Lighting up pathways outside?

[NoodlePunk]

If I place torches and chests to store provisions in town and in the mines will they stay there forever?

[Futa Fanatic]

in the mine entrance yes, in the mines themselfs no as they're randomly generated, town should be fine as long as its not in the path of an npc as they will break it

[I Kinda Fail]

Torches are fine, since you can walk on them, same as paths. Lamps and campfires and stuff will get tramped by NPCs if you put them in their path. There's lots of safe places to put chests on the map, but you probably want to consult an NPC pathing map to be safe. The majority of town is unsafe.