Kirima sat near the fire, absently stirring the coals at the edge with a stick. She disliked the noisy, crowded feeling the camp had acquired with the arrival of the new recruits. Most of them were talking or laughing loudly, and Guthwine and Lotar were shouting orders over it all. She glanced around, taking in all the new faces. None of them seemed particularly friendly, or trustworthy. No, Kirima corrected herself, the thief from Bree, Minastan; he seems less like a ruffian than the others, though that is likely because he was from the town.
She thought of the journey back to camp, remembering some of the instructions the newcomer had given them. Keep out of the open; Walk with caution; Do not let your cloak catch on a bush or branch! Then Guthwine had come, shouting, to greet them, Kirima remembered with a wry smile. And with the racket the newcomers were now making, even a half-deaf greybeard out for a stroll in the woods would know exactly where to find them.
Her smile faded. "Quiet down!" She said shortly to those who were near. "The forest hears you, and the town's not taken yet!" Kirima stood and walked a ways out of camp, realizing that it was past time to post a sentry. The arrival of the new recruits had put her on edge. She stood gazing restlessly at the surrounding woods, trying to shake a feeling of unease.
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