i found a box with a bunch of firestarting stuff in the shed, like charcloth and flints and stuff.
but i also found this set of vials. one was full of a fine gray dusty powder, about the consistency of flour. fairly heavy, it's likely some sort of metal. maybe iron?

and the other vial is full of what was probably once white crystals. it's deliquescent, and one of the vials pulled enough water from the air to form a layer of water on top. most of the crystals are somewhat like salt in structure, but along the sides of the vial, there are some tiny needle-like crystals which formed.

any idea what these things are?