a ribbit?
'A frog?'
Turning around, an eyeball the size of Clyde's head was staring at him. Taking a step back, there was a massive toad with a mushroom cap on its head.
In the next second, its tongue began to stretch out and grab Clyde. Before it wrapped around him, he slowed down his perception. The tongue was too fast, and there would be no chance to escape at this distance.
As the tongue constrained Clyde, he tried to bury his fingers into it. However, the tongue was too slimy, and his hand brushed off it. In a final attempt, Clyde emitted a strong pulse, singing the tongue.
Even then, the tongue finished its job and brought Clyde into the toad's mouth. He struggled immensely, but everything was so slimy. If he was back in the human realm, Clyde could have used lightning from the sky. The only option left was to harness his body as a conduit.
An arc formed between all of his limbs, connecting to the toad. Clyde decided it would be best to continue releasing the energy. After a few seconds, the toad's mouth opened, and it spat Clyde out.
Rolling over, Clyde felt disgusted. His entire body now had that toad's saliva on it.
'This was supposed to be the relaxing part!'
Getting up, he noticed that the toad was staring at him blankly. Clyde was backing away, but the toad started to follow him. Every time he looked back, it stopped in its tracks.
Clyde had an idea. He started to circle the toad; the beast followed his every move. Disregarding all caution, he moved closer. Now they were barely apart from one another. Placing a hand on the toad, it closed its eyes and let out a humming noise.
'I see, that's how it is.'
Clyde jumped on top of the toad, and it showed no signs of disobedience. The toad was submitting after being defeated. Softly touching its head, the toad leapt, creating great distance.
'Forget a week's worth of travel; I can get there faster!'
Clyde covered his mouth for a moment, thinking deeply.
"Your name shall be Jericho."
Jericho didn't react to that information; its thoughts were probably filled with tasty bat flies.
Now that Clyde had miraculously secured a form of travel, the mushroom forest became a breeze. This was also good news because he wouldn't need to waste essence running. It also became apparent that the toad was a dominant existence. Many beasts fled at the sight of it, though a few didn't react either way. Those were likely not its typical meal. Of course, Jericho had already snatched several smaller insects on the journey.
Jericho could be considered flying; every leap Clyde could see over the giant mushrooms.
***
Three 'days' passed until Clyde made it to the lake of fire. Something was seriously wrong, though. For a lake of fire, the only thing here was an open, dried hole.
'How is this possible?'
There were two choices on Clyde's mind. One, travel across the lake. Or two, continue with the original plan and travel around it.
'Do tides exist in Hell?'
It also seemed that Jericho was reluctant to travel across the open lake, reinforcing Clyde's reluctance. The moment Clyde jumped off of the toad, it ran!
"Jericho! Come on!"
Left alone, the empty lake beckoned Clyde. The lure was unimaginable and irresistible. Whispers came into his mind, warping his principles of caution.
'It would be faster anyway.'
As his foot hit the ground, it sank into the ground slightly. Steam came from around the traces of his boot. Further and further, a trail of his steps in his wake.
In front of Clyde, a hill began to form with an opening. The sight did not confuse him whatsoever, as he blankly stared into it. For some reason, his senses were screaming from within that he was in danger. The feeling soon suppressed itself.
Darkness swallowed him in the newly formed cave.
'What the… where am I?'
Clyde felt as if he was inside of an oven. The temperature rose dramatically from what it was a second ago.
Everywhere he turned was dark, with no sign of a wall, floor, or ceiling. In the distance, a single dim light could be seen. Since it was the only thing in sight, Clyde naturally went toward it. The path was endless, and progress was slow.
Things only got weirder from there. The feeling of solid ground beneath Clyde was gone. He felt as if he was falling in a bottomless pit, the light nowhere to be seen. Next, Clyde became short of breath, causing him to hyperventilate.
'Wait a minute.'
His mind started to clear as a figure appeared before him. It was Bell.
"Get up! You have to get up!"
'Am I hallucinating?'
Clyde's vision swirled along with the bleak world he was a part of. He felt sick and exhausted. Deep within his stomach, he knew what was about to happen. As vomit exited his body, his surroundings were clear. He was still in the mushroom forest.
The green pollen had dissipated.
'No… are you serious? How long was I gone? Was any of that real?'
Feeling grim about his progress, Clyde felt something wiggle in his hands. When he opened it, a small brown toad jumped away. Rolling his eyes, Clyde felt the exhaustion of sleep and fell over. Getting back up, he realized from his memories, during the three days of travel he didn't sleep. By that logic, he was only out of commission for a day.
'I would say this place can go to hell…'
He didn't know how deep he was into the forest, but he could see the Reverse Falls landmark. The only thing Clyde could do now was make up for lost time.