Can this be forwards a bit, maybe the 10th-11th?
There was always one weaker than the others. As the temperature dropped enough to set frost into heartwood, the odd tree that was past its prime would weaken and split: perhaps even giving up the ghost completely. Caspa was not nervous of much, but the sight of a building collapsing in the human city very recently had given her cause to glance upwards once or twice with no good reason. When, while heading towards the cellar to check up on the smoking meat, she saw a tree leaning precariously upon another, a great torn rendered down its centre, she flinched back from passing beneath. If the remaining fibres of wood gave way, the once-tall chestnut would lethally crash down. The Courtier sidled by, treading very lightly indeed, then moved on to the King's cellar. There was nothing coming from the chimney of the smokehouse, but she had been certain a few carcasses had been butchered for preservation. Moving inside, she found the woodpile rather lower than last time she'd been here. Her thoughts turned back to that nearby tree. She guessed this was the kind of thing that wolves kept horses for, but she would still never see the use. One could haul the lumber over pretty easily, but if she cut it up where it lay, she could carry it here herself piecemeal. She took a crude axe which seemed to be kept for this very purpose, and retraced her steps to the half-fallen chestnut tree. A moment's scrutiny told her where she could cut through to allow the weight of the trunk to slowly bring itself down, and moving closer tentatively, Caspa swung the axe to make the first few cuts, ready to leap away if it moved.
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