Marrin watches Ava just do it.

"...or Ava will handle it."

Marrin moves to get a look.

Avaria sees a pair of used boots, dried mud on the soles, sitting at the foot of one of two cots inside the tent. The other cot has a backpack resting on it, it's contents partially visible through the open top - some rations, some dry socks, some work gloves.

The chest between the two cots holds two warm overcoats, a few candles, lantern oil and a tinderbox.

A lantern hangs from the support rod across the top of the tent.

Jan dismounts and secures her horse, summoning K to perch on her shoulder as she moves to join Ava.

@Thor

"Okay. Ya. Just like the ship, but with less visible blood."

She does a slow turn around the tent, looking at the ground for drag marks.

"The owner of those boots didn't go off without them in this weather."

Survival: 7

"Or at least not very far."

She'll turn her attention to Soren,

"So, this place is looking rapidly less inviting. What do we have for alternatives?"

Marrin doesn't see any signs of anyone being dragged off. The ground looks completely unmarked. Someone sweeping it couldn't have made it nicer.

Soren looks at the woods around them and raises his hands.

"This is it," Soren says. "Even if you wanted to deal with the owlbears and take their cave, we couldn't get back their before the forest was completely dark. We might make it but the horses are just going to stop."

He points into the forest.

"The only other option is to camp in the trees." Soren says.

Ethel nods at Soren's words.  "I can't speak for everyone, but I know where I will be sleeping tonight."  With that she moves into the tent with the backpack and sets down her own things.  She then begins to lay out the contents of the pack for inspection, to make sure there isn't anything else useful, or perhaps even something like a journal that might tell something of the history of this place.

She calls out from inside the tent, "Did anyone manage to collect dead timber while we were traveling?  I'd rather not have to start a second Blood War between us and this forest just to have a campfire tonight."

Marrin looks out at the dark trees then nods along with Ethel.

"Well, I'm not keen on sleeping out there."

She'll gesture to the piles of stacked wood.

"Thoughts on using this wood? It's technically dead, and we didn't cut it down but I'm hesitant to find out what the forest thinks of splitting hairs."

She'll check all the tents now that their moving in.

Ethel doesn't find anything enlightening about where the owner of the gear and equipment might be. There are no journals or books of any kind in the tent. The contents of the pack and chest are what you might expect a simple woodcutter to have with them while being away from home a couple of days.

Marrin, feeling confident now, opens up the rest of the tents and takes a look inside. They all give off the impression of having been used recently but that nobody is home. She finds more boots, cloaks and outerwear. She also notices that all of the lanterns, while looking in good working order are empty of fuel, though they have been adjusted to allow full burning. She also finds a couple of fully used candles in two of the tents. Melted and hardened wax has collected around the base of a candle holder.

---------------------------------------------

If the group is spending the night, are they starting any fires, setting a watch (and if so in what order), doing anything else?

Marrin comments to everyone,

"These people seemed very focused on keeping it light. Maybe we should follow? Though I don't know why they didn't keep the fire going with all that wood?"

"Saving the wood as last resort?"

"If that was the case they might have waited too long."

Marrin says glumly.

"Still, if I thought something was coming I wouldn't have taken off my boots."

"Well, light surely didn't work for them, and I'm not too keen on burning wood in this forest, collected dead timber or not.  What if these trees can't differentiate?  Maybe those with darkvision should be doing the watches?  I can start."  Avaria keeps looking around nervously... not liking the feeling of the camp.

"Maybe it worked until they ran out of sources. Lamps are out, candles are melted. At least Making light isn't a problem, I can do that all night if I need to. Just got to keep warm."

As the group discusses their options, and almost as if on cue, when Marrin mentions keeping warm, the last light starts to fade and the temperature begins to drop as night approaches. There's still enough light though for everyone to see the vapour caused by their own breath.

"It might not freeze tonight," Soren says, "but it's going to get cold."

Jan grimaces and rubs at the ring on her hand. A warm, comfortable place to rest, so close at hand... but also housing the mysterious chest that the dragons were seeking so determinedly. 

From inside the tent, still arranging her things and getting comfortable, Ethel calls out, "I can contribute to light as well.  Though, are we so certain the forest will be irascible if we were t burn wood cut by other hands?  What about pieces of the pallisade?  At what point does nature consider dead wood to be fair game?"

Then, "A shame we didn't get locked in the Hargroves prison with a druid.  Ah, well." 

When the group is ready, please detail if/how any fire are started/kept burning, any sources of light used/conjured, and any watch set (order/and make up) and we'll see if you make it through the first night, though as a reminder everyone has benefited from a long rest before entering the forest.

(( Marrin would be willing to take the first watch and would start casting light on a point which covered everyone. She'd stay up an extra watch if needed to provide light while dozing until Ethel comes online.

She is fire neutral, as long as they don't get too cold. If it starts getting too cold, then it would be drop wood they picked up then, if absolutely needed, pile of lumber.))

"Tonight isn't going to be much fun."

Marrin will also wrap up in those two warm overcoats they found (after prestidigitationing them clean), presuming everyone will be doing something similar.

((Jan only needs four hours of rest, and given the tenseness of the situation, will be on watch the rest of the night. She can rest the first four and be up for the last four? Agree on the fire, avoid if if we can, huddle together for warmth, but get one going if needed? Especially since Jan and Marrin both have prestidigitation, so can light it without fumbling with cold hands at kindling and a tinderbox?))