"I felt I might warm myself by the fire, it's a bit of a chilly night."

She wonders if like senses like, and that's why the woman has introduced herself. Or maybe she's just being friendly, Valdis tells herself she doesn't need to defend herself from imagined monsters anymore.

"Valdis." She doesn't add more than that. "You're a blacksmith then?"

The scent of smoke could have been related to the pipe, but it runs deeper into the aura than that.