I'm trying to figure out what the best way to build a timer is.

I need to store the time as it passes so it can be compared against a specified time,
then, once that specified time is reached, to switch from one set of events to another.

Example:

time1 = time that has passed since quest start
time2 = set time (60000)

if ( time1 < time2 )
spawn tree
if ( time1 >= time2 )
spawn bear

Thank you.