Eventually Michael catches up with the others and is ready to go. As for the exact plan, he advises we take the carriage to speed up our travel along the road, but don't take it to the forest as this is likely not to end well. Instead, Michael advices we take the Dawn Way and stop when the trail leading into the Witchwood starts. Then Michael, and optionally Novalis, quickly fly over the trail to Jorr's cabin to see if he is even there. If he's there, it would be some time until we get him to the Dawn Way, but we can still reach the Vraath Kepp before it starts getting dark.