You follow the tail-man in the forest, and it seems that Orlands mumbling about city-folk might be right. The tail-man doesn't seem very accustomed to walking in dense forest, and he's cursing the underbrush from time to time while walking.
However, you would have much harder time walking in the forest without the lantern's light, as the forest is already dark as a darkness spell.
After not-too-long walking, you can see the edge of the forest because of the moonlight, and the tail-man tells you to close the lantern's shutter.
After you follow the tail-man out of the forest, you see about 100 feet wide river near you. The tail-man stops for a few seconds, and then sprints towards a small tree at the riverbank. Once he gets there, he curses and turns towards you.
"Great. Somebody has stolen my boat..."