You're not paying him shit, this is probably some sort of set up.

"Yeah, I think I'm good on my own." You say.
"Grm. Suit yerself." Warts says and then without another word he disappears back into the forest. You thought for sure he'd at least try to lower his price if you declined his help, but you guess not.

In any case you still aren't sure of which way to go, so you gamble and just pick a path that looks the most promising. You figure you could always backtrack if feels like you're going the wrong way. (You hope)

You walk along your chosen path for a while, still keeping an eye out for any potential ambushes. In fact you don't even walk directly on the path, you mostly just stick close like you were following a river.

Speaking of which you eventually come across a real river with a bridge and everything. There even looks to be a sign post nearby, which makes you think that you are probably going in the right direction.

Unfortunately it also looks like a group of four bandits has boldly decided to set up a blockade of sorts here. They haven't seen you yet, so that's at least one good thing in your favor. Of course while you only see four bandits, who knows if there are more hiding nearby with bows or something. In fact you probably shouldn't linger here too long. You slink away and head upstream hoping you'll find another way. (And not get too lost in the process)

You don't have too much luck for the most part, but then you see one area where the water looks low enough to cross. You decide to make the attempt.

All goes well until it turns out the water wasn't as low as you thought and you're now knee deep in it. You're already a third way across however and you press on.

By the time the water is nearly up to your chest, the current begins to pull you and you're soon not walking across the river bottom anymore. You try to maintain control of the situation, but the current is swifter than you anticipated, not to mention you don't know how to swim.

You're fortunate in that you don't get pulled too far downstream or go completely underwater before you manage to grab hold of a rock which is close enough to the other side that you pull yourself to the other side of the river bank.

Your possessions are another story however. You've lost your coin bag, along with the pistol you just managed to acquire. About the only thing you have left is your dagger. You curse your luck along with the forest, the river and your situation in general. After releasing a torrent of swearing, you move on.

Eventually night falls and along with now being cold and wet, you're also starting to feel tired. You aren't even sure if you're heading in the right direction anymore since you got a bit discombobulated when you were struggling not to drown.

Still, you press on and that's when you think you see a slight respite in this mess.

You see a cabin, though probably an abandoned one as there is no light coming from it. You just hope there isn't anyone or anything lurking inside.

You cautiously approach the cabin and while you have a feeling of unease the entire time, when you explore around it, you don't find anything out of the ordinary. Of course it is dark, so maybe you're missing something, but so far it doesn't look like anyone is making camp here.

As soon as you try the door though all your senses start to scream danger and you draw your dagger and spin around. You are met with the sight of a man in a robe standing nearby. It's hard to see his face, but the light of the moon shows he's a lot older than you.

You lift your dagger up in a defensive stance, but the man isn't moving.

"Put that away son, it wouldn't do you any good again me or anything else out around here I'd wager. In fact you shouldn't even be around this cabin. Bad things happen here." The man says.
"Yeah? Well what're you doing out here then?" you ask.
"Good help is hard to find nowadays. What's your story, you look a little worse for wear."
"What's it to you?"
"Sheesh, just trying to make conversation. You don't look like one of the many bandits out here. You ain't green, so you aren't hobgoblin. Can't see any points in those ears, so not an elf either. Given your age though, what you do look like is a lost lamb in the woods. Is that what you are?"
"No and I'm doing just fine out here."
"Bullshit, kid. You look like a half drowned rat. What'd you do, fall in the river?" he says and starts to step forward.

"Get the fuck back old man! I'm no damn lamb in the woods, I've killed people!" you say thrusting your dagger in his direction a bit.
"Is that right? Hmm, perhaps you could be useful. You just a fighter? You got any other skills?"
"Yeah…I mean what the hell you wanna know for?"
"Because as I said, good help is hard to find and I got a lot of tasks that need doing. Now I know you're lost out here, but I'll tell ya what, I'll get you out of this forest and set you up with a place to stay and whatever else you might need if you help me in my tasks."
"No thanks, I already killed one old pervert in exchange for his so called help."
"Well that explains why you're so mistrustful. Look kid, I barely even think about that anymore and you don't have the right equipment anyway. I'm a wizard and I do a lot research and experiments. Unfortunately, the material that I sometimes need requires me to come outside which I'd rather not do. I used to have an apprentice of sorts to help out on that front, but well let's just say shit happens."
"A wizard that does experiments? And how do I know that I'm not going to be one of those experiments?"
"Because if I wanted you for that purpose, I would have already cast a spell to immobilize you and taken you back to my place already. I'm just looking for someone to help me do the grunt work I don't want to be bothered to do. I can also promise to pay you, if saving your life just isn't good enough."
"How much?"
"We can discuss that later, but I need to know if you want the job, because I'm not staying out here all night."
"Well where is your place? Holgard?"
"Pfft, not that cess pit. Though it isn't too far from there."
"How far is it?"
"Oh, don't worry about that, I can get us there real quick. So you in or not?"

You decline the offer

"No, I don't think so. If you're as powerful as you say you are, there's gotta be a catch if you want me to willingly agree to help you." You say.
"Hmm, you're more clever than you look, but perhaps a bit short sighted as potential opportunity. You can't gain something without risk, boy. Oh well, I won't bother you anymore, it was just an offer after all." The man says and disappears into the forest.

You're still a little leery of the man's intent so you get in the cabin as fast as you can and close the door. You look out the window a few times, but see nobody lurking around. You don't even hear any noise outside.

The cabin itself is completely dark save for the moonlight coming from the window and the few small holes in the roof. It's also a simple one-room abode with barely any furnishing, so if anything were hiding in here, it would have to be doing a very good job of it.

In any case, you don't have anything that would get the fireplace started, but there is a simple straw bed in the corner. You prod at it a couple times just to make sure it isn't infested with anything and then you lay down.

No sooner have you lain down your lids begin to get very heavy. Odd, you were sort of still wound up from your recent encounters, but you guess the stress of the day has finally caught up with you. You close your eyes and sleep takes you.

You dream of your home in Teckleville except you're not living with your parents and you're actually happily married to Annah. In real life this would be very unlikely situation, but since this is a dream you don't think much about it.

Life is good. You're well respected in the village and you work as a locksmith. Not too much of a stretch given your familiarity with locks, but as the dream builds upon this perfect life, you start to feel uneasy.

Still, you're so happy with Annah and your brand new son. One night you and she are looking at him sleeping in his crib.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Annah asks.
"Not as beautiful as you." You say and then kiss her.
"Mmmm, that's how we go this one here." She says as you both enter your own bedroom.
You stare into her eyes and caress her hair.
"I wish this moment would never end." You say
"Do you mean that?"
"Of course."

Annah suddenly then looks at you more seriously and squeezes your hand.

"No, I have to know, do you really mean it? Do you want to spend the rest of your life
with me?"

Yes

Something about this all seems so wrong somehow…but yet you can't help but feel finally at peace here.

"Yes, I do want to spend the rest of my life with you." You say.

Annah hugs you tight and you embrace her and you never worry about anything else ever again. You two live a lifetime in bliss and happiness in Teckleville and you watch your child grow up and then your grandchildren. You grow old and so does Annah, but towards the end on your deathbed when Annah is hovering over you, her face changes, in fact she is no longer the same woman and a much younger one to boot.

This new smiling young woman with red hair touches your face just before you close your eyes for the last time.

Years later a group of adventurers find your skeletal remains still lying on the bed in that cabin. As they search through your remains, they can't help but notice that your skull seems to be smiling.