Pelu was very self-conscious as he sat on the bench he had found in a small grassy park. There weren't as many prying eyes here as out on the streets but he felt even more out of place. The few people who did enter the park didn't stay long after they caught sight of him eating the last of the food he had brought with him. There were no signs saying this was an exclusive garden but the looks he got told him it was. He ate as quickly as he could and walked back out to the side street he had turned onto to get to the garden. As he looked to the right he could see the gigantic main road he had been traveling on for what seemed like a full day. To his left he saw a seemingly endless row of buildings occasionally separated by smaller roads that split off to both sides. If he went back to the main road he could at least find his way back to the city gate eventually. If he went the other way he might never find his way back out. It all looked exactly the same.

As he turned to go back toward the main road, Pelu felt a hand on his arm. He turned quickly, afraid a soldier might have come to arrest him for a crime he was unaware of. Instead of the armored visage of a soldier, he found himself looking into the eyes of a young woman who looked just as out of place in this part of the city as he did. "You're a ways from home. What brings you to this part of the city?" she asked with a smile. It was the first smile he had seen on any face since he entered the city, and somehow it instantly put him at ease.

"I am far from home. Much further than I've ever been before. I came here from the village I grew up in to try to get into the Inventor’s Guild. I don't even know what it looks like or where to find it though. I just got to the city today and it's so big I don't know how anybody can find their way around in it."

As he finally voiced his concerns, Pelu began to feel how far from home he was and how lost he felt in such a large city. For the first time since he had left his home he began to doubt his plan and his abilities. He began to wonder if there even was an Inventor’s Guild and if they would even want him there if it did exist. In the sea of people that surrounded him, Pelu felt like the smiling face at his side was the only human contact he had, and he was suddenly terrified of losing that.

"Well, you're heading in the right direction if the Inventor’s Guild is what you're looking for. Though between the two of us, I wouldn't go there if I had a choice. Anyway, you won't get very close to it looking like that and you certainly can't just walk up to the front door and expect them to let you in. Some people even say there is no front door to walk up to. The only way in is to know the secret passages. Come on back to Brownburgh with me. You can have dinner with my family tonight. Maybe we can help you out a bit. Nobody gets anywhere in this city without knowing people."

With that, she started walking back to the main road, pulling Pelu along by the arm she was still holding on to. Just as he caught up to her pace she abruptly stopped and pulled him around to face her. "Oh! I almost forgot. I'm Dima".

"I'm Pelu" he sputtered as he took the hand that was thrust out to him. "Nice to meet you. Welcome to the city. Now come on." And with that she pulled him off again by his arm.